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THE PROGRESS AND ARREST OF
ISLAM IN SUMATRA
VVyMUN OF Sl'matka.
THE PROGRESS AND
ARREST OF ISLAM
IN SUMATRA
By
GOTTFRIED SIMON
With an Intruductorv Note
by
SAMUEL M. ZWEMER, D.D., F.R.G.S
MARSHALL BROTHERS, LTD
PUBLISHERS
LONDON, EDINBLRCII & NEW VORL
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
THIS book marks a new epoch in the scientific study
of- missions to Moslems. Following so closely on
Johann Warneck's The Living Christ and Dying Heathen-
ism, it is in one sense a complementary study to that
important work, yet in no wise subsidiary. For while
Warneck has given us the philosophy and psychology
of Animistic paganism in its conflict with the forces of
Christianity, this volume deals with the far more im-
portant religion of Islam from a similar standpoint.
Lowell, in his Study Windows, tells us that transla-
tions are often " only an imitation of natural flowers in
cambric or wax " ; but this is not the case in the book
before us. Miss E. I. M. Boyd has done her work well.
By careful interpretation, rather than by slavish literal-
ism, in all difficult passages she has put the German work
before English readers in usable and attractive form.
The author has had eleven years' experience as a
missionary on the Island of Sumatra, where the Moslem
propaganda has indeed accomplished its masterpiece.
Among a population of four million, over three and a
half million profess the faith of Islam, although this
religion entered Sumatra at the beginning of the four-
teenth century ; and it is in this very island world of
Malaysia that Christian Missions to Moslems have had
the largest direct results. Not only has his life and
environment fitted the author for his task, but he has
made a thorough study of all important authorities,
especially the masterly works of such scholars as Snouck
Hurgronje, Niemann and Poensen. Islam shows its
vi INTRODUCTORY NOTE
real strength to-day not so much in the ancient seats of
its power in Western Asia, as in the border marches of
Central Africa and the island world of Malaysia. It was
not without reason that the needs of the Animistic
tribes and depressed classes were emphasized at the
Lucknow Missionary Conference by the following resolu-
tion, which in itself might well be considered a call for
a prayerful perusal of the volume before us : —
" This Conference is persuaded that, in order to stem
the tide of Moslem advance, it is important to strengthen
the work among Animistic tribes, pagan communities
and depressed classes affected by this advance ; for we
are clearly of opinion that adoption of the faith of Islam
by the pagan people is in no sense whatever a stepping
stone towards, or a preparation for Christianity, but
exactly the reverse."
It was with reason, therefore, that the Conference
expressed the hope of a complete investigation regarding
the conditions of the Moslem advance not only in Africa
but in Malaysia " between now and the next Conference
to be held in 1915." The fact that in Malaysia there are
now well-nigh forty thousand converts to Christianity
from Islam shows that here, if anywhere, we may look
for a scientific presentation of right methods of successful
evangelization.
The book consists of three parts, dealing first with the
co-operative factors and the religious motives that have
led so many pagans to accept Islam. Among the former
the author mentions active Mohammedan propagan-
dism, the neutrality of Colonial Governments — often
baneful to Christian missions — and the general influence
of European culture. Among the latter, the Moslem
conception of God, Moslem magic and saint worship,
together with the Koran, its eschatology and its doc-
trine of absolute surrender to God are specially import-
ant.
The second part of the book deals with the social and
religious conditions of pagans who have become Moham-
INTRODUCTORY NOTE vii
medan, and the author raises the question whether there
has been social and rehgious progress and to what extent,
leaving no doubt that, for example, the position of
womanhood in Malaysia and Africa is not elevated by
the advent of Islam.
The third part deals with the conversion of these
Mohammedans to Christianity. Islam is not a school-
master to lead the pagan races to Christ. The pagan
who becomes a Moslem also becomes a fanatic in his
opposition to Christianity, and shows at once the strength
and weakness of Islam over against the Gospel when
Christian missions begin their work. The author leaves
no doubt as regards his attitude toward Islam. It is
one of uncompromising adherence to the vital truths of
Christianity which make the impact of these two
religions necessarily a death struggle. He shows the
urgency and the possibility of winning over the pagan
races in Malaysia and Africa before the advent of Islam,
but makes clear no less that the struggle against Islam
itself is not hopeless, but if carried on in the spirit of the
Gospel is sure to bring results.
But the spirit of the Gospel, according to Gottfried
Simon, is not the spirit of compromise, or that of deal-
ing in superficialities. The impact of Christianity on
Islam, especially in the Animistic world, means a death
struggle. If any feel disposed to let the idea of a strenu-
ous fight drop out of our Christian life and vocabulary,
let them read this volume. There seems to be a
unanimity in the testimony of all missionaries in Java
and Sumatra that " Islam can never be a bridge over the
gulf that separates the heathen from Christianity, nor
bring them nearer to God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
This was the statement of two Dutch missionaries at
the Cairo Conference, and they went on to say, " On the
contrary, it is an organized power under the direct influ-
ence of Satan, to enable him to destroy the souls of men,
turning them away from the Light of the World, Jesus
viii INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Christ, the Son of God." This, I believe, will also be the
conclusion concerning the character of Islam and its
propaganda on the part of every candid reader of the
arguments here presented.
The book does not minimize the baffling problem, but
points out the way to its solution. It is optimistic
without being superficial and the more interesting because
it is scholarly.
S. M. ZWEMER.
Bahrein, Arabia,
March 2, 1912.
i
PREFACE
" /^UR chief enemy, says Dr. Mirbt, as can be proved
V^ from the present state of the world-religions, is
Islam. We must therefore meet it with altogether new
strategy, we must hurl ourselves against it and take up
the battle all along the line." No non-Christian religion
is carrying on propaganda to-day to equal that of
Islam. Moreover, does not the measure of a religion's
propaganda indicate its living force ? How absurd it
is, therefore, to regard Islam as already one of the dead
religions of the world, and how important it is to study
Moslem propaganda.
In many respects the Islam of the Near East may come
nearer to the Moslem ideal than that of Eastern Asia,
of which we shall chiefly speak in the following pages.
The Koran is more widely known there, the knowledge
of God is clearer, Mohammedan law and Mohammedan
custom are perhaps better established there, but one
thing is certain : Islam is displaying its real living power
to-day not in the old Mohammedan lands, but among
those peoples which have but recently fallen its prey.
This has a natural explanation. The strength of Islam
lies in propaganda. This has been the case in every age.
Islam has aggressive energy ; but it lacks the power
to maintain and build up. The same Islam which carries
on such propaganda at its outskirts, fails in the Near
East, where much is rotten.
We should not under-estimate Islam's irresistible
power ; but neither should we over-estimate it. Its
strength, and also its weakness, lies in one-sided propa-
ganda, as is proved by a survey of Islam in the Dutch
East Indies,
ix b
X PREFACE
We are, fortunately, well able to make such a study.
In the first place from the researches of Dr. Snouck
Hurgronje. In his two great works. The Achehnese and
Mekka, he has established the fact that this Islam of the
Far East has a significance of its own, from the closeness
of its contact with the spiritual centre of the Moslem
world, and I have naturally taken this famous scholar as
my first authority for the description of the pilgrimage
to Mecca. In my copious use of his observations, I
would have the reader find a token of gratitude on my
own behalf as also on behalf of Christian Missions in
general, for he has rendered them also very great service.
But missionary literature on the Dutch East Indies
also contains a mass of individual observations. Among
many others at a later period we may here mention
G. R. K. Niemann and Poensen, a missionary who after-
wards became Professor. So that it was not without
hesitation that I undertook the compilation of this work.
My eleven years' service as a missionary in Sumatra
from 1896 to 1907 left me no time for scientific work.
I laboured at four Mission stations, to some extent under
very difficult conditions ; extended itinerary tours
obliged me to spend many a day in the saddle, or my
narrow rowing boat, and many a night in Batak villages ;
and long tramps through swampy virgin forests and
across burning, grassy steppes do not brace the intellect.
However, this very coming and going brought me
constantly into intimate contact with the different
tribes of the Batak people and I was obliged to be
always on the defensive against Moslem propaganda.
This unsettled life was forced upon me. What I have
set down in my book is, therefore, what I myself have
observed, although I have supported my own experi-
ence from a wide range of other people's observations,
as far as possible in their original form.
The actual results of Missions to the Mohammedans
of Sumatra can lay claim to special interest. To a large
extent they are based upon the fact that the work is con-
PREFACE xi
nected with the strong flourishing church of the Heathen-
Christian Bataks, which numbers some 117,000 members.
The dormant Churches of the Near East have failed in
the fight against Islam ; but the new pulsating life of the
young Heathen-Christian Church is becoming more and
more a menace to Islam. This is a hopeful outlook for
the future. The death of the Church in the Near East
brought new life to Islam. The Moslem community
rose out of its crumbling ruins. The living power of
our Heathen-Christian Church will, however, deal Islam
a mortal blow. If God but grant us out there Christian
communities filled with His Spirit and inspired by a
living faith, then Moslem propaganda, rage and storm
as it may to-day, must break into foam against this
breakwater.
G. SIMON.
Theologische Schule,
Bethel bei Bielefeld,
May, 1912.
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION
The " Heathen -Mohammedan " and Christian Missions —
The Peeuhar Relation between Animism and Islam —
The Intellectual Difficulty of the Problem — The Dan-
ger to Missions at the Present Time . . . xix
PART I
THE TURNING OF THE HEATHEN TO ISLAM
yCHAPTEK I '
Moslem Propaganda in the Dutch East Indies
The Islamizing of the Dutch East Indies — Indians and
Arabs — Java — Sumatra — The Batak Country — The
Antipathy of the Heathen at first — The Imposing
Impression of the Mohammedan — Forcible Measures
— The Work of Conversion — Its Commercial and
Religious Motives — Missionary Preaching . . 1
Chapter II /
\/ The Colonial Government
Neutrality — Favoritism — Holy War — The Pan-Moslem
Movement — The Sultan of Turkey — The Wavering
Attitude of Europeans — Sympathies — The Further-
ance of Islam by Colonial Institutions — The Native
Officials — The Language — The Government School —
Means of Communication ..... 23
Chapter III
/ European Civilization
V The New Age in Commercial Life — In Political Life — The
Pan-Moslem Movement and Magic — Social Incen-
tives — The Desire for Education .... 36
Chapter IV ^ ^
God "^
The Religious Lassitude of the Heathen — The Search of
the Heathen after God — The Heathen Conception of
God — Mohammedan Theology — Practical Signifi-
cance of the Mohammedan's God — His Invincible
Power and Arbitrariness — He is Fate — He is In-
different — The Fear of Spirits is Transferred to God . 46
Chapter V ^^ ><_
The Gifts of God
God as the Dispenser of Supernatural Powers (Magic) —
The Connection with Animistic Magic — Moslem
Magic, Sorcery, Witchcraft, Visions — Criminal Fea-
xiii
y
/.
xiv CONTENTS
PAGE
tures — Spiritualistic Ideas — The Veneration of Graves
and Ancestors — Monotheism Overshadowed by Magic
— Fatalism and Magic — Depreciation of the Idea of
God — Opportunist Syncretism — Magic, the Bridge
between Heathenism and Islam .... 58
Chapter VI
God's Representatives ^
Mediators between Men and Spirits (Gods) in Heathenism
— The Prophet Mohammed — His Historical Person-
ality — His Present Place in the Popular Mind — Mo-
hammed as a Demi-God — Mohammed and the rest
of the Prophets — Jesus — Angels and Saints — The
Teachers — Their Social Standing as Court Advisers —
Their Religious Standing as Mediators — Their Teach-
ing — Their Influence upon the Life of the People —
Their Influence upon the Conception of God . . 73
Chapter VII
The Book of God ^
The Arabic Koran is not Understood — But it Impresses
the People — Has Divine Authority — As a Magical
Book it casts a Cloud over God .... 89
Chapter VIII
The Hereafter
Death — Burial — The Resurrection — Judgment — Hell —
Paradise — Hope for the Hereafter is not Foreign to
Heathenism — But Islam Promises Increased Enjoy-
ment of Life in the Hereafter — Hence the Power of
Attraction — Yet Man Draws no Nearer to God . 96
Chapter IX ^ ^ ,,
Man's Surrender to God
The Performance of Ritual, the First Religious Duty —
The Creed — Prayer — Religious Taxes — Fasting —
Pilgrimage to Mecca — Its Significance for the Pan-
Moslem Movement — The Performanceof Ritual tends
to Self-adulation — Establishes Discipline . .108
Chapter X
The Preparation for the Hereafter
Preparatory Exercises — Meals for the Dead — Gifts for the
Dead — Works of Merit — Animistic Merit — Moslem
Merit — The Teachers as Guardian Spirits in the Here-
after ........ 134
Chapter XI *^
Mysticism
Mystical Exercises (Ratib, Zikr, Suluk) — The Significance
of Mysticism — Reaction against the Conception of
God — Animism and Mysticism — The Mystic's Desire
After God— The Mystic, The Ideal Moslem . 143
CONTENTS XV
PART II
THE MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE
HEATHEN-MOHAMMEDAN
PAGE
Introductory
The Heathen does not remain the same when he becomes
a Mohammedan — Has he made Progress ? . . 155
Chapter I
Animism
Islam does not Combat It — Therefore It is Caught in its
Toils 157
Chapter II
Fanaticism ^
Surprising among Indonesian Peoples — Kindled by the
Conception of God — The Conception of the Here-
after and the Pan-Moslem Movement — Also Fostered
by Exaggerated Self-Consciousness — The Feeling of
Weakness — And the Disillusionment Experienced in
Islam ........ 160
Chapter III
The Moral Force or Islam
It Lacks a Moral Ideal — Neither God, nor the Prophets,
nor Mecca, nor Paradise Present such an Ideal — Moral
Principle Equally Lacking — Heathen Piety is Sup-
planted — Surrender to God implies Salvation by Works
— Moral Teaching is Dead — The Confusion between
Ceremonial and Moral Law is a Hindrance — Super-
ficial idea of Sin — Moral Responsibility is Shifted on
to the Teachers — Or not Realized at all on Account of
Determinism . . . . . . .167
Chapter IV
Islam and the Moral Needs of Heathendom
Heathen Vice : Islam Forbids Alcohol, but does not
Combat Opium or Untruthfulness — The Position of
Women : Heathen Family Life Offers a Point of
Contact for Raising the People Morally — But Islam
Degrades Woman by Polygamy and Divorce — The
Moslem Woman is on a Lower Level than the Heathen
Woman ........ 180
Chapter V
Islam and Nationality
Islam does Violence to National Feeling and the Vernacu-
lar — It Only Appears to Give Liberty to Individuals —
In Reality it Enslaves Them to the Priesthood — In
xvi CONTENTS
PAGE
the Observance of the Laws about Food, it is Conscien-
tious — Common Law Comes into Conflict with the
Mohammedan Law of Islam.
Islam as a Factor of Civilization : the Individu-
ality of the People and the Work of the Colonial
Government must be taken into Account — Moslem
Education has a Stupefying Effect— The Pan-Moslem
Idea is Contrary to Civihzation — The Tutelage of
and the Exaggerated Hope set upon the Hereafter
Life fosters Laziness — The Cruelty of Heathenism is
Replaced by Hatred in the Name of God for all those
of other Faiths — Egoism remains as strong as ever . 190
PART III
THE CONVERSION OF THE MOHAMMEDAN TO
CHRISTIANITY
Chapter I
The Negative Attitude of Mohammedans
They do not Want to Become Christians — The Christian
is Considered Irreligious : There is no Understanding
of the Spiritual Nature of Christianity — Intercourse
with Irreligious Europeans.
The Christian is Considered Unclean : this Con-
firmed by some Christians' Manner of Life.
The Christian is Behind the Times : Because Christ
is Superseded by Mohammed — Many Europeans
Actually Esteem Islam Very Highly.
Christianity is False Doctrine — The Doctrine of the
Trinity — The Worship of Images.
The Moslem is Satisfied : he has what Christianity
has — But Christianity knows Nothing of Magic —
Has no Visible Guarantees — The Triumphal Assur-
ance of Islam — Christianity has Within it the Seed
of Death — The Attitude of the Colonial Government
has Sometimes Endorsed this Opinion.
No Fusion — Neither by Nationalizing Christianity
— Nor by Emptying the Doctrine of the Trinity of
its Content.
Islam not a Protevangclism : it is not a " School-
master " (traLdaywybs) — The Prophet Hinders the
Apprehension of Christ — Other Moslem Conceptions
(God, the Supernatural World, Law, Sin, Grace) also
Render the Understanding of Christian Truth only
the More Difficult.
The Disintegration of Islam : not Demonstrable —
Although there is Ebb and Flow — The Modern In-
tellectual Movements Within Islam do not lead Men
to the Gospel — Islam will have to come to Terms with
Them 209
CONTENTS xvii
PAGE
Chapter II
The Undermining of Mohammedan Faith
Revival of Animism — But Islam has a Deadening Influ-
ence upon the Animist.
Christian and Moslem Belief — The Promise of Islam
not Fulfilled — Uncertainty Whereas the Christian
has Assurance — Although he Rejects Mediators and
Works of Merit and Relies on Christ Alone — Interest
in Christ Awakened.
Fight for the Faith : the Assurance of the Christian
not Levity — Rather his Moral Conduct is the More Strict
— His Secret Sin is Overcome by the Power of Christ.
The Foundations of Belief: the Bible and the
Koran — The Knowledge of Christ Founded upon the
Word of God — This is Comprehensible and Coherent
— Its Moral Purity and Simplicity — Those Who
Preach the Word Live in Accordance with it — The
Effect of the Word in Missionary Work.
The Object of Faith, Christ and Mohammed : Christ
inferior to Mohammed — But the Gospels tell the Story
of His Life — He Ministers to Others — Has a Corre-
sponding Influence with Men — No Regenerating
Influence Associated with Mohammed.
Christian Charity and the Uncharitableness of Islam —
Moslem Uncharitableness Rooted in the Religion It-
self — Christians Manifest their Love by Continual
Readiness to Help — It Proceeds from Christ,
Christian Education and the Illiteracy of Islam :
The Christian Elementary School Dispels the Halo of
Islam as an Agent of Civilization — It Really Develops
the Young and Breaks Down Prejudice — The Chris-
tian Teacher Stands out in Contrast to the Moslem
Teacher by His Conciliatory Spirit — Even the Ordi-
nary Christian can give a Reason for His Faith.
Christian Fellozvship and the Moslem Community —
Christianity Protects Nationality — It is not European
— Christians become Members of the Universal
Church — Christian Worship, Missions and the Orga-
nized Community Proves this — Mohammedan Fana-
ticism Languishes in Contact with Living Christians 246
'&'
Chapter III
The Triumph of the Gospel.
Conversion : A Work of God — Connected with the Know-
ledge of Jesus — He is still an Active Personality —
Because He is God, Man Trusts in Him, this is the
First Modification of the Moslem Conception of God
— God, the Omnipotent One, is Apprehended in
Ckrist — but He is also the God of Yearning Love —
xviii CONTENTS
PAGE
That Implies a Transformation in the Idea of God —
All the More Closely does He Cling to Christ.
Salvation — The Study of the Life of Jesus Awakens
the Sense of Sin — Not Without Secret Opposition —
But the Futility of Human Achievement is Obvious —
The " Freely " and " For You " is Thankfully Ac-
cepted Instead of what is Relinquished in Islam —
The Moslem Conception of God is thus Completely
Transformed — God Makes Sacrifice of Himself.
Eternity — Jesus' Work of Salvation also Avails for
Eternity — The Sensuality of the Moslem Outlook
upon the Hereafter Testifies to its Earthly Origin —
Christian Reserve Bears its own Hall-mark — Faith
in Christ Cleanses the Eschatological Hope — Fan-
tastic Exaggerated Ideas as to the Hereafter Yield
to the Sober Apprehension of One's Duty in this Life 287
Chapter IV
The New Life
Faith in God — Fear, Fatalism and the Remnants of
Animism Vanish — The Vision of the Father is no
longer Obscured.
Communion with God — Man now Enters into Com-
munion with God — Through Jesus, Who Rose from
the Dead — The Worship of Saints and Spirits comes
to an end.
The Prayer of Faith — The Inmost Soul of Man
comes into Contact with God — The Outward Form is
Non-Essential — Magic and Mysticism are done away
with — God's Unapproachableness is Disproved by
Experience.
Obedience to God — In Islam Obedience meant Pas-
sivity — Man is now Trained in Active Surrender to
God — A Life of Cognition and Perception Awakens —
The Fight against Sin begins — Many certainly Fail
here, hence the Backsliders — The Living Forces of
the Gospel are still Bound in many ways — Again and
again Fear and Levity, Bondage to Law and Arbi-
trariness Prevent the Due Apprehension of Grace —
Hence the Mohammedan-Christian is neither Superior
nor Inferior to the Heathen-Christian — Both have
their own Peculiar Hindrances to Overcome as regards
Moral Standards ....... 307
Conclusion
Mohammedan-Christians Need our Help as Brethren —
The Conflict with Islam will mean Enrichment for
Ourselves — It Compels us to Rise to the Fulness of
Living Power in the Gospel of Christ — Islam Gathers
up all the Religious Forces of the Non-Christian
World to Point Mankind to God by a Way which
Leaves Out Christ ...... 327
INTRODUCTION
ANY one who has tried to fathom the psychology
of the Nature peoples knows how difficult it is
for a European to grasp their mode of thought. The
day is completely past when man in a state of Nature
was pronounced barren of mind and his soul as deplete
of content as his body is devoid of clothing. For the
inner life of man in the state of Nature is saturated with
religion : to understand the native, one must understand
his religion, Animism. How strange this cult of souls
and spirits seems to us. Moreover, the difficulties are
increased twofold when the seeds of Islam have found
their way into the soul of a heathen people. For Islam
too is a strange world to us ; it is only with difficulty
that we understand the Moslem Psyche even of the Near
East, with which the age-long intercourse between the
Near East and the West has brought us into contact
and which is so much more akin to us than the Far
Eastern type of mind. The new world of ideas intro-
duced by Islam into heathendom is at first as incompre-
hensible to us as the old Animism ; and together they
give rise to that new creation I have called " the Heathen
Mohammedan."
This peculiar blending of two conceptions of God and
the Universe is what I wish to describe, because that
type of Islamized native was the objective of my mis-
sionary work for eleven years among the Bataks of
Sumatra, from 1896 to 1907, and such is the objective of
all my fellow-missionaries' work among the Nature
peoples which are either on the point of accepting, or
have but recently accepted Islam.
xix
XX INTRODUCTION
I can well understand that one's first impression of
these people is that they are only heathen with a veneer
of Mohammedanism, that their inner life is unaffected by
Islam. The Heathen-Mohammedan meets the same
fate as has long befallen the Nature peoples : his inner
self is disposed of by simply pronouncing him in no way
remarkable.
The mistake is easily explained. It requires more
than superficial knowledge of uncivilized man to appre-
ciate the changes wrought within him by Islam ; they
are in part microscopic, but for that reason none the less
worthy of the attention of the missionary and, as I
believe, of the student of Colonial politics. Mortal dis-
eases often begin with invisible changes in the human
body, only to be diagnosed under the microscope.
Moreover, the Nature peoples under the influence of
Islam receive but little sympathy. I personally under-
stand this very well. My life-long desire has been to
work among a people as nearly in the state of Nature
as possible, but God has sent me again and again into
the fight against Islam. In my last field. Eastern
Sumatra, I did come into contact with heathen from the
interior of Sumatra, with the inhabitants of North
Samosir. How refreshing it was, after a long ride across
the hot coast plain, at last to get up into the mountains
and meet the fresh mountain breeze on the shores of the
Toba Lake, 2,700 feet above the sea. And equally
invigorating were the people themselves.
A missionary is certainly not likely to be accused of
idealizing the heathen ; we generally meet the opposite
reproach ; and yet, I found those heathen very attrac-
tive.
Of course, they are dirty, both outwardly and in-
wardly. But they are men cast in one mould. Their
Animistic outlook and their life are uniform. Their
religion is an unbroken whole. Just as their single tree
trunk carries them quickly across the lake with amazing
seamanship, just as their tiny, hollowed-out craft suits
INTRODUCTION xxi
them so picturesquely and is so handy for them, just as
their handwoven garment clothes them so simply and
is so practical, so it is also with their religious usage.
Nothing is made a mystery. The heathen is an Animist
and wants to be one. He deceives his spirits, and does
not deny the fact.
How altogether different is it with the Mohammedan !
The whole man is rent asunder. His soul now nibbles
at the old forbidden pap of Animism, now it boldly
snatches at the sublimest problems of human thought
which Islam has digested and of which it offers an extract
to the Animist of the distant islands of the East. With
his lips he emphatically renounces heathenism and in-
wardly his soul still dallies with heathen conceptions,
hopes and fears.
There is a continual wavering between the old and
new in the soul of the distracted man. This life seems
pleasant, and yet it is to be despised because of the vision
of the Hereafter. His religious zeal blazons itself abroad
and he is consumed with acts of piety, but all the time
he suffers from the old languor of fatalism, which does
not satisfy the soul, and from an icy coldness which will
not melt in the presence of the imperturbable Lord of
Heaven, the new, distant, terrible God. Cringing flat-
tery on the one hand, which, however, only serves to
conceal the most outrageous arrogance. Smooth words
full of respect for the gifted European, but carefully
concealed behind them, the deepest contempt on the
other hand for the unclean, accursed unbeliever. All
this rends the Heathen-Mohammedan soul asunder.
Just as, after the death of Mohammed, his teaching was
preserved on rags, scraps of leather and fragments of
camel shoulder-blades and all mixed up together, the
present Koran emerging from the medley, so also is it
with the soul of the Heathen-Mohammedan : it is con-
fused, disordered, torn in pieces and replete with irrecon-
cilable contradictions.!
Hence the difference of opinion : " They are simply
xxii INTRODUCTION
heathen," say some ; " They are hopeless," say others,
" they are really Mohammedans."
The difficulty lies in the fact that it is a case of conver-
sion from one religion to another,both of which are strange
to us. One has only to try and grasp the mental out-
look of the heathen Animist and the Moslem conception
of God to realize the difficulty of the problem. I can
therefore only undertake to try and solve the problem ;
but it is perhaps well that it should at least once be
tackled.
We shall really get clear upon this matter only when
there are converts from Mohammedanism who can
describe their own conversion. Such are to be found in
the Near East, e.g., B. John Awetaranian ; and in India,
e.g., B. Imad ed Din ; but as yet there are none in the
Indian Archipelago. And such as might describe from
personal experience what happened within their inner
self when they passed from Animism to Islam, we shall
perhaps never find. For even among our Christian
converts from Animism, we notice that they no longer
understand their old religion, nor really ever have under-
stood it. They may still preserve many remnants of
Animism — and here lies the main work of all missions
to Animistic peoples — but they have lost any under-
standing for Animism. For Animists who have gone
over to Islam the experience is too immediate for them
to be able to give us an insight into their development.
Therefore, however difficult it may be for us to under-
stand the Heathen-Mohammedan, we must endeavour
to probe his secret for ourselves ; for the Heathen-Mo-
hammedan is the most important objective of Missions
to the Animistic peoples in the future.
Since Islam conquered the Sudan, it has pressed per-
petually onwards in Africa. Missions in West and East
Africa and also on the Congo have come into contact
with it. Whether or not we are to carry on Missions
among Mohammedans is an idle question nowadays.
It is we who are attacked. Already the flood-tide of
INTRODUCTION xxiii
Mohammedanism is swirling round the dam of many a
Heathen-Christian community ; and Islam will write no
tracts as to whether it shall attack us or not ; it will turn
the battle against us wherever we seek to arrest its
triumphal progress among the uncivilized peoples of
Africa.
God has granted present-day Missions great success
among uncivilized peoples. Among the Waganda,
the Kols, the Alfuros in Celebes and the Bataks in
Sumatra, great national native Churches have arisen
during the last century. Islam is questioning our right
of possession.
But not only that. We distinctly see the first signs of
a great, new missionary epoch among the peoples at this
level of civilization. Great conquests lie here before
the missionary enterprise, movements of a religious,
political and social character are preparing the way for
Christianity. There is appearing however beside the
Gospel its hideous counterpart, the Koran ; beside the
missionary, the clever Moslem propagandist. Again
we are realizing the terrible truth in modern Missions
that Islam closes the door to Christianity in the very
heathen hearts which have already opened gladly to
receive it.
The conquest of the uncivilized races is a question
we must inevitably settle with this mighty rival of
Christianity. Let anyone who doubts the fact con-
sider the Dutch East Indies. This flourishing Island
Empire has fallen a prey to Islam simply and solely be-
cause Missions arrived too late. Last century showed
what mighty kingdoms our Lord Jesus Christ might
have conquered there, if Christians had come at the right
time, namely, before Islam. In so far as the heathen
were untouched by Islam, they flocked into the fold of
Christianity.
And yet another reassuring experience justifies our
basing a discussion of this problem upon missionary
observation in the Dutch East Indies. In no other
xxiv INTRODUCTION
mission field have Evangelical Missions met with such
success among Moslems.^ This fact utterly disposes of
the anxious fear even in missionary circles that Moham-
medans are lost to the Gospel. The Gospel has enough
for all ; even the soul of the Heathen-Mohammedan
yields at last, if it is only brought into actual contact
with the Gospel.
This fact should encourage and reassure us in face of
the Moslem peril. Do not let us speak of the hopeless-
ness of work among Mohammedans until we have seri-
ously tried it. We need confidence. More than is desir-
able, Islam is beginning to prescribe the line of march
for Evangelical Missions. Doubtless, we must succour
first the peoples in immediate danger. But missionary
work is also possible among those who have been already
overtaken. May this prevent our undue haste. A
people that has gone over to Islam is not on that account
lost to the Gospel.
And further. The political revolution in the Near East
has aroused enthusiasm in Christian Europe in a way
that has warmed our hearts. We on the outskirts of
Islam watch with anxious expectation what goes on at
its centre. We would, however, emphatically impress
upon Christendom that God long since set Missions at
war against Islam, long before there were any Young
Turks or New Persians. God, we know not why, intro-
duced us into the Moslem world by this byepath, as it
seems to us, and has pressed into our hand the battle-
axe against this the most formidable enemy of His
Kingdom. Come and see.
1 In the Dutch East Indies we may reckon 35,000 Christian
converts from Mohammedanism. It is impossible to give an
exact figure ; the statistics of Christian converts from Heathen-
ism and Mohammedanism in any mission field are seldom
given separately.
PART I
The Turning of the Heathen to Islam
Chapter I
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA IN THE DUTCH EAST
INDIES
ISLAM has had the missionary instinct from its cradle.
The Koran is an admonition to all mankind (cf.
Koran xxxvii. 87). Even the Prophet himself endea-
voured to spread his teaching by peaceable methods
beyond the confines of Arabia. The amazing expansion
of Islam at the present time, extending as it does
from Morocco to New Guinea, the growth of the Moslem
missionary orders, its apparently irresistible advance in
East, West and Central Africa, all go to prove that
this mighty impulse has lost none of its original force
down through the centuries.
Political conditions have doubtless obliged Islam to
abandon its old missionary method of fire and sword.
That it has nevertheless become a world religion shows
that the message must have found a hearing among
the nations. The present state of the Mohammedan
world therefore raises this question : " Why does the
heathen turn Mohammedan, and in particular, why and
how does the heathen turn Mohammedan with no fur-
ther incentive than his own desire ? " Let the Moham-
medan propaganda as already closed and as still going
forward in Indonesia to-day furnish the answer.
2 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
i llndonesia did not receive Islam direct from Arabia,
' but by way of an intermediate people, the Hindus.;
Islam had reached India at the beginning of the eighth
century. Its method of conversion was the sword. For
five centuries the governing influence in India was in
the hands of Mohammedan rulers ; at almost every
court it was advantageous to turn Mohammedan. That
nevertheless only one-fifth of the population went over
to Islam testifies to the power of resistance in the Hindu
religion. Long before Mohammed's time there had been
active commercial intercourse between the Archipelago
and India. The result of this intercourse was the
founding of the Hindu kingdoms in Java. Later on
Mohammedan Hindus also came and their doctrine met
with peculiar success.
In 1345, a certain Arab from Morocco, called Ibn
Batutah, was sent by an Indian prince to China and
travelled from Bengal by way of Sumatra. He found
a Mohammedan kingdom already established at the
northern extremity of the island, at the modern Achin.
He was welcomed as a guest, because he was a fellow-
believer, and was astonished at the zeal of the reigning
prince for Moslem learning. He ascertained that the
people were even then beginning to propagate the faith ;
for when he visited his fellow-believers on his return
journey, he found that they had just returned from a
Holy War laden with spoil. He was even presented
with four slaves, part of the booty from this war. Thus
Islam had already reached Sumatra by the fourteenth
century. The Mohammedanism of the Dutch East
Indies is therefore of no recent date.
Even such a far-travelled man as Ibn Batutah was
impressed by what he saw of it in Sumatra, and subse-
quent history has shown that the Mohammedanism of
Indonesia is a living force. From those small begin-
nings, there has grown up a body of the faithful which
to-day numbers thirty-five million adherents, that is
to say, five-sixths of the whole population (forty-two
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 3
millions). Islam has thus gloriously completed its work
of converting this Archipelago within six centuries, and
achieved " its masterpiece " (J. Richter). liloreover,
Islam came into conflict in the Dutch East Indies
with its two strongest rivals, Hinduism and Buddhism,
and later Christianity. Hinduism it completely over-
came," Christian Missions have not been able to arrest
it entirely, although of course the conflict with Christ-
ianity is not yet ended.
iNTor should we underestimate the Animism of the
Nature peoples, Islam's third great opponent in the
Dutch East Indies.^ The warfare carried on by the
heathen Batak population of Sumatra, for example,
against their Moslem neighbours makes it probable that
in former centuries Animism possessed more vitality
there than it does to-day, since the various peoples
could then maintain an independent existence. Other-
wise it could not possibly have withstood for six cen-
turies Islam's not always peaceful efforts to propagate
itself nor the terrible Holy Wars which were carried
on during the nineteenth century against the Bataks.
It is in fact a question whether, for example, the
corrupt Byzantine Empire was really a more powerful
opponent than those forces in the Dutch East Indies.
Political conditions were not favourable to Islam.
In Java, it found strong Hindu kingdoms which it had
to conquer. From the sixteenth century, Christian
conquerors came across its path and from the seven-
teenth century it had to carry on its propaganda under
the eyes of a Christian Colonial power. Hence the old
missionary method of fire and sword hardly came into
use at all in the Dutch East Indies. The conversion
of the Archipelago to Mohammedanism was for the
most part accomplished peaceably. This makes the
closer examination of Mohammedan propaganda so
especially interesting. It not only carries us back to
the past, but even to-day we can still observe the process
of the heathen of the Dutch East Indies being Islamized.
W
4 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
As we have seen, it was Indian merchants who carried
the first tidings of the new religion to the Dutch East
Indies. They made no Holy War ; but they were filled
with holy zeal for the conversion of souls, and the con-
version of the heathen was to their commercial interest.
They gradually took possession of the coast of the
islands by means of small trade settlements. The
resident merchants had of course to find wives ; they
received them from the heathen. They had sufficient
money to bring the heathen to terms. They of course
made these wives become Mohammedans and their
relatives in the neighbourhood very soon followed suit.
They also bought slaves, j^robably for the most part
prisoners of war, and these slaves became Mohamme-
dans. Islam still spreads spontaneously in Celebes
among the Toradja by traders taking native wives to
gain native protection. In Eastern Sumatra, for in-
stance, there was a flourishing slave-trade down to the
time of the Dutch occupation in the nineteenth century.
The small settlements thus grew into Mohammedan
communities and eventually into states. These endea-
voured to extend their dominion by subduing the sur-
rounding country. Such wars may be even called Holy
Wars,, because the people that were conquered became
Mohammedans. Even to-day the Sultanates on the
coast serve as the base for propaganda in the interior
of the islands.
In the seventeenth century the Indian trade had more
and more to give way to European rivals. At the same
period a new element appeared in the Archipelago, which
has been of the utmost importance ever since in the
conversion of the islands to Islam, namely, the Arabs.
They continued the work of the Indian Mohammedans.
They also founded trade settlements, for example, at
Siak, in Sumatra, and at Pontianak, in Borneo.^ They
* The trade settlements of the Mohammedans in East Africa
exercise a similar influence. There also the teacher follows
upon the trader.
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 5
made themselves thoroughly conversant with the lan-
guage and customs of the natives. {They substituted
the wisdom of Mecca for Indian mysticism. Improved
means of transit made pilgrimage to Mecca possible.
Pilgrims used to go in sailing ships from Achin to Mecca ;
they are still the teachers of the people. Thus the
Dutch East Indies came into direct contact with Western
Islam. The disadvantage of the apparent isolation of
Indonesian Islam, owing to its distance from the Holy
City and the heart of Mohammedan life, has been gradu-
ally removed by its intercourse with Arabia.
Islam spread to Java about 1400, probably from
Achin. Arabs, according to Malik Ibrahim, also had a
share in the matter. Islam made but slow progress at
first. When the Portuguese landed in the sixteenth
century, suttee was the universal custom in Western
Java. With the increase of the Arab population, how-
ever, Islam spread more and more widely. The Arabs
were the religious teachers of the people. They gave
the Mohammedanism of the island more and more of
an Arabian colouring.i
The people seem to have been seized with great relig-
ious fervour, and even women engaged in propaganda.
By 1478 there was serious warfare in the neighbour-
hood of Mandjapahit. '., On the whole, however, the
conversion of the people was accomplished peaceably.
They were won by preaching and persuasion.; The
training and sending out of native helpers spread the
religion. Connections by marriage into princely families
were sought after, and then the common people willingly
followed, for the most part, in the train of their princes.
The will of their princes was the will of God for them.
Much of the old religion was allowed to remain, and
conversion was thus rendered easier for the common
people. ; An independent religious kingdom arose in
the Dutch East Indies, although even there the Sultan
of " Rum " (Rome-Constantinople) was recognized as
the supreme lord of Islam.
6 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
When the Portuguese appeared in the sixteenth cen-
tury, they came into conflict with both Mohammedans
and heathen. In many cases the heathen allied them-
selves with the Portuguese to gain protection from their
Mohammedan oppressors. Thus Islam had often to
face a double front, and yet it gained ever firmer footing
in Java.
The arrival of the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies
in 1596 did not therefore coincide with the appearance
there of Islam. But neither were they able to stop its
expansion. Hinduism retreated further and further,
and when the Dutch acquired their trade monopoly
from the Sultan of Bantam in 1684, and thereby became
virtually rulers of the country, it was to all intents and
purposes Islamized.
There are still a few thousand heathen to be found in
Java, only in the interior however, in the Tenger mount-
ains. Their religion is reminiscent of the Hindu period.
They are gradually being converted by Mecca pilgrims.
Java has about thirty million inhabitants. In 1800,
there were said to be only two and a half millions ; in
1824, six millions. The expansion of Islam is therefore_
to be accounted for not only by propaganda but also
by an enormous increase in the population.
As'early as the sixteenth century Islam was the head-
quarters base of Islam for the Eastern Islands of the
Archipelago. The Javanese carried on considerable
trade in those days in the Archipelago. On many of
the islands there were Javanese settlers.
As early as 1510 a certain Pati Puteh went to Java
from Hitu to learn " the Javanese religion." With the
help of the armies of King Hair of Ternate, who intro-
duced Islam by force, he converted the inhabitants of
Ambon to Islam. At all events Xavier found Mohamme-
dans there as early as 1460, although they were very
ignorant and knew nothing of their " pernicious "
doctrine.
About 1500 Islam spread to Ternate from Java.
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 7
How the Mohammedan missionaries carried on their
work is seen from the following story. A merchant,
Datu Mula Hussein by name, came to Ternate, took
his seat in a public place and began to read the Koran
aloud. The people of Ternate listened and became
curious, probably thinking there was some new kind of
magic in the book. They then tried to imitate the writ-
ing in the book but found they could not read it. There-
upon they asked the merchant how it was they could not
read it, when he could. He told them they must first
believe in God and the Prophet. So they learnt the
creed. He then continued to teach the people and
among them a prince's son from Marhum. He in his
turn went to Java and attended a school for Moslem
teachers ; he took a Javanese priest home with him
and installed him as teacher to his family. He then
carried Islam to the neighbouring islands.
Other influences, however, were also at work. ' When
the Malay kingdom on the Island of Malacca was
destroyed in 1510, the Malays, who had previously gone
over to Islam, were dispersed. Many settled in the south-
east of Borneo, where the Sultan of Banjermassin went
over to Islam in 1520 with a great part of his subjects, j
As yet not one third of the population of Borneo (one-
half million) is Mohammedan and the Mohammedans are
on the whole confined to the coast regions. The Arabs,
who are numerous, make their influence especially felt
there ; in Banjermassin alone, the capital of South
Borneo, there are some 1,000 Arabs. Active trade
with Singapore brings them to the island.
Islam was also very successful in Celebes. About
1580 it reached Macassar in Southern Celebes from
Ternate, although the Portuguese had been in power
there since 1537, and from Macassar it passed to Boni.
The northern extremity of Celebes was once also strongly
under Mohammedan influence, but in 1679 the chiefs of
the region allied themselves with the Dutch Govern-
ment, which had been in possession since 1667, to free
8 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
themselves from the oppression of the Mohammedans
of Macassar, who were trying to convert them. As is
well known this region of Minahassa came over to Christ-
ianity in the course of last century.
The Islamizing of Sumatra was really begun earlier
than that of Java. But it has progressed more slowly.
^In Sumatra, as in Java, Islam met indigenous Animistic
religions suffused with elements of Hinduism. That
the Malays on the coast, a seafaring people, were easily
converted to Islam may be attributed to their inter-
course with Indian and Arab traders. It was only in
the seventeenth century that Islam gained a firm footing
in the interior. The stronghold of Islam was the Malay
region of Menangkabau in Central Sumatra, which
had been Moslem since the fifteenth century. Southern
Sumatra, known as Lampong, was Islamized from Java.
It is remarkable that the Batak country between Central
and Northern Sumatra remained untouched by Islam
till the nineteenth century.^ This is not due to Indian
influence being stronger there than elsewhere. At first
glance it seems mysterious that a people such as the
Bataks should have been able to withstand the age-long
pressure of the Mohammedans. The very strongest
Mohammedan states in Sumatra : Achin in the north,
by its close relations with India and later with Arabia,
the bulwark of Islam in the Dutch East Indies and
Menangkabau in the south, bordered on this region, and
they would not fail to propagate Islam.
The mystery is partly solved by a popular tradition
that I have often heard, especially in Eastern Sumatra,
namely, that the Batak country is to-day only a frac-
tion of the old region of that name. Mohammedan
propaganda has not been as fruitless as is generally
supposed ; on the contrary in the course of the centuries
^ The total number of Mohammedans in Sumatra may be
put at about four miUions, of whom one-eighth miUion live in the
Batak country as we know it to-day, together with some
300,000 heathen and 100,000 Christian Bataks.
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 9
it has absorbed and made Malay large tt-acts of the
original Batak country.
The idea of Holy War is too deeply-rooted in the
Moslem for the Bataks to have altogether escaped
molestation from their Mohammedan neighbours. The
growing influence of Arabia, especially upon the Moslems
of Sumatra, gave the impulse at the opening of the nine-
teenth century to a great final effort to subdue the unbe-
lieving heathen.
About that time a zealous Mecca pilgrim returned home
to Sumatra, and perhaps inspired with reformation ideas
by the Arabian sect of the Wahabis, he realized with
secret wrath the gross errors of the Moslems of Sumatra,
their tobacco and opium smoking, and their use of the
betel nut. His call to repentance gradually found a
hearing ; the powerful tuangku Nan Rintji, a Malay
prince, killed one of his own relations for smoking.
This was the origin of the fanatical Padri sect in the
highlands of Padang on the west coast of Sumatra.
They were not content with the reformation of the old
Mohammedan regions, their attention also fell upon the
great heathen people of the Bataks. The fierce Padri
War ravaged the country almost as far as the Toba
Lake. Everyone who would not bend the knee to the
Crescent was murdered, villages were burnt, women
outraged, children sold as slaves. But even this attempt
to subdue an obstinate people of scarcely half a million
souls to the all-conquering banner of the Prophet seemed
in vain. After a long struggle the Dutch had scarcely
annihilated the Padri sect in 1837, when the Batak chiefs,
who had only bowed before their terrible oppressors
under compulsion, threw off the religion of the Prophet
once more. A small remnant in the south had however
learnt the joy of murder and plunder in the name of
religion, and thus the poison of Islam did find entrance
into the body of the Batak people. By about the middle
of last century the southern districts, some one-fifth of
the whole country, had been completely Islamized.
10 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
What centuries of contact with Islam had failed to do
had been spontaneously accomplished in less than a
decade under the protection of the Colonial Government.]
Conscious of its power and victory, Mohammedan pro-
paganda flourished. In four or five decades it was
evident that the entire Batak country, the last bulwark
of heathenism in the island, would be overwhelmed by the
all-conquering flood-tide of Islam.
But now let us look at the opening of the twentieth
century. The marvellous, the unheard-of, has happened.
The enemy has made no appreciable advance during
the last fifty years. In the West and East, coast regions
have, it is true, been conquered, but in the populous
southern regions the movement has come to a stand
still. Another power entered the field during the
second half of the nineteenth century, namely, Christian
Missions.
These two, Moslem propaganda, which carried all
before it, and Christian Missions, which advanced to
meet it, we shall now proceed to examine carefully in
the following pages, in order to determine if possible in
both the secret of their power.
The great success of Mohammedan propaganda is not
to be explained by the heathen being in favour of Islam.
The heathen does not like novelty. He is extremely
suspicious. He clings to the customs of his fathers.
The idea of adopting any one else's religion is in point
of fact as remote from his mind as the thought of giving
up any of his old cherished national customs.
Thus we find a strong antipathy for the Mohamme-
dans among the heathen in the interior of the island
of Sumatra. They are feared and hated. They are
looked upon as the oppressors of the people, because it
is well known how the Mohammedans treat the natives
whenever they have sufficient power.
The Malays on the coast of Borneo have fleeced the
Dajaks for centuries. When the Rhenish Mission was
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 11
opened in Borneo (1836), the missionaries found that
many of the Dajaks were in debt to Malay traders and
were in prison for debt. Formerly a great many slaves
were carried away from the island of Nias on the west
coast of Sumatra to the Mohammedan town of Achin,
where they were held in great contempt as a people.
They were said to be descended from a dog or to be in-
cestuous.
The Mohammedans have themselves to thank for
being so disliked. The people of the interior, who come
across Mohammedans on their travels or trade with
them oil the coast, suffer from their arrogance. They
are the sport of the children. " See, there go the stupid,
ignorant, dirty heathen, who only bathe once a week ! "
(The Koran even says (ix. 28) : " Oh ye believers, the
heathen are filth ! ") Moreover, the keen coast trader
overreaches the heathen in every possible way in busi-
ness. With good reason do the coast Mohammedans
bear the name of swindlers. It is no wonder that the
heathen have as little to do with Mohammedans as
possible.
The Mohammedan does not think of currying favour
with the heathen. On the contrary he wants as wide
a gulf as possible between them and himself. His laws
about food and purification serve him in good stead.
Throughout entire heathen districts people have a posi-
tive fear of Mohammedan mockery.
The heathen can conceive no greater folly than not
to eat swine's flesh. They also have their fun out of
it. On the other hand Mohammedans consider it
unspeakably low to eat swine, dogs and monkeys.
Washing the dead is repugnant to the heathen. The
Mohammedans, not without reason, declare the Batak
custom of leaving the dead often for years unburied to
be offensive. It is also revolting to the heathen that
Mohammedans often bury their dead without coffins,
because the better class Batak loves to be buried in a
coffin.
12 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
The ceremonial law is thus a hindrance to intercourse
between Mohammedans and heathen. To refuse an
invitation to a meal, for instance, offends the host.
And in other ways also the Mohammedan ruthlessly
tramples on sacred national customs. He does not
think of showing the customary courtesies to the heredi-
tary Batak chiefs on the coast. Many Mohammedan
customs are also offensive to the heathen. The Moham-
medan Bataks marry wives who according to Batak
ideas are their sisters, namely, women of their own tribe.
Moreover, the facility of divorce in Islam is repulsive
to many of the Bataks.
This brings us to the most fundamental reason for
their antipathy. Ancient custom made divorce difficult.
It was a case of a decree from the chiefs. Divorce
implies an insult to the tribe to which the wife belongs.
The political side of the matter when many marriages
have been contracted between one tribe and another has
tended to make chiefs permit divorce only as an excep-
tion. There is, therefore, the fear that Islam will annul
Batak marriage law. The chiefs know quite well what
will be the inevitable result. With the Batak marriage
law the tribal system stands or falls, and it alone main-
tains the power of the chiefs. Hence their opposition
to the laxity of Moslem marriage laws does not proceed
from moral motives. The chief is fighting for his own
power when he fights for the old marriage law.
This is the essential reason why the chief is against
any change in the religion of his fathers. Owing to the
close bond between civil and religious life, a change of
religion would endanger his position. Especially at
great sacrificial feasts the power of the chief makes
itself evident ; the Animistic religion has taught the
people to look upon the chief as a being especially
endowed with " soul stuff " (tondi). He therefore
receives many Divine honours. Who knows whether
the new religion will also give him this position ? Thus
the instinct of self-preservation makes the chiefs suspi-
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 13
cious of the new religion. They are afraid Islam will
cost them their following. Conversion to Islam means
to them renouncing their nationality. That Batak
Mohammedans no longer call themselves Batak but
Malay is regarded as a sad but inevitable result of con-
version. (The same holds good among the Dajaks of
Borneo ; when they become Mohammedan they call
themselves olo malaju, Malays ; and likewise in Celebes.)
*/* , The ancient origin of this antipathy is evident from
!Xavier's remark ^ that in Ambon the heathen would
rather be slaves than allow themselves to be Moham-
medans.- How then does it come about that these
peoples have gone over in such multitudes to Islam ? —
If Islam really intends to win the heathen, it is surely
remarkable that it makes such mock of them. It would
seem by no means to desire closer intercourse, to rather
make every effort to repel the heathen.
However, in reality the Mohammedan never loses
sight of his goal, namely the conversion of the heathen ;
he merely sets about attaining it in a different way
from Christian Missions, for instance. It is a mark of
great condescension to allow a heathen to become
a Mohammedan in this life. Recent converts to Islam
often used to tell me in Bandar that the Mohammedans
had a doctrine which forbids any one to prevent a
heathen from becoming Mohammedan as long as he
is ready to comply with the terms of admission. This
doctrine and this doctrine alone had induced the Moham-
medan teachers to make them Mohammedans. These
people therefore considered it a mark of special favour
that they were received into Islam.
According to Moslem ideas heathendom is accursed,
and Moslems are ordained either to extirpate or conquer
it. It is a pure act of mercy to allow a heathen to pur-
1 Cf. Letter of May 10, 1546.
* According to Dr. Walter Miller the aversion is still very
strong here and there also among the heathen tribes of West
Africa. Cf. Reich Christi, 1908, p. 152.
14 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
chase redemption from Mohammedan supremacy by
conversion to Islam. The thought of the ultimate Holy
War against unbelievers enters into the question.
The heathen is to be won not by love but by fear.
He must be impressed ; uncivilized peoples are known
to be attracted most by what impresses them. The
ruthless person makes a strong impression because the
heathen think that he would not make so bold without
power to correspond at his command. So the Moham-
medan does not care if the immediate effect of his beha-
viour towards the heathen is repellent. In the long run
the desire will be kindled in the heathen one day to be
able to behave in like manner, in other words himself
to become a Mohammedan. Thus Islam does accom-
plish its end. Fire and sword are spent ! Therefore
as ruthless an attitude towards unbelievers as possible
to inspire them with respect.
This is yielding to a natural impulse. The simple,
pork-eating heathen is uncongenial to the Mohammedan.
Why should he not give undisguised expression to the
fact ? It does not ultimately hinder propaganda. On
the contrary/ the dam once burst and a few high class
heathen once converted to Islam, there is then generally
no further delay. The chiefs see to it that the heathen
go to the wall in every possible way.
If Mohammedans and heathen meet at feasts, the
Mohammedans receive the meat, the heathen the hide
of the bullock. The distribution of the meat is however
made in strict order of precedence ; it is quite systematic,
those of highest rank receiving the hind steaks and the
juiciest roasts. A more drastic way there could hardly
be of showing the heathen their contempt than by this
distribution of meat. The non-Mohammedan is simply
placed on the same footing as slaves.
^ The contrast between this and the method of Christian
missionaries is obvious. Young native Christians have even
advised their missionaries to adopt a very lordly manner, it
being the best way of winning over the heathen.
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 15
In every possible way the heathen's position is made
intolerable. Many heathen become Mohammedan for
the sake of being buried. For Mohammedans do not
bury their heathen relations, or at least threaten not
to do so, and not to be properly buried is a disgrace and
renders entrance into the other world more difficult.
For the spirits of the ancestors will think the dead man
was of little account on the earth if it was not even
thought necessary to give him proper burial. The dead
man who is not buried with funeral rites may be driven
into ceaseless wandering. Buried with Mohammedan
rites, however, there is the prospect of being received
into the Mohammedan world of the dead.
Further, it is to the advantage of young people of
marriageable age to become Mohammedans. Non-
Mohammedan young men have difficulty in finding
wives. Also heathen girls show preference for Moham-
medan and therefore higher class youths. The Moham-
medan suitor is acceptable to Mohammedan and heathen
girls alike, whereas the heathen can at best hope to win
the hand of a heathen maiden. Thus in semi-Moham-
medan districts the state of things so promising for
Islam soon arises : the young people go over to Islam.
Moreover, forcible measures are by no means lacking.
Any Mohammedan will tell you that the Bataks and
Dayaks in Borneo must actually have been forced to
accept Islam. As long as the chiefs have not made up
their minds, there is no question of conversion to Islam.
But in time their distrust vanishes. They realize that
it is by no means so preposterous to bring the great
might, obviously denoted by the arrogance of Islam,
to bear upon their selfish ends, that Islam is really
an excellent undergirding for their always tottering
sovereignty. They realize what valuable counsellors
they will gain by having some of the higher teachers
at their courts.^ It all, however, absolutely depends
^ Similar considerations weigh with African chiefs, e.g. in
Togo Land.
IG THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
upon their own conversion. It is greatly to the chiefs'
advantage, when once they are converted, to have their
people behind them. It is better to have only one
religion in their territory. For their influence even in
heathendom rests essentially upon the religious opinions
of their subjects. No wonder that they even use force
in Islamizing the country.
Any one wishing to curry favour with his chief turns
Mohammedan. The chief shares in the religious emolu-
ments, because the Moslem teacher shares the religious
taxes with him. So it is to the chief's immediate detri-
ment to stand aloof from Islam. At this stage, there-
fore, of the Islamizing process, conversion is only to the
advantage of the ordinary person. Of a change of
conviction there is no question.
Work of a certain sort for the conversion of souls
does exist. Islam does not, however, maintain any
missionaries in our sense of the word in the Dutch East
Indies ; nor does one hear of any institutions aiming at
the conversion of the heathen. The saying that every
Moslem is a missionary is an exaggeration.
I have never heard of traders or teachers giving their
lives for the conversion of the heathen. On the con-
trary, dangerous regions are avoided.^ Traders seek
primarily their own advantage ; their work of conver-
sion is only done by the way, but it does altogether per-
tain to their material interest. It is painful to have to
eat with unclean heathen on their journeys, to stop at
villages where pigs run about under the sleeping place
in the hostelry. Also there is a warmer welcome from
one's fellow-believers and if necessary also protection.
Converts are not so ready to complain of high prices.
1 Mohammedan agitators do however often find their way
into independent territories. People with scores against them
and frequently dangerous criminals like to take refuge there.
They hire themselves out as sorcerers, champions, or even as
paid assassins. Doubtless their demand that people should be-
come Mohammedan for the most part meets with no response,
but they do at least disseminate Moslem charms.
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 17
A debtor who is behindhand can even be threatened in
the last resort with punishment in the Hereafter, and a
couple of lusty curses from the Koran overawe the
newly converted Mohammedan more quickly than who
knows what other threats the besotted heathen. The
recent convert has boundless respect for the man who
has kissed the sacred stone. The clothes-dealer dis-
poses more easily of his wares to Mohammedans. ^ He
soon impresses upon the convert that a true Moslem
should wear Malay, that is to say, Mohammedan dress.
How can a Moslem go on wearing his old handwoven
garments when the Batak women sometimes use hog's
lard in wearing ! A red fez and a white skull cap, such
as the teachers wear, are much more fitting for one's
young fellow-believer than the dirty head-cloth of the
heathen. Every one will salute him as a Malay when
he travels in a Mohammedan district. Hence the trader
has good reason for so dilating upon Islam and is quite
willing to sacrifice a couple of hours in instructing this or
that heathen in the elements of the new doctrine. But
this kind of evangelistic work cannot possibly be called
missionary work.^
Nevertheless, the religious motives of those who con-
vert the heathen must not be overlooked. They come
into the Mohammedan's salvation by works. Arabs,
usually so greedy for gold, have given chiefs money to
win them over to Islam. The conversion of the heathen
is a work of merit.
A Borneo Christian, called Suta Ono, tells the follow-
ing : " When I was in Banjermassin during the Wakong
^ The Arabs rate the Mohammedans if they buy nothing
from them " for their lack of religious feeling." They combine
with the religious teachers in fleecing the population and also
with the reigning princes. In Amboina these latter pay their
debts by making their subjects work for wages for the Arabs,
and these wages are often at less than a third of the ordinary
rate (de Vries).
2 Theological teachers have certainly gone from India,
Egypt, Mecca and Hadramaut to the Dutch East Indies, but
only when they had financial prospects for their journey.
C
18 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
War, I lodged with a Djaksa (inland judge). He and
others with him implored me to become a Mohammedan.
They said : ' If you will become a Mohammedan, God
will forgive us all our sins, because we have made you a
Mohammedan. So do it for our sakes ! ' "
Another kind of missionary work is also carried on
here and there. Well-known teachers sometimes make
expeditions into the districts bordering upon Mohamme-
dan regions. These districts have already been won
over to Islam by intercourse with traders. Itiner-
ant teachers have now to effect their complete con-
version and obtain as rich presents for themselves as
occasion permits.
The higher teachers send some of their subordinates
a little in advance of their own coming. These men are
most adept in preparing everything for the arrival of
their superiors.
Here is a missionary address such as the above-
mentioned Malim are in the habit of giving : — " We
have long been pupils of the Baleo and Kulipa (higher
teachers). We know exactly what kind of men they are.
They are blessed ; they are the favoured of the Lord.
Moreover, whatsoever they ask of God is immediately
granted. Hence they are called Ulama, that is to say,
they are not far from God. They do not work like you
do. Nevertheless, they have no lack of meat and drink.
Day and night food comes to them of its own accord,
brought by people whose name is unknown, whose form
has never been seen. Besides that many princes and
noble lords bring them gifts, some giving them hundreds,
even thousands of florins, buffalos, horses, cows, sheep,
fowls, bales of cloth, etc. These things are presented to
them because God has knocked at the door of men's
hearts to make them willing to give gifts (sidoka) to the
Baleo and Kulipa. They are men who truly believe in
God ; men of good heart, who do not strive after riches
or earthly possessions, and yet God grants them long life
and wealth. Day and night their heart departs not
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 19
from God, hence God is never far from their side. They
are, therefore, the representatives of the Prophet Mo-
hammed, appointed to instruct Mohammedans and to
protect them from all misfortune and from all evil both
here on the earth and at the Last Day. So whoever shall
accept the teaching of the Baleo and the Kulipa at the
mouth of us teachers shall enter into life in this present
world and obtain peace for all eternity.
" And further, quite an especial blessing and quite
especial wisdom has God granted these teachers, the
Baleo and the Kulipa ; no thought of man is at any time
sealed to them. Hence it behoves us to revere and to
be utterly sincere towards the Baleo. Because every
unkind word we utter about them is at once known to
them. Not a thought or desire of our hearts but they
know it. Hence, wherever we go, we must always keep
the Baleo and Kulipa in mind that no evil or misfortune
attend us. We must make a vow in our heart and say :
' If I accomplish my journey in good health, I will visit
the Malim and Lobe and ask them to take me to the
Baleo and Kulipa. Then I will make them a present :
a little money, or a few silver coins, or a buffalo, or a
goat, or a fowl, or needles with eyes.' Remember, my
friends, everything we have vowed to give, we must also
pay ; if we do not, future punishment awaits us.
" The greatest joy, however, that you can give the
Baleo and Kulipa is to hearken to the teaching of the
Malim and Lobe. Rest assured, it will bring you life
indeed. And the Kulipa and Baleo know beforehand
that you have the desire to obey them. For that very
reason we have come here amongst you ; it is not of our
own will ; we have not come of our own accord, the
Kulipa and Baleo have sent us. Because they knew
quite well before we arrived here that there are some in
your midst who are also to become Kulipa some day, and
Malim and Lobe. We need not tell you now, however,
who those people are. You will soon see once you begin
to study.
20 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
" When we started to come here amongst you, we re-
ceived a blessing from our teachers ; they said to us :
' He that receiveth you, receiveth us ; and he that
revileth you, revileth us. Set your hearts upon preach-
ing Islam and now depart ! ' Therefore, you, my friends,
treat us not despitefully. For it is written in the Book
of the Koran ; ' The earthly teachers of the Moslems,
such as the Baleo, KulijDa and Malim are to lead them
to Paradise, and they can help men to enter Heaven.
So be attentive and full of respect for us four. Rest
assured that if you give heed to our doctrine, you will
receive life in this present world and at that day, and
that your fellow-men will treat you with respect.' "
Then follow further particular laudations of the Kulipa
and Baleo. All manner of miracles are ascribed to them.
This address is typical of Mohammedan propaganda.
There is a great deal about the teachers themselves, but
little mention of God. The Christian missionary has to
fight against the heathen's inclination to cling to the
preacher of the Gospel ; he seeks to loosen his hold upon
his own person and to bring him into union with God.
Islam does the reverse. That the teachers' own covet-
ousness plays a great part in the matter does not strike
the heathen. The propagandist proceeds with great
assurance and makes great demands ; but the appeal
to the terrors of Hell and the bliss of Eternity breaks
down all opposition, nor is there any lack of earthly
happiness held out to their hearers.
Eschatological allusions recur over and over again ;
this seems to us extraordinary, because the heathen has
really no idea of what is meant by the Hereafter. But
Islam does not concern itself as to whether its message
is understood or not. This is evident from the wording
of its sermons. The great problem of Christian Missions
in their presentation of the Gospel, their struggle after
an expression of truth adequate to the content of the
Gospel and such as will at the same time be intelligible
to the people, does not exist for Islam. Without two
MOSLEM PROPAGANDA 21
thoughts on the subject Malay and Arabic turns of
speech, incomprehensible to the audience, are used in
preaching. The very effect desired from the preaching
is simply to overawe the people ! They love to hear a
speech embellished with foreign words. They feel
flattered that they are considered capable of understand-
ing this erudition ! The mysterious attracts them.
They think there must be something more behind these
expressions. They are accustomed from the very first
to hear things in religious discourse which they do not
understand. Thus from the beginning Mohammedan
missionary instruction by its form and content has a
stupefying influence upon the religious perceptions of
the heathen. How incorrect it is to say that Christian
missionary preaching is disregarded because not under-
stood. Just because it is understood, it is rejected ;
whereas they prize Moslem preaching because they do not
understand it.
If the visit is successful, if the people are willing to
become Mohammedans, the chief looks round for a
suitable teacher for his village. Frequently the chief
himself sends a young relative to some teacher in the
neighbourhood, so that he may in this way secure the
post, so lucrative, especially at first, for a member of his
own family. The elementary instruction of the new
converts now begins. The outward step is made easy
for the heathen. No proof is required of the sincerity of
his faith, of his knowledge of the law or of his faithful-
ness in religious observance. The repetition of the
creed in Arabic makes a man a member of Islam.
The people do not generally learn the meaning of the
Arabic formulas at all ; they must not be divulged, say
the teachers. Only when the people have duly com-
mitted the words to memory and have shown that they
have become possessed of them, " as the body is pos-
sessed of the blood," and, above all, when they are ready
to pay a proper fee, do they receive a certain measure
of enlightenment.
22 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
The Bataks therefore say : " The Mohammedans are
Hke the snake, which first swallows and then tastes its
food." The snake greedily swallows the frog it has
caught and then rolls its tongue as though it were
tasting what it has eaten. In some districts the people
are sprinkled beside running water with lemon juice and
from that time onwards called Mohammedans. For
this initiation some payment must be made, either in
money {4s. or 55.) or in cloth with some head of cattle.
The teacher is invited to a sacred meal.
There is no hurry in stopping heathen practices. Only
the laws about food are insisted upon as far as possible
and in particular the keeping of pigs ceases at once.
Mohammedan dress is preferred, but as regards these
external demands Islam forgoes at first any hard and
fast rules.
Is it possible that such a superficial conversion of
the heathen to Islam implies an inner change of heart
such as will grip whole peoples ?
All great religious movements are only to be explained
by the conjunction of various factors ; the question is
what factors come to the aid of Islam in its triumphal
march across the world ?
Chapter II
THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT
OF the 230-250 million Mohammedans in the world,
some 161 million live under Christian rule. The
uncivilized peoples in special danger from Mohammedan
propaganda are either already under the rule of some
Colonial Power or lie within the sphere of some European
State's influence.
One might think that this diffusion of the Christian
Powers would have arrested Mohammedan propaganda.
We have already seen, however, that the coming of Islam
to the Dutch East Indies largely coincided with the
coming of the Colonial Government. European rule
seems, therefore, to have furthered Moslem propaganda.
Now and then this has been actually the case under
Dutch rule. For instance. Dr. Schreiber, who was a
missionary in Sumatra from 1867-73, says that the
treatment of Mohammedans at the hands of the Govern-
ment was such that they complacently declared :
" Allah has brought these islands under Dutch rule that
they may become Mohammedan."
This is an especially noteworthy fact for those who
think that Islam knows nothing of missions except at the
point of the sword. For, of course, every Colonial
Government has proclaimed religious liberty and put
an end to Mohammedan forcible methods of conversion.
The Fulbe, who propagated Islam in West Africa, found-
ing various states and carrying on a notorious slave-trade,
are forbidden that trade nowadays, and yet the peaceable
23
24. THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
absorption of West Africa by Islam only makes the
greater progress. In East Africa too, the supremacy of
the Arabs is broken — but there also we find Islam quietly
on the increase.
To lay the entire blame for the expansion of Islam
upon the Colonial Government is superficial. The
position of any Colonial Government with regard to
the religion of a subject people is extraordinarily difficult.
To say that the Government is neutral in all religious
matters is saying really nothing. For strict neutrality
is not feasible. To begin with, because the Government
must put an end to all cruel and unjust practices. When
the Government forbids human sacrifices, head-hunting
and cannibalism, it thereby prohibits heathen cults, y
When it substitutes a regular system of law for the so-
called " judgment of God," it does violence to sacred
memorial custom. No Colonial Government can be
accused of not sufficiently sparing the feelings of the
natives when it abolishes these abuses. Even when the
Government makes a direct attack upon some heathen
rite in order to stop cruelty to animals, for instance,
we cannot but approve. When in the interests of the
people it curtails the number of days which used to be
wasted upon festivals and makes roads right through
sacred groves where every tree was taboo, we cannot but
rejoice. It is thus that the country is opened up.
But we must realize the effect of these measures upon
the native. They strike him to the heart, his most
hallowed feelings are wounded, the sacred tradition of
his fathers is transgressed with impunity. I repeat it is
unavoidable, even with the utmost conciliation ; only
we must not expect the native to believe that the Euro-
pean Government is neutral in religious matters. Nor
does the native in the least expect it should be. Because
the idea of neutrality in questions of faith is really so
altogether foreign to him, that he considers it only natural
for the white man, his conqueror, to lay hands also upon
his religion. He has the power to do so, why should he
THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 25
not exercise his prerogative ? He is glad to be left
otherwise unmolested, to be allowed to offer sacrifices
and observe feasts. That the purpose of the Colonial
Government is simply to suppress horrors, the native
does not instinctively understand.
The fact that the State is not and cannot be neutral
towards the religion of the natives has two far-reaching
consequences for Moslem propaganda. To begin with,
the heathen misunderstands the neutrality which is exer-
cised towards Islam. Whilst the Colonial Government
makes bold to attack several points in connexion with
the old religion of the country, the religious feelings of
the Mohammedans are spared in every possible way.
It strikes the heathen as favouritism, and he comes to
the conclusion, and Mohammedan merchants do what
they can, as they travel, to foster the impression, that
the Colonial Government is afraid of Islam, or even is
itself Mohammedan at heart. For only those enjoy
favour, thinks the heathen, of whom one is afraid or
with whom one has some bond of kinship.
In the Dutch East Indies it has repeatedly happened
that heathen have questioned Government officials as
to the attitude of the Government towards Islam. The
official has answered, without always weighing the im-
port of his words, and perhaps even through the medium
of a Mohammedan interpreter, that it is a matter of
indifference to the Government, whether a man is
heathen, Mohammedan or Christian. Such a thing is
incredible to the heathen. If he knows that the Govern-
ment is Christian, he does not understand why it should
not at least commend its faith. That nevertheless the
Government should of course maintain a neutral position
in matters of religion goes without saying, but may it
be with due regard for the want of comprehension on
the part of the heathen, otherwise it will work into the
hands of Islam !
The heathen, therefore, thinks that the Government
does not feel strong enough to fly in the face of Islam.
26 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
And always being inclined to ally himself with the
stronger of two sides because the stronger will give him
better protection, he says to himself :'v" the European
attacks our religion because he is afraid of us, he spares
the Mohammedan religion because he is afraid of it. That
the Colonial Government itself is Mohammedan, and so
to a certain degree ' akin ' to the Mohammedan, however
strange such an idea may seem to us, is an error
widespread among the heathen."
I often met this idea in Eastern Sumatra. Even
among the Sibalungun tribe I was at first continually
obliged to assure them that I was not a Mohammedan.
I also often had to contradict the statement of Mecca
pilgrims that the Colonial Government desires the con-
version of the people to Islam. Dr. Schreiber says the
same. In the Padang bolak (Central Sumatra) the
people used to tell me I was a disguised Mohammedan,
and that a certain missionary called St. — — had read
the Koran on his deathbed. All the missionaries were
said to possess the Koran, to know it, so that in case
of accident they might die " resting upon it."
The position of the Colonial Government is rendered
still more difficult by the fact that Islam itself is a politi-
cal power and therefore knows really nothing of political
or religious neutrality. As a matter of necessity one
must, unfortunately, bear with the present state of things
and submit to European rule. This is not normal ; it is
only a testing time which Allah in His inscrutable wis-
dom has brought upon the faithful.
The normal relation between the Moslem and the
Christian even to-day is that of conqueror and con-
quered. As long as this is not established, Holy War is
a sacred obligation. The ninth Sura of the Koran is a
battle-cry against unbelievers, although many are of
the opinion that such passages refer only to non-Moham-
medan inhabitants of Arabia. Moreover, war is to
be waged by no means against the heathen only, but
also against Christians and Jews, these being implied by
THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 27
" those to whom the Scriptures have been dehvered." —
" Fight against them who beheve not in God nor in the
last day, and forbid not that which God and His apostle
have forbidden, and profess not the true religion of those
unto whom the Scriptures have been delivered until
they pay tribute by right of subjection and they be
reduced low." Whatever may have been the original
meaning of the Koran does not matter, because even
Mohammedan theologians understand this Sura as
ordaining Holy War in all places and at all times without
distinction.
Hatred of all non-Mohammedans is not only the in-
exorable attitude of the Koran, where non-Mohammedans
are cursed with wearisome repetition, but also that of
Islam as a whole and even in its initial stages. And
it is but a short step from this to Holy War.
The frequent risings in the Colony make it evident
that the idea of Holy War has struck deep root among
the peoples of the Dutch East Indies. It has always
been Mecca pilgrims who have roused the popula-
tion.
The hope of plunder has always accompanied the
religious motive in Islam. This is what makes Holy
War so attractive to peoples accustomed to war and
plunder.
A further obstacle in the maintenance of strict neutra-
lity is the Pan-Moslem idea, that peculiar revival of
political and religious hopes. Everywhere in the Dutch
East Indies, the Sultan of Turkey is regarded as the lord
of all the faithful, the Caliph, the representative of the
Prophet. He therefore incarnates the Pan-Moslem
hope of the union of all Moslems.
Whether or not the Sultan has a right to consider
himself the lord of all the faithful is not a question of
practical politics. He may actually have as little right
to the title as several other princes in Morocco and India,
who also call themselves Caliphs, i.e., successors to the
Prophet. It is a case such as often occurs in Islam of
28 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
something having become possible which in theory is,
strictly speaking, impossible.
Even heathen tribes know about a phantastic, glori-
ous prince of Stamboul (Rajah Stambul). The secret
hope that he will one day appear makes it easier for the
Mohammedan to go on quietly bearing the rule of
Christian Europeans in the meantime. There is also com-
fort in the prospect of Paradise. " The very oppression
of your condition," says the Mecca pilgrim to the im-
patient believer, " is a token that it will one day fare
better with you. Even if in this life white people are
cleverer and more powerful than we, in eternity they are
fuel of hell." But the IMecca pilgrim knows something
better than such promises as to the Hereafter : even in
this present time God has had mercy upon Islam and
given it a mighty Head in the Sultan of Turkey. He is
the very first prince in Europe; all the other Christian
States are subject to him ; they all, therefore, have am-
bassadors at his Court ; even the Emperor of Germany
pays him homage with presents. So the people say.
The Sultan exports railways and telephones and tele-
graphs, because all these things are made in his Empire.
He will one day destroy the Christian Government by a
Holy War.
The Indonesian has nothing of the fanaticism of
the Senusi order in the Sudan, which called the Sultan
unclean by reason of his intercourse with unbelievers.
On the contrary, that the Sultan promotes Western
civilization and has dealings with the Great Powers shows
that he has received the Divine vocation to be the pro-
tector of Islam.
The place of the Sultan in the Mohammedan mind
is doubtless one result of active intercourse with Mecca.
It does not, however, rest upon Arabian influence, be-
cause the Arabs have frankly no love for the Sultan and
consider themselves the first nation in the world. The
Porte probably fosters these ideas among the nations.
In 1898 the Dutch press called attention to the fact ;
THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 29
but the Minister for Foreign Affairs stated in reply on
December 6, 1898, that the Porte had always been irre-
proachable in this matter. Asbeek-Brusse makes
the remarkable assertion that children have been carried
from the Dutch East Indies to Constantinople to be
educated at the expense of the Sultan ; this is forbidden
in India. Through the Turkish consulate in Batavia,
the Mohammedans have been urgently requested to
send (?) their children without fail. Spat says that
efforts are made to induce princes also to undertake the
journey to the Turkish capital. At all events, the Cen-
sorship, otherwise so strict in Constantinople, was not
exercised upon the press which advocated these ideas.
Asbeek-Brusse says that in 1898 the Turkish paper
Malumat, published an incendiary article on the oppres-
sion of Mohammedans by the Christian nations. The
Malay peoples were openly incited to throw off the rule
of the unbelievers, because very soon the Crescent
would triumph over heathenism and Christianity. The
paper was suppressed, but other publications of a like
nature were circulated from Singapore.
At all events, the hopes set upon the Sultan undermine
the sovereignty of the European Powers over their
Mohammedan subjects. These political conditions
within Islam account for the extraordinary caution of
various Governments.
A wavering policy towards Islam is fraught with
danger. There were times when the Dutch Colonial
Government forbade conversion to Islam. During last
century, however, there was a long period when all
manner of friendliness was used to propitiate Islam.
Holland founded the magnificent mosque of Kota Rajah
in Sumatra. Not without reason has the sarcastic
remark been made that the Mohammedans have only
used it to conspire against the Dutch. On other occa-
sions, also, the Dutch have given money towards the
erection of mosques, e.g., in Borneo.
Many Europeans sympathize with Islam in their desire
30 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
to recognize all religions as equal and also in their in-
genuous admiration for the Koran. They idealize this
mysterious religion which they only know from a dis-
tance. They do not know that Islam in practice is
quite different from the Islam of the Koran ; they for-
get that the Koran is not the controlling force in Islam,
but rather the traditions and commentaries of the
schoolmen. Indifferent themselves about religion, they
are impressed by Mohammedan piety, the superficiality
of which they do not gauge at all.
We are continually told that the simple religion of
the Mohammedan — we have yet to see how complicated
it is — is more suited to the Nature peoples than dog-
matic incomprehensible Christianity, although no more
dogmatic religion can be conceived than Islam. The
native is said not to be ready for Christianity, its ethical
demands are too high ;. Islam is content with the attain-
able ; and yet it is perfectly obvious that it is moral
laxity which has enervated the Near East.'
These people have, in fact, no sort of desire for the
conversion of the heathen to Christianity. Sentiment
is a stronger factor here than is generally supposed.
Many a European with his strong race prejudice does not
like the native to have the same religion as the European.
Now if Government officials share these views, it is
easily to be understood they will allow themselves to be
influenced thereby in their official policy. The native
soon notices what his master thinks upon these questions.
He will know how to make the best of a favourable oppor-
tunity.
Even without any such intention on the part of the
Colonial Government, many of its institutions promote
Islam, for instance, the up-country Government staff,
the official language, and lastly, the Government school.
The Government staff is recruited from among Moham-
medans who have attended the Government school.
They often enjoy high esteem among the rest of the
population. Hand in hand with the Moslem pedlers,
THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 31
these subordinate Mohammedan officials and soldiers
often carry on open propaganda. If that is forbidden,
they give the heathen a strong impression of the power
of Islam by the very superiority of their social standing.
They make the heathen curious to know more about the
Mohammedan form of worship, for of course, as officials
and soldiers they cannot be prevented from performing
their religious duties, e.g., their so-called daily prayer
with its prescribed formulas and ceremonial is all per-
formed in public.
" The policeman appears in a village ; he has a letter
in his hand with ' the great lord's ' seal ; unopposed he
carries away captive the powerful chief of the village
upon whom no one has ever before dared to lay hands.
The man who dares to do this is a Mohammedan. At
the dreaded tribunal there stands beside the Government
official the interpreter clad in white, in whom the official
places every confidence, taking counsel from him, so
the native hears, in all that concerns the land and its
people. In the background sits the secretary writing
the report of the case with flying pen, and reading aloud
the judgment of the great lord in stentorian tones. And
all these mighty folk are Mohammedan, as also is the
Moslem public vaccinator who has power to indict every
recalcitrant father that objects to the new-fangled theory
being practised on his child ! Without opposition the
offender is committed to the jailor, who receives good
wages and has a good position. What a powerful
religion it must be to make such powerful people of its
adherents ! "
Of far-reaching importance for Moslem propaganda
has been the fact that the Colonial Government has
used the Malay language, which ranks as the second
sacred language in the Archipelago, as its means of com-
munication with the native. It is written for the most
part in Arabic character. Islam in the Dutch East Indies
is thus bound up with a certain language, just as it is
in East Africa with Suaheli, in India with Hindustani,
32 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
in the Sudan with Haussa. For the higher class native
it has therefore become necessary to learn Malay ; it is
the language of civilization and the new era, but it can
only be acquired from Mohammedans. Mohammedan
traders in Celebes arrange for language lessons for young
heathen from a Malay teacher. In East Africa the
young people go to the coast, learn Arabic and Suaheli,
and then set up as teachers on their return.
Hence with the arrival of the Colonial Government,
the Mohammedans have often become the teachers of
the people. The language meant learning Malay, that
is to say, Mohammedan customs. . Of special moment
is the learning of the Arabic character. Even in Xavier's
time, the inhabitants of the Moluccas became Moham-
medan in order to learn it — in the same way as recently
the negroes of East Africa. One can thus at least read
the Koran. It gives a great impulse to Arabian influ-
ence. For by this means Malay literature, which is
printed in Arabic character and is at the same time
Mohammedan, is made accessible to the people. Every-
thing which pours in upon them from the outer world is
suffused with the Arabian Mohammedan spirit, and the
learning of Arabic is made the more easy for them.
The Malay language and the Arabic character have
strengthened the heathen's belief in the Dutch East
Indies that he can only become civilized by means of
Islam.
Like Suaheli in East Africa, Malay has established
itself as the lingua franca of the Archipelago ; nothing
can now be done in the matter. Only it is desirable
that the use of Arabic character should be more and
more curtailed in favour of Romanized, and the vernacu-
lars assiduously cultivated ; in the Batak country this
is already being done. Arabic character has also been
abolished in East Africa and the result is decidedly
unfavourable to Islam.
The non-religious Government school means the fur-
ther strengthening of Islam, especially when the instruc-
THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 38
tion is in the hands of Mohammedan native teachers.
It is, of course, always superior to the Mohammedan
Koran schools, which make the scholars mere machines
without wills of their own in the hands of their Arab-
souled teachers and hence a very hotbed for Pan-Moslem
fanaticism.
The Government school does certainly bring enlighten-
ment, it gives the scholar the European conception of
the world ; the scholar hears about the States of Europe,
about European industry and technical art. The
present situation in politics might be thought to surely
demonstrate the superiority of the Christian Powers
sufficiently well to cure these young people of their
Pan-Moslem Utopia. Natural science and mathematics
are being taught. We may surely expect that this will
deliver the young people from superstition and arm
them against the foolery by which the Mohammedan
higher teachers continue to ensnare the common people.
Unfortunately, however, the influence of school is for
the most part illusive. In the Dutch East Indies the
people call these schools Malay, i.e., Mohammedan.
Because the teachers are Mohammedan, the knowledge
learned there, including all the technical instruction,
arithmetic, etc., is regarded as Mohammedan wisdom.
The heathen know nothing about the teachers having
been trained in Normal Schools conducted by Euro-
peans. Hence the non-religious school deepens the
impression upon the heathen that Islam is the only
herald of civilization.
The heathen pupils are laughed at. In the end the
only thing left for them to do is to become Mohamme-
dan On leaving school the young people have no desire
to plough their father's field by hand ; they consider
themselves too well educated. Yet positions as officials
and secretaries, in which they might exercise their gifts,
are only for the few. There is, however, a prospect of a
good career for loungers in the comfortable berth of a
Mohammedan teacher. So after studying for a while
D
34 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
under accredited teachers, they turn the knowledge
they have acquired in the Government school to the
advantage of Mohammedan propaganda. Family rela-
tionships give them easy entrance into heathen districts ;
as " scholars " they at once command great respect,
and their orations on cleverly chosen subjects and skil-
fully adorned with tit-bits of secular knowledge, duly
impress their hearers. Thus the non-religious Govern-
ment schools all unconsciously educate our Moslem
agitators.
Such men also frequent Mecca. They gain more
from the instruction received there than the average
pilgrim ; they sometimes even stay there a considerable
time as students. On their return home these young
people then form the mainstay of the learned profession
among their own people, and it is surely a very ominous
fact that the foundation of their whole influence consists
in education they receive at the non-religious Govern-
ment school.
Finally, the very road making of the Colonial Govern-
ment opens up the country to these men. \ In Sumatra,
for instance, it was simply the trackless forests of the
western mountains and the marshy jungles of the East
that for centuries prevented the Mohammedan traders
and in their train Mohammedan propaganda from
making their way into the interior. Nowadays the
Moslem merchant with his packhorse penetrates into
the interior by a broad road in the East, and in the West
by wonderful narrow pathways cut in the side of the
mountains. No battlecry strikes him with terror, no
fierce robber, but merely a chief, always to be pacified
with a ransom, covers him from the brushwood. Indeed,
in case of necessity the Government forces the laggard
debtor to pay his debts. The Colonial Government
must open up the country to civilization. It is not to
blame if the agents of civilization also for the most part
wear the white turban, the badge of the worldly-wise
Mecca pilgrim. Modern civilization, in fact, not only
THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 35
opens up the way for the messenger of the Gospel to
the hearts of the nations, it hkewise serves the anti-
Christian rehgions of the world. Modern technical
knowledge and discovery, Colonial protection and
Colonial civilization have not only opened up the globe
for the missionary enterprise ; these things also turn
to the advantage of our mighty rivals in the conquest
of the heathen soul. Comfortably, on European steam-
ships, the pilgrim journeys to the Holy City on well-
kept Government roads, propagandists and dervishes
take their way from Mecca. Egyptian reciters of the
Koran instruct eager boys in Northern Sumatra in the
lofty art of reciting the Koran ; the peaceable vendor
of amulets, the transcriber of the Koran, the astute
teacher of rhetoric and magic, protected as they travel
by the strong hand of the Colonial Government, are
carrying the Arab spirit and Arabic wisdom to the ends
of the earth.
Chapter III
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION
THE breaking in of a European power upon the
seclusion of an uncivilized people causes a revolu-
tion in every department of that life which we can
scarcely exaggerate.
Moreover, the native sees that a new age is upon him,
that his old quiet life is gone beyond recall. The Colonial
Government, with wise conservatism may spare national
characteristics, withholding for a time every trenchant
regulation for the betterment of the people ; but the
appearance of the Government always means a new
era, the opening up on all hands of new perspectives for
the heathen. His political life, the autonomy of the tribe,
as also the tyranny of the chiefs come under European
control. Is that to the advantage of the coloured man
or not ? None can tell.
Economically, life undergoes complete remodelling.
The modest home trade of village markets becomes
international commerce. At one stroke money and
produce receive entirely new values. Worthless things
such as the sap of certain trees become very valuable,
e.g., indiarubber. Objects hitherto valuable, such as
homespun thread or garments or handmade weapons
depreciate enormously. The native faces the new age
like an infant just beginning to see. He finds himself
in a wide unknown world ; but he has not even the
power to focus individual objects. Intellectual achieve-
ments, technical wonders pass him by unheeded ; world
36
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION 37
points of view open up before him ; and on all hands
the native, especially the intelligent better class native,
says to himself : what is new, what is coming, concerns
me. The dull mass of the people, it is true, is indifferent
to the new age, as long as it brings them no heavier
burden of manual labour. I am here referring to the
intelligent leaders of the people, for they alone come
into account in such movements as the conversion of a
people to Islam. The native must therefore come to
some decision in the light of his new impressions, other-
wise they will overwhelm and annihilate him.
No wonder that uncivilized peoples welcome at such
times any one from whom they may expect harbourage
from the swelling tide of the new age. Islam is a pro-
tection of this kind.
Political independence is threatened, or rather lost
in the European invasion. The native then learns,
indeed often without entering the conflict at all, his
complete powerlessness. What forces these Europeans
have at their command ! He sees the long range of
their rifles, he hears the thunder of their guns, he stands
amazed before the iron colossus in the harbour, with a
secret shudder he realizes the achievements of steam
and electricity, the " fire- waggon " and the " wire-
letter " strike him dumb ! The Government official
can find his way about everywhere ; from his " pictures
of the country " (maps) he knows names, roads and
rivers better than the native himself, who is only ac-
quainted with those within the confines of his own tribe
and knows anything beyond only vaguely from hearsay.
The searching eye of the European thus penetrates
secrets which hitherto he alone knew.
His knowledge avails him nothing with the European.
More and more he recognizes the latter's superior clever-
ness, coupled with mighty energy. " What will become
of us ? We are powerless before these ' white eyes.' " —
Then the trader appears in the village. In the quiet
evening hour the troubled native unburdens his heart
38 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
to the Mohammedan teacher, and the crafty Mecca
pilgrim pours forth counsel. He tells him, as a brown
man his fellow, of the other great power which binds
the nations together and unites them in the brotherly
bond of faith. He shows by many examples that even
the white man trembles before this mysterious power.
Why no European official would dare to interfere with
their religious concerns. The chief sees the point ; if
he does not wish to become a blind tool in the hand of
the European he has but one resource, refuge in Islam,
the religion of the brown man. At least one thing,
religion, is thus rescued from the irksome control of
the white lord and at the same time a faint political
hope is awakened ! So the political pressure of the new
age, the strong attraction of the brown man for his
brown brother, his racial instinct, drive him into the
camp of the Crescent.
The only possible way of preserving his nationality
that presents itself is an alliance with Islam. This
political nationalist motive, which so often serves as
the forerunner of Moslem propaganda, calls all the more
for attention because it eludes as far as possible the
spying glance of the European and the Colonial official
in particular. We are dealing now with the native's
most intimate self, with his tenderest feelings, which he
instinctively keeps hidden from the foreigner. Are
they not utterly beyond his comprehension ? For what
is so strange to the native in the new age is of course the
atmosphere in which the European has grown up, in
which his soul lives and moves. The European laughs
at him because he cannot understand new things. The
heathen, however, knows no science which is not at the
same time sorcery ; everything he does not understand
forthwith transcends the bounds of the natural ; the
incomprehensible is supernatural. He does not know
whether he has to deal with natural or supernatural
forces in the case of European civilization. The equi-
librium of his inner self is disturbed by the new age.
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION 39
In this uncertainty of soul Islam seems a very strong-
hold of peace, for conversion to Islam is primarily
related to the vital concerns of the people. Islam offers
salvation for one's innermost self, one's soul, under the
very eyes of the unpleasant ruler. A domain is re-
served into which European wisdom and modern techni-
cal knowledge do not penetrate, the national individu-
ality in the shroud of a new religion.
And further : Islam parades before the people as the
power which they can turn against the European.
The Pan-Moslem ideal is an important method of Mos-
lem propaganda ; it embodies the hope of the brown
race for freedom from European supremacy.
The extent to which Pan-Moslem ideas have gained
footing in the Dutch East Indies is evident from the
fact that every wave of political and religious agitation
in Islam as a whole is felt there. Thus in 1895, at the
time of the Armenian persecution, Mohammedans in
North Mandeling declared that the Christians in the
Batak country should be treated in exactly the same
way. In 1904, when many Mohammedans set all
manner of hopes upon the Russo-Japanese war, the
speedy expulsion of the Dutch from Sumatra was the
topic of eager conversation among the Mohammedan
Bataks on the East coast of Sumatra. Indian news-
papers had brought the news at that time that Moham-
medans in India had addressed a petition to the Emperor
of Japan that he would place himself at the head of
the Mohammedans and drive all the Europeans out of
Eastern Asia. At that time people otherwise quite
ignorant of politics often asked questions about the
state of things in Japan.
The strength of the Pan-Moslem hope of the union
of all the faithful under one lord, who shall be a true be-
liever, is not diminished by the many Mohammedans in
the Dutch East Indies who not only submit of necessity
to Dutch rule, but even recognize the blessing of a
European Government ; such in particular are the
40 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
officials in assured positions, who look forward to
small pensions in their old age. Even among the
common people there is many a one frankly grateful to
the Government for having delivered him from the
monstrous injustice of his Mohammedan oppressors.
But it is well to be on one's guard against such assertions.
Islam takes every opportunity of making the Euro-
pean believe that the friendship of the Colonial power
is its supreme concern. For instance, at the time of the
Coronation of the Queen of Holland, on September 12,
1898, Seyd Othman, a famous descendant of the Prophet
in Batavia, offered a prayer for the Queen. He was
criticized for having done so, but defended on February
27, 1899, by the famous Seyd Salim Ibu Ahmed of
Habban in Arabia. The latter closed his defence by
saying that the prayer was to be interpreted as an
attempt, for reasons of expediency from the Moslem
point of view, to conciliate the unbelievers by overtures
of friendship. " God, Who follows the stolen glance
and the secrets of the mind, knows what is in the heart
of His servants " (an allusion to Koran xl. 20). This
whole prayer, evidently from these last words, only
aimed at throwing dust in the eyes of the Europeans.
For the present the Europeans do certainly possess
some kind of secret magic, but some day they will meet
their fate. Meanwhile let a man prepare himself for
the future turn of affairs by acquiring supernatural
powers (ilmu). For God, so say the teachers of magic,
has set at the disposal of the faithful certain magic
powers by which they will one day shake off the rule of
the whites. God will most surely one day end the
unnatural state of things in which His faithful endure
the rule of the Kafir (unbelievers). Only first there
must be sufficient magic abroad among the people.
Besides political weakness, social inferiority ! Con-
tact with European civilization at once shows the heathen
the low standing of his race. The native has no idea that
our civilization has a history. That the European also
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION 41
lived in the wilderness once upon a time like himself,
that he carried on crude warfare and was quite illiterate
is incomprehensible to him. He considers himself
neglected. Islam, so he thinks, will raise the despised
races in the scale of civilization.
How attractive it seems to enter a community where
there is room for the neglected. These social reasons
of course play quite a different role again in India, the
land of the caste system : the poor Hindu of Travancore,
who must leave the path at the approach of a Brahmin
lest the latter be defiled, welcomes Islam with joy with
its Gospel of equality. The smart coast trader calls
the heathen who accepts the Faith his brother. After
his conversion he receives instead of cynical contempt
a brotherly welcome. To be a Moslem recompenses
the brown man for the contempt he has suffered in his
intercourse with the whites.
Several powerful motives now come into play as in-
centives. Why does he apply to the Moslem teacher in
whom he formerly placed little confidence ? It is the
attraction of the brown man for his brown brother. He
hopes to find more understanding in him than in the
white man who at present stands so aloof from the brown
man. The brown skin of the Moslem propagandist is his
note of introduction which every brown man can read.
How well the Mohammedan trader knows how to
impress the heathen. His up-to-date, clean attire does
its part. What worldly wisdom he shows even in deal-
ing with the redoubted chief. What all has he not
seen — foreign countries, cities and peoples !
The astute merchant thus becomes the young people's
ideal. He cuts a rather different figure from the old,
timorous, long-winded village veterans. No doubt
the trader is an arch-deceiver, who takes every oppor-
tunity of making the best of villagers, backwoodsmen
and dull peasants. That enhances his attraction how-
ever, there is the hope of learning such artful devices
from him.
42 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
A few keen, alert young men are glad to accompany
the trader. They help him in selling his goods ; they
are of incalculable value to him. He takes advantage
of their extensive family connexions. His numerous
following gives him great importance, for the greater his
following the better his social standing ! The young
men are receptive to everything new and imbibe worldly
and heavenly wisdom from their new master.
This intercourse with the trader also satisfies other
desires of the new age : the craving for money and educa-
tion. In the old days money was of little use, hence the
native lacked business capacity. It is different nowa-
days : business is coming into being. In the old days
a man lived on the proceeds of his land, dressed in home-
spun of his own weaving or a modest loincloth of bark
from his own trees. Nowadays there is a flutter of
dainty, many-coloured, airy garments. Expensive as
we may consider them, they are cheap to the natives
in comparison to homespun and home-dyed cloths,
the primitive production of which by home industry is
costly and occupies much time. On the other hand the
old-fashioned clothes were certainly more durable.
Nowadays one requires a new coat every couple of
months. Whereas the old-fashioned cloths were hard
to wash, the new-fashioned ones are white as snow with
a due application of soap. Every new necessity costs
money !
The very first innocent match in the native's tobacco
pouch is the herald of this new age ; it will ere long have
ousted the stone and flint, and even if his more conserva-
tive wife still keeps up the old custom of running from
house to house in the early morning to beg a burning
chip somewhere to light her wood fire with much blow-
ing and wiping of eyes, she also will soon be paying her
tribute to the new age and take to using " fire-wood."
But " fire- wood " costs money, the burning chip costs
nothing. The new age has developed needs, it makes
imperious demands upon the native to fill his empty
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION 43
pockets with hard cash. The desire for money is not
mere avarice, the earning of money is a law of the new
age. " Why has the trader so much money, when he
really only takes nice easy journeys from village to
village, and why have we none ? Is it perhaps because
he is a Mohammedan ? Well, we will become what he
is, we will turn Mohammedan, so that we may be rich
like he is ! " And the trader takes good care not to
betray the fact that the secret of his wealth is over-
reaching the heathen in his simplicity. He assures
them "It is the gift of Allah which brings us luck
(rasoki), as it does to every true Moslem ! "
The only way, they think, to make economic progress
is to be converted to Islam. Hitherto the native has
simply brought a little forest produce into market and
exchanged it at a low price for necessities of life such
as salt and iron, in fact he has been merely a porter
and an always overcharged consumer. Now he can be
at once salesman and buyer, importer and exporter, if
only, as the new-world trader says, he has " good luck
by the favour of Allah."
Since the coast trade is for the most part in the hands
of Mohammedans, one must become a Mohammedan
to enter trade. To be a Moslem means world citizen-
ship. The Mohammedan Batak travels along the coast
of Sumatra and lays in his stock at Mohammedan
Malay stores in Padang. What heathen would have
dared to do that ! He goes to Achin in the north and
crosses from Eastern Sumatra to Penang or Singapore.
Everywhere Islam gives him open doors for business,
as one of the faithful he is everywhere welcome ! Of
course he is often cheated, especially at first. He is
as yet ignorant of the fact that not every sacred oath
by the Name of Allah and the Prophet is a guarantee
against trickery. But in time his wits are sharpened,
he learns all the curses and oaths of his new fellow-be-
lievers, and later on uses them to good purpose among
his own people where he is still their master in craftiness.
44 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
On the plane of economics, therefore, great world-
wide perspectives open out before the astonished heathen,
the moment he accepts the new religion with its universal
bond between the nations. His entrance upon the
field of economics, his part in international commerce,
even within modest limits, makes education and know-
ledge imperative. The political situation has already
shown this.
The European is educated, that is why he could
conquer us, so thinks the heathen, for the European is
less robust physically than we. It is not physical
superiority which makes the European powerful. Nor
his cunning. Every native considers himself craftier
than the European, and not without reason. The
European is too honest to be crafty, says the native.
The European has conquered by his education ; the
natives realize knowledge is power and ignorance is
weakness. Education procured the policeman, the
secretary and the Government official their positions
of trust. Of course, the education within their reach.
Any one who can read, write and count is educated.
The native has no idea of aspiring to European educa-
tion. The simple education of the Moslem he does,
however, consider attainable. Hence the Moslem alone
comes into his calculations as a medium of civiliza-
tion.
Thus, in the transition to the new age Islam presents
itself as a sympathetic counsellor to the illiterate
heathen. It is to the heathen's advantage in every way
to become a Mohammedan. The aim of the heathen is
not only to deliver themselves from slavery, to gain
favour with the faithful, obtain credit, in short to profit
by all the individual betterment which Islam brings
about in their economic condition. There is also an
idea of far-reaching significance in the modern Moslem
movement. The Islamizing of the Nature peoples
means the organization of the uncivilized mass of
humanity in face of the European nations overwrought
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION 45
by their capital of civilization, the rallying of the op-
pressed proletariat among the nations in face of the ruling
Christian powers. In Moslem propaganda mighty
social, political and national impulses are at work.
Chapter IV
GOD
IN discussing the political, colonial, intellectual and
social factors which are conducive to the conversion
of the heathen to Islam, we have purposely passed over
the religious element. In reality, however, religion
enters into everything that the heathen undertakes,
for the heathen is religious through and through. At
every turn of his destiny he looks for a higher hand.
To isolate the religious factor is therefore one-sided.
In reality religion is interwoven with the non-religious.
Among the heathen peoples of Indonesia, religion is
intimately connected wdth the practice of every-day life.
Such a thing as a religion which has preserves of its own
and may be so far removed from the affairs of every-day
life as to permit of a man's living equally well with or
without it does not exist for the heathen of Indonesia.
(Dr. Adriani.)
The religious motive is often overlooked. We are
constantly told that the heathen only becomes Moham-
medan for the sake of external advantages. The Koran
is not a book to attract the negro, the empty-headed
black only wishes to better himself. Our own actual
experience in the Dutch East Indies renders such at-
tempts to account for Mohammedan propaganda prob-
lematical. There, at least, the religious motive is funda-
mental. The realization of the misery of heathenism,
its bondage and disgrace, together with its host of
bodily and spiritual ills, causes religious lassitude which
4«
GOD 47
the invasion of a Colonial Power makes especially pal-
pable.
The following request to a missionary from Lumban
Pinasa in Central Sumatra, a district as yet untouched
by Christianity, illustrates the condition of the heathen
soul : " Master, I must have a teacher, my old religion
is no longer any use. It has outgrown itself, and for
a long time now I have ceased to believe in it. I must
have a new one. If you will give me a teacher, well
and good, otherwise I must get hodjis (Mecca pilgrims),
then I shall become a Mohammedan."
They expect Islam to help them. Its good standing
guarantees the might of the religious powers which the
Moslem worships. Jt is God Who gives the heathen
the social position and wealth which he gains by becom-
ing a Mohammedan. God will bestow education and
worldly wisdom upon him. The fact that all this comes
from God enhances Islam in the eyes of the heathen,
not the gift as such. The heathen desires not the gift
alone, but also the Giver. What his spirits and sorcery
were powerless to do, this new God does effect.
Far be it from me to idealize the heathen. The
heatheii_is not the restless seeker after God of the modern
novel. ^- He longs for God not because he is seeking
inward peace or even forgiveness for his sins, but because
he desires riches and posterity, honour and if possible
magic powers ; whoever will give him that is his God.
Mohammedan teachers make a good speculation
when they dwell in the first instance in their propaganda
upon this kind of search after God. They openly say,
" You will be rich if you worship Allah and have an
abundant posterity," but they add in the same breath,
" And not only in this world, but also in the life which
is to come." Such words are spoken to a people on the
verge of religious bankruptcy. It has become conscious
of its national and religious impotency actually as a
result of the European invasion, or failing that the
successful advance of Islam.
48 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
For as a tribal victory is sure proof of the power not
only of those at present living but above all things,
according to Animistic belief, a demonstration of the
superior power of one's ancestors, whose spirits of course
surround the Animist, and a judgment of God upon the
tribe which has been defeated, so also a defeat is evi-
dence of the unreliability of one's ancestors and a judg-
ment of God upon one's own people. National decline
demonstrates the weakness of the religious powers on
whose help he has hitherto counted. Hence, every
Colonial invasion only deepens a heathen people's
despondency with regard to its old religion and
strengthens its desire for another religion of living power.
A man's confidence in the religious power of Islam grows
in proportion to his loss of confidence in the power of
the religion of his own people.
The heathen is suspicious and very chary of seductive
plans for the future, and yet he forthwith believes the
Mohammedan message about God and its promise of
a world to come. These are the two focal points of
Moslem propaganda : the conception of God and the
Hereafter.
The leverage of these two ideas, in so far as there is
any question of religious forces, has conquered the world
for Islam since the days of Mohammed and the preaching
he based upon the Koran and tradition. But why does
the Animistic heathen of the uncivilized peoples accept
these ideas with such enthusiasm when they are really
so utterly beyond his horizon ?
God. — The pioneer preaching of the Mohammedan
idea of God finds a hearing all the more easily because
it does not essentially rise above the level of Animistic
ideas ; ,for the Mohammedan does not bring the heathen
something absolutely new with his doctrine of God, his
idea of God correlates itself to existing conceptions.)
Animism is really the cult of spirits and the souls of the
departed. Yet spirit worship has not been able to
entirely obliterate the idea of God. The belief in God
GOD 49
or the belief in a higher Being certainly does not stand
in the foreground of Animistic religion. There is, how-
ever, a remnant conception of God in wide circles of
heathenism.
Among the Bataks the supreme god is called ompu
mula djadi na bolon. This name is pure Batak and
means the lord, the great source of all creation. Only
later did this one god become distinguished into three in
the popular consciousness. Of the three names, Sori pada,
Mangala bulan and Batara guru, the first and third are
Sanscrit words, so they at all events are of later origin.
Ompu mula djadi na bolon is said to have delegated
his power to these three. On the island of Nias, to the
west of Sumatra, we find the same conception of God.
God is called Lowalangi. All is said to depend upon
Lowalangi, whether one be well or die, for —
" Lowalangi makes alive and kills ! "
" He sees when we are cheated ! "
" He is only a hand breadth above us ! "
" He avenges us, therefore avenge not yourselves."
" Deride not your neighbour if he be unshapely, for
Lowalangi creates all things ! "
We find these ideas everywhere in Indonesia. In
Buru the people call the supreme deity either Opo
lahhatala or by the old Indonesian name Opo gebasnulat
(the moulder of men). Both names are used simul-
taneously. (Kruyt, Animisme, 466.) The inhabitants
of Siau believe in one supreme god whom they call
duwata ( = debata, a Sanscrit word, current in the
Archipelago and sometimes used also for spirits). Among
the Kols also there is the following conception of God :
" the presence of the one good God is just as much a
matter of course to them in every-day conversation as
to us Europeans when we speak of God," says Wurm
(61); and Livingstone says of Africa: " even amongst
the most degraded heathen one need never speak of
the presence of God or of a future life, because these
things are universally taken for granted." (Cf. Wurm,
50 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
ReligionsgescMchte, p. 35.) This remark of Livingstone's
is continually being corroborated from Central Africa,
the Congo, West Africa, the Ewe country. Even among
the bushmen of Australia the worship of one supreme
God has been traced, as also among the Melanesian
tribes of Polynesia (whose supreme god is called
Tangaloa) and in the primitive religions of America.
Islam finds a point of contact in this lingering con-
ception of God. Even in their heathen state, many
peoples have realized this agreement between Islam
and heathenism. For that reason they have given the
Mohammedan name of God to their supreme Being.
The heathen Dayaks of Borneo call their god Hatalla,
and many similar variations are to be found of the name
Allah. Heathen mythology also bears traces of Moham-
medanism in its conception of God ; Batara guru, one
of the highest Batak deities, may not eat swine's flesh,
neither may the daughter of God, Boru ni Debata.
Therefore, from the purely external point of view, the
introduction of the Divine name could present no diffi-
culty.
The inner connection between the heathen conception
of God, emptied of content as it may be, and that of Islam
has made conversion an easier matter still for the
heathen. The Indonesian heathen's idea of God, anthro-
pomorphic as it is, has never produced such idolatry as
the Mohammedans so especially hate among Oriental
Christians, for instance.
Images of God do not exist among the Animist Nature
peoples. The images which are incorrectly called idols
are either pictures to scare away evil spirits by their
ugliness, or soul carriers, that is to say, pictures into
which soul-stuff has been introduced by some kind of
manipulation ; they therefore either introduce soul-
stuff into the house (soul-stuff = life power, life fluid,
hence a material conception) and with it a blessing,
or by an increase of soul-stuff they ensure protection
against diseases and spirits. The first group might
GOD 51
perhaps best be called amulets, or when they are wor-
shipped and given food, fetishes ; and the second group
talismans. But images are neither made of tribal
ancestors nor of deities.
The heathen conception of God is a spiritual one.
Islam, therefore, has not had to implant the idea of
God anew in the heathen heart, or to spiritualize a
material conception ; it had simply to restore God to
His rightful place from the background to which heathen-
ism had relegated Him. This was all the easier because
in heathenism, although almost forgotten and over-
looked, God used to be fetched from His hiding-place at
moments of crisis. In every-day life God is certainly
little to the fore ; in heathen mythology He is simply
the Creator and Preserver of the world. But in many
circumstances the deity is the final resort, when there
is nothing more to be done with spirits. On the one
hand in times of distress, because the spirits cannot, of
course, know everything. For example, if every effort
to combat an illness by the aid of spirits is in vain, the
priestess of the Toradja in Celebes sends her own soul
into the other world to ask God which evil spirit has
caused the illness. Or in difficult cases of law. The
earthly judge does not know everything, only God
alone ; He is therefore appealed to as witness to the
truth.
Thus the heathen's lingering idea of God offers several
points of contact for the Mohammedan doctrine of God.
God knows more than men and spirits, says the heathen ;
Islam has drawn the conclusion : therefore, God is
omniscient. God has created the world, according to
heathen belief ; the Mohammedan has drawn the infer-
ence : He is omnipresent, God's curse is upon the
transgressor, no heathen doubts that ; God avenges evil
to all eternity, adds the Mohammedan.
But what induces the heathen to produce the lines
of his heathen conception of God really so much further
as to make the outline of the Mohammedan conception ?
52 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
The exposition of Mohammedan theology plays but a
small part in the matter. It is true theological definitions
are not entirely unknown. In Mohammedan theology
God has seven attributes, namely, life, knowledge,
omnipotence, will, hearing, sight and speech. Our young
people are taught out of a Malay catechism by the
Mohammedan teacher in the Koran school " the twenty
attributes of God." It says there, for instance, that
God is endowed with existence, perfection, sublimity,
unity, fulness, peace, life, wisdom, power, hearing, sight,
omniscience and omnipotence. The seven fundamental
attributes of God with their thirteen variations, i.e.,
the twenty attributes of God, make an Arabic rhyme,
which is learnt off by heart mechanically. Little of this,
however, penetrates into the heathen's thought world ;
the instruction he receives is too little aimed at the
pupil's understanding.
Another consideration prepares the way for the Mos-
lem idea of God in the heathen heart : the pre-eminence
of Islam. Islam represents itself as an irresistible
power, ever pressing invincibly onward. The religious
deduction made by the heathen from this fact is that
the God of Islam is invincible. What use was the
heathen's old God to him ? He buried Himself away
in the background and did nothing ! But in Islam there
is energetic, valiant, world-encompassing activity.
God is the One of action ; this good news of Islam the
heathen deduces from Islam's powerful position in the
world.
The heathen, however, only knows power as coupled
with arbitrariness. A powerful chief arbitrarily dis-
penses with every tribal usage. Peoples without written
laws know only arbitrary rulers. Even if the chief does
most cleverly explain that he makes all his decrees in
accordance with ancient custom, every one is of course
well aware that it is all an illusion : the wily chief really
does as he likes, because he has the power to do so. The
heathen knows nothing of the moral limitation which
GOD 53
the common weal lays upon power, or of the bounds
which love decrees in the exercise of power. That God's
power is at His own arbitrary command is a matter of
no difficulty for the heathen.
In this way the Heathen-Mohammedan has acquired
a grasp upon the kernel of the Mohammedan doctrine
of God. God is the infinite Lord, to be feared, not to
be counted upon, utterly arbitrary. The heathen is
a realist in politics. If God is arbitrary and omnipo-
tent, it is a dangerous combination. It calls for thought.
If God, the omniscient, the omnipotent, also possesses
will power, then the question of God is one for the indi-
vidual and I must somehow come to terms with Him.
Nevertheless, earnestly as the heathen's gaze is now
directed towards God, the Heathen-Mohammedan does
not enter into any real communion with God ! God,
hitherto forgotten, certainly does gain His rightful
place. He is lord of all, He ordains everything accord-
ing to His will. If a man does himself an injury, it is
the will of God ; if a man gets a splinter in his finger, he
shows no sign of pain, it is the will of God. That ex-
plains everything. But God's will is unfathomable and
capricious, like that of a slaveholder, who to-day ill-
treats a slave and to-morrow gives him his freedom, just
as the whim takes him. This is a favourite symbol of
God. People call themselves the slaves of Allah.
Everything that happens has a fatalistic explanation.
That anything should have really happened shows in
fact that it must have happened by the will of God.
The will of God is man's fate. In the same way that as
a heathen he was haunted by his " prenatal request."
The popular heathen idea of fate does actually differ
a little from the Moslem idea. The Batak chooses his
own destiny before he comes into the world, and accord-
ing to this " prenatal request," as it is called, his life is
irrevocably ordered. If a man is a slave in this life,
the heathen idea is that the slave's soul desired this
destiny before its birth. " That you have become a
54 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
missionary," a Batak once said to me, " is because your
soul prayed for this destiny in its pre-existence."
Thus Moslem fatalism also found a soil well prepared
in Animism. It appeals to the indolent nature of the
heathen, he has been cradled in it. ,
That for the heathen it is the man himself, and for the
Mohammedan it is God Who determines a man's fate
makes no essential difference ; in both cases fatalism
deprives a man of freewill and leads to determinism.
As it says in Sura Ixxvi. 29 : " Ye shall not will, unless
God willeth ! " the Moslem Batak says : "If God wills
that I should become a Christian, then He will inspire
me with the desire, that is to say, the will to be so ; He
can ' convert ' my heart " — and he adds, in all likelihood
hypocritically : " pray for me that God may convert
my heart, so that I may become a Christian ! If God
convert my heart, who then can withstand Him ? "
While responding with its idea of God to the fatalist
inclinations of the Animist, Islam is itself drawn into
the sphere of heathen conceptions of God ; for fatalism
is common property in heathendom. The consequences
of this idea of God are patent. The gulf between God
and man remains irifinite : God, the almighty lord ;
man, the slave of God, without protection, at the mercy
of His humour and caprice.
To a God Who determines the life of men with such
arbitrary and despotic severity one may submit oneself
slavishly, but love is impossible ; when a Christian joyfully
declared to a Mohammedan in Java : " God is my Father
in heaven ! " and the latter said : " That is impious
presumption ! " he was only consistent. God is as
unapproachable in Islam as in heathenism. For " God
does not care about us " is the cry not only of the negroes
on the Congo (Warneck) but also of the whole heathen
world. " Singbonga is omnipotent, but He is too far
away," say the Kols. God is too far removed from men
to have intercourse with them. This feeling is expressed
here and there in heathenism with intense earnestness,
GOD 55
even though the people who say so are generally entirely
given over to spirit worship. But this cry is silenced in
Islam. In slavish resignation the soul has found rest.
In Animism we find traces of the presence of God.
" Where we sit, God is present," says the Batak proverb ;
Islam makes this no longer possible. The gulf between
God and man becomes more profound in Islam. The
last slender thread still binding the heathen to God,
the longing after God — to be distinguished from the
material hope set upon God, described above, which
sees in Him no more than the instrument of self-seeking
desires — is broken. Man learns to accommodate him-
self to his present condition. It is fixed once and for
all, there is no way to God. Islam may offer a man
means for protecting himself against this dangerous
God. It has relinquished the hope of establishing
communion with God.
This also disposes of the objection that Islam is the
very religion which calls God merciful. " In the name
of the most merciful God " is the well-known beginning
of every Sura in the Koran ; " by the mercy of Allah "
is an expression on the lips of the Moslem who knows
how many times a day. But by the mercy of God the
Mohammedan does not understand the purposeful, com-
passionate love which condescends to the sinner, but
rather the pompous, arbitrary magnanimity of the
Oriental tyrant, who distributes his gifts when in good
humour and otherwise withholds them. Mercy in
Islam means a master's caprice, which to-day raises his
slave from the dust and to-morrow in a rage tramples
him under foot. It is as unbridled as the omnipotence
of God, it lacks the firm helm of the moral motive of
love. For that reason it is not in a position to bridge
the gulf between an unapproachable Lord on His throne
and man.
God remains coldly apathetic to the world. The kindly
deity of heathenism thinks of man in more friendly
fashion than does the God of Islam. This certainly had
56 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
the evil consequence among the heathen that they stood
in no awe of God. The supreme God of the Animist is a
kindly being, who does man no evil ; hence in heathen-
ism there is only the fear of spirits, no fear of God. For
just as no one troubles about a kindly soul of whom
nothing is to be feared, so also the heathen pays no heed
to God, He never does an ill turn to any one. This is
now altered in Islam. God is no longer a kindly supine
being but rather an unapproachable Almighty Lord
Whom none can evade. The heathen had no fear of
God, because he expected nothing at His hand, hence no
evil ; the Mohammedan trembles before God, because
he believes Him capable of anything, even all that is
terrible and evil.
Thus the Moslem idea of God cannot deliver the
Aniinist from the gloomy dungeon of heathen fear.
Not because it has not yet fully supplanted heathenism,
for on the contrary, the more complete the success of
Moslem preaching, the less to be bridged over is the
distance from God.
The essence of heathenism is fear, it passes over into
Islam, only it is no longer spirits who refuse man life,
but an arbitrary mighty God who can, hke the spirits,
fall upon man at any moment. Among the heathen the
fear of spirits stands between God and man. It is now
transferred to God Himself. The object of fear changes.
In the religious attitude of the subject there is no change.
In face of the great problem as to how the heathen in
bondage to fear is to get deliverance from his fear, Islam
is utterly powerless. But why then has the Moham-
medan conception of God such an attraction for the
heathen ? The heathen does not in the least want to
be delivered from fear. Fear has become the heathen's
second nature. It is the element in which his entire
religious activity has hitherto moved. Christian Mission-
ary experience bears this no contradiction ; Christian
preaching and the life of heathen converts to Christianity
show the astonished heathen what it means to be deliv-
GOD 57
ered from fear. It awakens for the first time within the
heathen heart the longing for deliverance from fear. He
has no idea until then that it lies at the root of his
misery ; he lays the blame for his oppressed condition
upon his social and intellectual inferiority, he therefore
makes no sort of demand of Islam that it deliver him
from fear. And it is to Islam's interest to keep men more
or less in bondage, for fear keeps together the flock it
gathers with so much difficulty ; its wily shepherds
know that only too well.
Chapter V
THE GIFTS OF GOD
GOD has reserved for true believers the precious
privilege of His supernatural powers, His secret
wisdom and knowledge. Magic communicates them.
Christians are accustomed to regard sorcery in a
monotheistic religion as an untimely remnant of heathen-
ism. Magic forms however a legitimate part of Moham-
medan practice. Indeed, the possession of " ilmu," as
sorcery is called,^ is the goal of all religious striving.
" Ilmu " is supernatural power, the supreme gift of God.
In many ways the old Animism was more useful than
the new religion. It armed a man for his fight for
existence against the spirit world. So it would be fool-
ish for the recent convert to Mohammedanism to give
up what has stood him in good stead in Animism and let
the bird in his hand go for the sake of the two in the
bush. " A double seam holds best," said the old
Animist saw. There were always several spirits and
several sorcerers available with whom to traffic in times
of distress. In so far as it also is profitable, why should
not Islam be simply added to the old rites. rThis juxta-
position of new Moslem hopes and old Animistic customs
makes Islam especially attractive to the Nature peoples.
The two are so interwoven that their strands can no
longer be unravelled. Striking similes such as that of the
garment of Islam in which the old Animist arrays him-
^ Ilmu = ilm ar (knowledge), i.e. knowledge which proceeds
from God.
58
THE GIFTS OF GOD 59
self being so full of holes that unfortunately his original
heathen skin everywhere shines through, convey no
meaning at all. All that is new is simply that God dis-
penses the new magic.
In a new religion what strikes people fu'st is not the
difference in doctrine but in ceremony. Islam's most
obvious characteristics are its laws about food and its
daily prayer ; the characteristic mark of Christianity is
the Sabbath and the Sunday service. In both cases the
heathen makes a secondary matter the distinctive institu-
tion of the religion, because for him ceremonial is the chief
thing.
Now Moslem propaganda has been favoured, the
blending of Islam with the popular mode of thought
into an indigenous religion has been decidedly furthered
by the many points of contact between the new cere-
monial of Islam and that of heathenism.
Heathen ceremonial also included ablutions. In
dedicating a horse to one's own spirit, the horse must
first be purified with lemons and water. Ablutions are
also performed after burials, not as a matter of fact for
ceremonial purification, but to scare away the spirit
which has a dread of water. Ablutions to drive away
demons are of course widespread. Mythological persons
do not eat swine's flesh, nor from very ancient times spirit
mediums. Possibly this is a result of contact with
Mohammedan magicians.
Circumcision and laws about food do not seem strange
to the people. The whole Animistic conception of eat-
ing and drinking explains how Moslem laws about food
gain currency so quickly. The Animists also have
prohibitions on food in health and sickness. These rest
upon two fundamental ideas. The Animist in eating
not only takes matter into his body. The matter has
" soul-stuff " adhering to it ; in eating, a man adds fresh
"soul-stuff" to his own " soul -stuff." The "soul-
stuff," not the matter, is what is really nourishing in
food. With this is connected the other idea sometimes
60 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
held by the Animist, that in eating meat he may assimi-
late something of the character of the animal the flesh
of which he is eating. Dog's flesh is eaten to acquire the
speed of the dog ; in Borneo, venison is avoided, for
example, for fear of becoming cowardly like the stag.
So the Indonesian soon understands that it is defiling
to eat swine's flesh ; because swine have the habit of
wallowing in the mud, one will acquire this habit if one
eats swine's flesh, i.e., one will be defiled (Haram). Here,
therefore, the Animistic conception comes to the help
of the Moslem law. That eating certain kinds of food
defiles a man, i.e., the inner self of a man, is a much
more realistic conception to the Animist than to the
Mohammedan. Other religious customs too have been
no surprise to the heathen. He also has been accustomed
to make vows to the spirit of his ancestors. " If thou
wilt cure the sick, we will bring thee a tasty offering,
such as thou art wont to receive." Even mystic prac-
tices are nothing new. The Dayaks sleep out on some
high mountain to meet the Spirit. He then reveals
supernatural power to them in a dream.
With his proneness to outward observance, this agree-
ment in external things has made conversion easy for
the heathen. The inner connection between truly
Animistic and truly Moslem customs has been a further
essential help. For instance, the Javanese think that
the right use of talismans and amulets is to be acquired
partly from the old spirits and party from Allah.
The Alpha and Omega of the Animistic conception of
life is the idea of "soul-stuff," the representative of the life
power present in everything that lives. The accumula-
tion of this " soul-stuff " is the main thing. Islam makes
use of this conception for its own ends.
The Mohammedan drinks the water Mecca pilgrims
have washed in and eats the scraps left on their plates.
Both actions are only rendered intelligible by the Animis-
tic conception that the " soul-stuff " of a holy man resides
in the water in which his sweat has been washed off;
THE GIFTS OF GOD 61
for with the excretions of the human body " soul-stuff " is
also given off. In the same way the "soul-stuff " of a holy
man clings to scraps of his food, because they have been
in contact with his spittle. It is again a remnant of
Animism when a superior person, such as a Mecca pilgrim,
is attributed to have a great deal of "soul-stuff," just as in
the old days it was said of the chiefs. For the same
reason a pilgrim will be called into a house and asked to
spit upon a sick child. The child really needs an increase
of "soul-stuff." Formerly the sick were brought to the
chiefs and spat upon by them. Thus Animism serves
to win power and position for the apostles of the Moslem
way of religion.
Moslem magic is practised in the following ways : —
(1) By magic formulas (doa = prayer). Among the
Bataks these charms are an obscure, almost unintelligible,
jumble of Malay, Arabic and Batak words, generally
prayers to Allah, Mohammed and the angels. To avert
a blow, they say : —
ia Alia, tuhanku ! God, my Lord.
kabulkan djuo barang pin Hearken to this my prayer !
-taku {Batak, Malay,
Arabic)
Washum aleikum ! Peace be with you !
(Arabic)
Usoman di adopangku Osman be before me !
(Batak)
Washum aleikum ! Peace be with you !
Ali di belangkangku ! Ali be behind me !
(Malay, Batak)
Kali (?) hei sahabatku Hail . . . my 4 friends !
jang berampat ! (Malay)
etc., etc.
The end then runs : —
Forget me not !
Weapons that are sharp, may they be blest.
Near me are my 44 friends (the angels), etc.
62 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
(2) Magical gestures transmit magical power by con-
tact ; to be able to resist blows a man rubs his own
body, that of another person to bewitch him with dis-
ease ; to bewitch a man one points at him. A spell is
cast upon a person in the form of food or betel ; three or
seven lemons are buried in the village to bewitch its
women ; extraordinary means are also employed ; e.g.,
to attach a maiden to oneself the umbilical cord of a
newly-born female child which has died with its mother
in child-birth must be grated down and presented to the
maiden, mixed with certain other ingredients. The
transmission of power by contact is Animistic.
(3) Visions. No magic medium or exorcising formula
is required, the process is simply consummated in the
imagination of the man who wishes to set the spell in
operation. Yet this uncanny art is especially feared.
It works like a charge of smokeless and noiseless powder.
" Ilmu " endows a man with supernatural powers of
many kinds : it is the art of making a person invulner-
able, proof against blows, sword slashes and bullets, of
healing and causing disease, of getting the better of
one's adversary in a lawsuit without words, of wounding
with a blunt knife, of protecting oneself from every kind
of witchcraft.
By magic, people can be made blind so that one may
steal their belongings without their noticing. Then
magic also serves to gratify sexual desires. These
" powers " are therefore much sought after by young
men. Any one who can write tries to collect a number
of such spells. A young man who is a master of such
magic is feared by the girls ; they know how he may
avenge himself upon any one who does not respond to
his advances. A number of women's diseases are
attributed by the ignorant natives to the same magic
influence. Young married women are very often ill,
because they feel themselves " struck " by some spell
which threatens their motherhood. These spells thus
cause much family unhappiness. Many quarrels be-
THE GIFTS OF GOD 63
tween married couples may be traced to the belief that
one of the parties has been bewitched by a rejected rival.
Also the disillusioned maiden avenges herself upon her
former lover by these arts. The art is carried to great
perfection of influencing women, of inclining their
affections towards one, of assuring them against magic
by magic. (The embryo can be killed in the womb ;
a pregnant woman can be so bewitched that either she
or her child dies.) Vengeance can be taken by magic
upon a recalcitrant maiden or upon her parents. By
"ilmu," a maiden can be influenced to remain un-
married. A rejected suitor can by magic provoke his
married rival to divorce his wife. By God's magic
(" alemu Allah ") a maiden can be bewitched into in-
sanity. Hence it often happens that girls who think
they are bewitched do actually become insane for a cer-
tain length of time.
Even while a people is still in heathenism, the strands
of Moslem magic (ilmu) and the old Animistic sorcery
(hadatuon) begin to be inextricably interwoven. In the
old days Batak sorcerers also used to go down to the
coast on occasion. They picked up Arabic-Malay
charms, and probably they also took lessons from the
Malays. Nowadays Mohammedan magic-mongers go
up and doAvn the country initiating the heathen.
They introduce new magic practices into the country.
These are gratefully adopted. How the heathen is
bound to welcome a doctrine which introduces new
magic. For one can never have enough magic lore. If
one spell does not act, another will. The more weird the
magic, the more incomprehensible the words and names
introduced into it, the better.
Spiritualistic ideas. — By spiritism we understand the
worship of departed spirits. Islam professes to know
exactly the condition of departed spirits. So no one
need really be afraid of them, they have enough affairs
of their own to attend to. But people are illogical in
this respect ; after, as before their conversion to Islam,
64 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUTVIATRA
they are terrified of evil spirits. Allah must share His
honour with spirits.
Hendrik writes from Madura, the western part of
Java, which has been Mohammedan for three centuries :
" All that happens to the Mohammedan is ascribed to
the influence of spirits rather than to the influence of
Allah. The latter is certainly the Spirit of spirits, con-
version to Islam places Him at the head of the spirit host,
but in comparison to the trouble to which they put them-
selves concerning the spirit host, He remains very much
in the background.
The Javanese believe that every blessing comes down
to men from Danjang desa (an under-god) ; hence this
Danjang desa is worshipped alongside of and with Allah.
Neither suffers in the matter of worship. Incense is
burnt and this prayer is offered kneeling : " O Danjang,
bless me and let me find buyers for my goods ! " Im-
mediately afterwards comes : " Allah is great, and
Mohammed is His Prophet ! " At sacred meals the
father of the household first pronounces some heathen
magic formulas, then the " modin " (village priest) an
Arabic "doa" (lit. "prayer") and then they begin to
eat.
It is thus made easy for the heathen to adapt himself
to the new way of things. He conscientiously followed
the behests of the ancestors who used to hover round
him as spirits. When he becomes a Mohammedan, he
is one of a new people, whose ancestors also become his,
alongside of his old tribal ancestors. The new ancestors
are the prophets and saints of Islam. His feelings of
pious veneration are transferred to the ancestors of the
people of the Mohammedans. Some Mohammedan
tribes, on being asked, " Who are the angels and pro-
phets ? " say, " Our ancestors." They also concern
themselves much more with the prophets than with
Allah. The host of evil spirits is reinforced by the
Moslem devils and demons (iblis).
The Moslem sorcerer is also continually invoking the
THE GIFTS OF GOD 65
angels (malaikat) in order to obtain supernatural powers
from these " fiends of mankind." It is meet that one
should show them due ceremonial honour. Because the
Mohammedans' ancestor has forbidden the eating of
swine's flesh, therefore it is not touched.
Again, how the Mohammedan idea dovetails into the
old Animistic spiritualistic conception. No wonder that
the young convert feels quite at home under the wing of
his new ancestors.
The veneration of graves also rests upon an Animistic
foundation. The Animist belief was that the dead
hovered round their graves for a long time. Food is
therefore taken to them there ; one can there hold parley
with them. Beautiful grave houses are built for them
in the hope of making the spirits of the dead propitious.
This Animistic custom has been elaborated by Islam.
In a manner wonderful enough ! Mohammed himself
forbade and laid a curse upon the veneration of graves,
and yet sacrifices are offered at his own grave by pilgrims
otherwise so obedient to the Prophet's commands. Thus
in Java it is the custom to adorn the graves of the saints
who according to tradition once upon a time brought
Islam to Java. The graves are decorated after fasts ;
on the day the fast is broken, incense sticks are burnt
and the blessing of the dead is invoked.
Ancestral spirits are also thought to reside in animals.
For that reason Mohammedan tribes in Java do not
eat certain kinds of food, because they think that the
dead reside in them. In Achin departed princes appear
in the form of tigers and crocodiles. This kind of
totemism is found all over the Dutch East Indies. If a
crocodile devours a woman, a Mohammedan at once
appears to claim the crocodile because it was his grand-
father.
Certainly in Islam there is no longer any question as
to which ancestor inhabits this or that grove, this or
that spring. The Animist often forgets that a particular
object is not in itself sacred but only derives its special
F
06 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
merit from the spirit inhabiting it. The place becomes
sacred, the object becomes venerable, as time passes the
spirit is forgotten. But the Mohammedan in Indonesia
knows as well as the Arab in Arabia which are his sacred
stones and trees.
Even among the living the spirits of the departed
reap considerable benefits. The Mecca pilgrim takes
the place of spirits ; offerings formerly made to spirits
are now brought to him. Mohammedan Bataks make
vows to a spirit, a grave, or a " terrible " mountain, but
the teacher is asked to the meal that follows. He con-
sumes the sacrifice. He thus takes the place of the
spirits.
Exorcisms to drive away spirits are commonly prac-
tised. The creed and other pious formulas such as the
Bismilla (in the Name of God), and in the Near East the
Allah Akbar (God is great), and certain Suras of the
Koran are used as exorcising spells.
The formulas for exorcising the Danjangs are called
" doa." Mohammedan expressions are thus applied to
purely heathen customs, and these receive the sanction of
good Mohammedan practices.
It is therefore not only a case of Islam conniving at
heathen proclivities, but of an inner connection being
actually established between Animism and Islam. Islam
itself is imbued with Animistic molecules which attract
kindred elements in heathenism. Its inherent syncre-
tism gives it the power of assimilating what is even
apparently heterogeneous in other peoples. Its syncretic
elasticity makes it possible for Islam to be a world
religion.
' Hence within Islam Animism does not play the part
of a barely tolerated slave, rather it receives royal
favour ! The despised cult of Animistic magic receives
in Islam the rank of a divine institution.^ It is the gift
of God to His faithful believers. The old' Animism rises
to the same plane as Moslem magic. One might have
been content to adopt Moslem magic and for the rest to
THE GIFTS OF GOD 67
rely upon Moslem doctrine, in a word, upon dogma.
But that was impossible. The sorcerer is right when he
says to his young heathen pupils : "If you want to be
really proficient in my magic, you must become Moham-
medan." The Batak sorcerer was no less gifted than
the Moslem one, but Islam teaches a new doctrine in
saying that all magic comes from God. That is what
makes the new kind of sorcery so attractive and fore-
stalls ancient usage.
From Islam's bold front the heathen has received an
impression of God's mighty power. It bespeaks the
power of the new magic that the Almighty Himself has
originated it ; for that very reason it is often called the
wisdom of God (ilmu Allah).
The magic trumpery of Animism certainly does not
seem to be in harmony with Mohammedan law. But
such offences against Mohammedan ordinance are
smoothed over by using names as Mohammedan as
possible and so giving a Mohammedan colouring to all
magic performances. But neither the sanction of magic
as a divine gift nor the concealment of the heathen kernel
under high-sounding names protect Islam from the evil
consequences of this fusion with heathenism. The
unity and purity of its conception of God are lost in this
doctrine of God's gifts of magic. In that these magic
gifts are dispensed not only by God but also by a multi-
tude of spirits, the conflict with polytheism continues as
before in Islam. Islam has not been able to preserve,
if it ever possessed it, the unity of its conception of God,
This unity in its conception of God is really the only thing
which might arouse our sympathy in Islam. It alone
would justify our preferring it to the polytheistic con-
ceptions of God in heathenism. But the Islam of the
propagandists, which is at the present time taking its
triumphal way over the world, has forfeited this its
prerogative in the very interests of its propaganda.
Islam's trium]:)h, therefore, really implies a defeat for
monotheism. The weighty texts of the Koran, the
68 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
constant repetition in popular parlance of phrases
about the One God have not been able to maintain the
unity of the idea of God. The process is peculiar. The
unity of God had to be preserved at all costs, so God was
rendered as remote as possible ; but this very remote-
ness of God calls forth the necessity for intermediate
beings and conjures up magic and polytheism in the form
of a subsidiary realm of spirits. In this way magic and
demonology temper the frigid unity of the idea of God.
Nor has the identification of God with fate been able
to save the unity of the idea of God. For fatalism is at
the antipodes from magic. Hence fatalism and magic
run parallel in heathenism. This is, of course, illogical.
Really the doctrine of magic powers implies practical
dissent from every kind of fatalism. Conversely inexor-
able fatalism really renders magic superfluous. If every-
thing really happens according to the immutable will of
Allah, then of course there is no sense in exorcising
spirits, for example. This inconsistency, however, is
well founded. The Batak Animist is by no means so
foolish as to suffer one misfortune after another without
doing something. ISIan will not be condemned to defense-
lessness in the stress of life. The dread reality of human
life again and again breaks through the brazen ring of
fatalism.
The fatalism of Islam reacts in renewed self-assertion
and therefore encourages the more zealous recourse to
magic, i.e., to the supernatural powers of God. For
God can only be opposed by God, the immutable will of
God only by His invincible power, which is obtained by
magic.
The Divine sanction upon trafficking in magic irrevoc-
ably destroys the purity of the idea of God. This is the
darkest side of Islam : the unapproachable God, Who
cannot be relegated far enough from this evil world, is
dragged deep down into the mire of crime. God has
become the arch magician. The pious pilgrim follows in
the footprints of the criminal sorcerer only with his
THE GIFTS OF GOD 69
shameless claim that his squalid wonderworking proceeds
from God.
Nothing so prepares the way for Mohammedan pro-
paganda as this " heavenly " magic ; and yet it is a
mark of Cain upon Islam's brow which, in its desire for
proselytes, it allows to pollute the best thing it really
possessed, its conception of God.
Even in its mother country, Arabia, the monotheism
of Islam is not untarnished. The veneration of stones,
especially meteoric stones, was characteristic of the
religion of the Arabs before the dawn of Islam. Even
nowadays devout Moslem pilgrims kiss the black stone.
The ceremonies of the Mecca festival are of heathen
origin ; the pilgrimage had to be tolerated because
Mohammed did not dare rob his followers of something
which had been of such value to them all their lives.
This practice of its founder, this opportunism, has
been kept up by Islam. Thus, remnants of the Zoroas-
trian religion shine through Islam in Persia, and in India
certain indigenous doctrines and customs still persist.
Only on condition that it tolerated this " religion of
everyday life" did it meet with any reception. How-
ever great its triumph nowadays, we do not envy it. It
has sacrificed the virgin purity of its monotheism and
subjected its inviolable conception of God to the wild
magic trafficking of the nations. Islam's triumph over
the heathen is a Pyrrhic victory. Its laurels have been
won at the cost of God's honour. ■
As a matter of fact this attitude towards Animism
promotes the work of the Moslem agitator. The fight
against the Animistic religion of the natives, which
Christian Missionaries enter upon all along the line,
Islam does not attempt. How it must help the heathen's
conversion to discover his beloved spirit worship,
for instance, in the new religion. No renunciation is
required of him in this connection. One may be an out
and out Moslem and yet continue a slave to Animistic
customs undisturbed.
70 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Polytheism, namely the plurality of gods, not the
plurality of Divine beings (cf. the plurality of mediators
with God), Islam has outwardly done away with, but
that had little hold upon the heathen. Animism had
to be allowed to remain ; it is the essential thing which
the heathen will not give up at any cost.
If Islam had claimed to come among these peoples,
which live and move in the belief in spirits, to abolish
the worship of spirits as something sinful, the common
people would have rejected the new religion. Among
a people which has grown up in the rank, phantastic
maze of Animism, the cold Islam of the Koran could take
no root, much less dominate its spiritual life. For the
heathen, for whom everything whatsoever is animate,
around whom there flit night and day spirits and deities,
nymphs, elves and ghosts, for the heathen to suddenly
empty this world of its content and believe the teacher's
word that somewhere there is a terrible God, far, far
away in the upper world, far beyond the starry vault
of heaven ! Such a thing is inconceivable !
^- ...
*Its Animistic elements have prepared Islam's way to
the heart of the nations. That is the reason the wonder
workers go on ahead ; they meet with an eager reception
everywhere and penetrate far into the interior decades
before any really systematic agitation is set on foot.'
They are Islam's skirmishers.
Instinctively the heathen realizes that Animism
required Islam. The new age had torn many a shred
from the texture of the old religion. The ancestral hall
was found to be tumbling in. Islam appeared as a saviour
of the situation, under its mighty pinions a good deal
of the ancestral religion could live on unmolested.
To survive the new age. Animism has had to be
remodelled, to even appear at all before the world. For
contact with the Colonial Government means contact
with the world. The old Animism was only serviceable
within the bounds of one's oami nationality. Moslem
Animism has stripped off its local, national limitations,
THE GIFTS OF GOD 71
it has gained world potentiality. In its new elegant
dress it can take its place in society without fear of
ridicule. Animism on the other hand has helped the
Moslem convert to understand the difficult new doctrine
and polished the rough edges which might have kept
the heathen at a distance.
In the first instance the doctrine of God is only grasped
by the common people in so far as it fits into the frame-
work of their previous conceptions. And so it is in
every other respect. In so far as Islam offers the heathen
something essentially akin to Animism, the new doctrine
becomes the spiritual possession of the heathen Moham-
medan. Once safely entrenched, the new doctrine
then gains ground step by step in his inner experi-
ence.
Thus the magic which fuses with Animism serves as
the bridge between Islam and heathenism, between the
old and the new age. It carries the heathen back on
the track along which his thought and sentiment has
glided from childhood. Much of the form of the new
religion may certainly be strange to him, e.g., the numer-
ous Arabic words, but the thing in itself is familiar.
What is magic and wonderful is actually much more
convincing to the native than a chain of reasoning. For
the former corresponds to his usual manner of arguing,
the latter demands a process of thought to which he is
unaccustomed.
Let us make this point clear as regards the Koran.
The heathen finds it difficult to understand the logical
Moslem dogma that the Koran proceeds from God as
an eternal, uncreated book. But it is at once obvious
to him that the book should only be held wrapped in
cloths, that the teacher should prophesy out of it, place
it on his head when he takes an oath and use all kinds
of formulas out of it as exorcism. Because from the
Animistic point of view the book has great value, for
that reason it carries weight with him. Thus the teacher,
as one who knows Moslem doctrine, may be indifferent
72 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
to him, but as one possessed of supernatural powers he
understands and appreciates him. Just as a child is
gradually led on from what it knows to what it does not
know, so also is it with the young Mohammedan.
Chapter VI
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES
THE unapproachableness of God leaves the Animist
unsatisfied, the crude reahty breaks in upon his
soul through the stern idea of fate : we understand how
the Heathen-Mohammedan — strictly speaking illogically
— comes to seek after mediators.
In heathenism there seem to be no mediators with
God. The old Animist does concern himself with his
soul's protection, he makes a cult of it, he seeks to appease
his spirits ; but he is not concerned with establishing
communion with God. Nevertheless the idea of medi-
ation is not entirely absent. The priestess of the Toradja
in Celebes makes her soul rise up to God to find out which
spirit has taken the sick person's soul prisoner. The
Singamangaradja also, the religious head of the Batak
people, is another such mediator.
There are also mediators between the spirits and men
in heathenism. Just as indeed one deals with a formid-
able prince if possible not directly, but through some
third person, standing perhaps in blood relationship to
the princely throne.
The idea of mediators thus proceeds from the ordin-
ary man's disinclination to hold direct intercourse with
higher powers. This dread is concentrated under the
influence of Islam upon the one Supreme Being, God ;
hence the search for mediators between God and man.
Where, as in Java, God is conceived of as the leader of
the spirit host, spirits are looked upon as mediators.
73
74 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
This was natural, from of old men have been on the
most intimate terms with spirits. As the prophets are
gradually replacing the spirits of the ancestors in the
Moslem consciousness, the office of mediator is also being
gradually transferred to them.
The belief in the prophets. — The most important step
for Islam is to secure the position of the Prophet Mo-
hammed. Among the Moslem common people, and
indeed even among their heathen neighbours, Mohammed
has really become a heroic figure. This would not have
been the case if the people's mind had been focussed upon
the historical figure of the Prophet Mohammed, for
his historical career offers nothing attractive to the
heathen. Hence the historical figure of the Prophet is
of no account in Islam as we find it in the Dutch East
Indies. This problem, so fascinating to European
scholars, does not interest the Indonesians. The prob-
lem is therefore solved as to how a person such as Mo-
hammed could inspire whole peoples through long cen-
turies ; it was not the figure of the historical prophet
which attracted the people, but the image pictured by
the scintillating, unbridled fancy of Moslem theologians
down through the centuries.
Occasionally the question is raised as to whether
Mohammed was a sinful man. To one's astonishment,
Moslems will answer in the affirmative, without however
being able to say wherein his sin consisted. This corre-
sponds to Mohammed's own idea about himself, but
not to the doctrine of the theologians. Mohammed did
not consider himself infallible. He once said, when he
had departed from the usual form of ritual : "I am
only a man like yourselves, I may also err." But this
was no longer granted in the subsequent system, his
infallibility became a fixed dogma.
Mohammed's sinfulness may possibly be granted in
order that they may not fall into the Christian error
of introducing a second Divine figure side by side with
God. For obviously it is an attempt to hide a glaring
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 75
contradiction in terms : the tendency on the one hand
to set Mohammed in a place of authority at the right
hand of God as a supramundane, semi-divine figure, and
the fear on the other hand of falling into the errors of
Christianity and becoming polytheistic. The conmion
people know no such fear ; untroubled by their teachers'
theological scruples, the popular imagination adorns the
Prophet's image with the emblems of Divinity.
Tradition has embellished his life with more and more
marvels, devising at last the doctrine of his pre-existence,
or as Pfleiderer says " theories which border upon per-
sonal pre-existence." In the Indonesian consciousness
Mohammed is a demi-god. This is evident from the
very story of his birth which is in circulation.
Like Jesus he was conceived by the Spirit of God.
According to the esoteric, secret doctrine, he was the
son of Sitimariam (Mary) who lived in Mecca. Since,
however, this doctrine might arouse the suspicion that
God had a wife, the people are taught esoterically that
he was not born but suddenly seen in Mecca. Of course
this story is a clumsy imitation of the New Testament
story of the Birth of Jesus.
The Indonesian and we understand something quite
different by a " prophet." Prophets to him are men
who have received not only a special revelation from
God which they make known to the people, they are
also mediators sent from God. They have been sent
at different periods of human history ; they were to
bring to God those who in their day were looking for
the coming of the next prophet. There are six Pro-
phets : Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mo-
hammed. With the coming of Jesus, the age of Moses
passed away and similarly that of Jesus with the coming
of Mohammed.
Mohammed is the greatest of ay the^ prophets, he is
the consummation, the last of the prophets. He was
sent by God into the world to purify the teaching of the
five other prophets. Every prophet received a revela-
76 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN smiATRA
tion of law, but because this had been debased, Mo-
hammed came. He is greater than Jesus ; Jesus, after
him, is the greatest of the prophets. In so far as Mo-
hammed is really superior to him, the sublimity of Mo-
hammed is fully established.
They accept the miraculous Birth of Jesus. Isa was
also born by the decree of God, which is the spirit of
God, they say. Many also know that Sitimariam (Mary)
was His mother, they even hold His Virgin Birth. For
that reason nothing derogatory to Jesus may be uttered,
no abusive remark may be passed on the story of His
Birth. Although of course such may be heard among
the common people.
Most of them know nothing about His life. Concern-
ing His Death, the story goes that the Jews did not
crucify Jesus Himself, but another Jew in His stead.
At the moment when the Jews were about to crucify
Jesus, He assumed the form of one of His disciples and
let one of His disciples assume His form. The disciple
was thereupon crucified in His stead. Jesus, however,
flew away to the fourth heaven. Before His departure,
He said, however, that a prophet should come in His
stead, the last prophet who would really bring men to
God, that is Mohammed. He Himself thereby an-
nounced that Mohammed would finish His unsuccessful
work. The fact that this prophecy is not found in the
New Testament is one of the proofs that the Christian
New Testament is a corrupt text, say the Mohamme-
dans. Strictly speaking, however, according to this
legend, which has been built up from heretical Christian
sources, Jesus is a coward, who Himself flies and leaves
His disciples to suffer on His behalf.
Mohammed plays an important role at the Last Day,
so it is taken for granted that he is still alive. He is
a transcendental figure, a metaphysical being. Together
with the angels, he is thought of as in the presence of
God. All kinds of details are known about his supra-
mundane existence. In heaven Mohannned reveals his
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 77
superiority to Jesus, He is the great wonder-worker,
and Jesus is inferior to him. The Bataks have the follow-
ing story : " One day Mohammed and Jesus presented
themselves for trial before all the angels of God. The
question was which of them could hide from the other.
Jesus hid Himself in the Seventh Heaven, but Mo-
hammed found Him ; then Jesus hid Himself in hell,
but there also Mohammed found Him. Then it was
Mohammed's turn ; he hid himself in the pupil of Jesus'
eye. Seven days and nights did Jesus search without
finding Mohammed. Then Jesus solemnly declared
before God and the angels that Mohammed was really
greater than He, and surrendered all His disciples to
Mohammed."
Mohammed stands even now especially near to God.
Every Friday he communes with God. He appears to
the higher teachers. He lies buried, it is true, in Medina ;
but every Friday he goes to Mecca to worship, and there
the saints can see him. At other times also he manifests
himself, e.g., for twelve nights during the fast ; the form
of everything that exists is then changed seven times at
the vision of his glory ; but only the teachers see this.
In this way Mohammed is given his due place among
the people : he is the mediator of the other world. As
such the individual believer also enters into communion
with him ; primarily those who know the spells for occult
powers. For Mohammed is the dispenser of Divine,
supernatural powers of which he possesses an especial
measure. He is, therefore, invoked by those who are
" possessed of supernatural powers." The worship of
Mohammed has reached its highest limit in the Dutch
East Indies.
Mohammed is pre-existent. People say, for example,
that Adam is the oldest, but he is to be reckoned as
the youngest ; Mohammed is the youngest, but he is
to be reckoned as the oldest. That means that Adam
only proceeded from Mohammed, that is to say, his pre-
existent luminous self, before the Creation of the world.
78 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
In Java the story goes that Gabriel and Mohammed's
daughter, Fatima, once discussed their respective ages.
The angel Gabriel said he was the elder, but Mohammed
informed him that he was the star which Gabriel saw in
the sky when he came into being. " I had not yet come
down to earth."
The purpose of mystical exercises is also to bring
one into communion with Mohammed. He appears to
believers in the visions the}'^ conjure up in their imagina-
tion.
The angels are often confused with the prophets.
Sorcerers are especially fond of claiming their interven-
tion, although the Koran forbids it.
The Animist does not know what to make of these
figures ; but because " the five pillars " of the Moslem
faith include the belief in angels, they have also been in-
cluded among the mediators between God and men. The
spirits which do evil to mankind have gained a hold
upon the popular mind. Their chief is called Sibolis
(iblis = devil). He was originally subject to God, Who
offered him all kinds of principalities, but he refused
them. In wrath God seized him and cast him down upon
the earth. Iblis determined to make himself its lord.
On his way through the world, he saw devout ]\Ioham-
medans praying. This enraged him ; he called them to
account, destroyed their place of prayer and slew those
men. The devil has also a companion. With him he
has agreed to torment mankind, the one visiting them
from without with bodily suffering, the other tormenting
them from within in their souls. Other evil spirits,
called " Satans," are dreaded as bringing disease. The
" djin " appear to man in the forest as ghosts ; they
tower up to heaven from the earth. " Kramat " is
the name given to the burial places of saintly Moham-
medans, just as the burial places of great chiefs and sor-
cerers used to be called " Lombaon."
The belief in the saints is not one of the orthodox
articles of the faith, and yet it is widely current in Islam.
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 79
Once the dam of the unity of God is broken, all control
is gone. The more Mohammed has become deified,
the greater has grown the need for other mediators.
The craving for mediators arises from the desire to
bring the Divine near to oneself in human form, to be
visibly assured of its nearness. As the number of the
prophets immeasurably rose to 124,000, the way was
prepared for the worship of the saints. The threatened
discontinuance of old-time heathen festivals has often
been averted by calling them by the name of some saint.
This is the beginning of the worship of the saints so
universal in older Mohammedan lands.
In the Dutch East Indies, Moslem saints, like the old
tribal ancestors, have a white buffalo sacrificed to them ;
people also swear by them. This oath is more binding
than swearing by Allah, the idea being that God can'
only punish a man after the Resurrection, whereas the
curse of the saints takes effect even in this life. Many
villages have their village saints, and indeed many
families their family saints. Pilgrimages are made to
the graves of ancient Javanese princes, who according
to cunningly devised legends, are said to have introduced
Islam into the country.
After their death saints intercede with Allah. But
that does not suffice. What is the use of a dead saint ?
Are not living ones better ? Animism has laid the trail :
the sorcerers used to be initiated into the secrets of the
spirit world. Their title, the Sanscrit word " guru,"
is also applied to the new Mohammedan teachers. So
that when a heathen-Mohammedan hears of a " guru,"
he knows that he has to deal with a man who stands in
a peculiar relation to the new deity about which he
teaches men, namely Allah. The teacher is quick to
foster the impression in the popular mind ; the teachers
are accounted Allah's representatives.
Thus the long line of God's representatives at last
brings us to the lowest, and yet most important class
of living men.
80 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
On realizing how inferior is the education of the Mos-
lem teachers in many Indonesian districts, how meagre
are their moral qualifications, how great, for example,their
avarice is, one might gain the impression that these
men would have but little influence upon the people.
But the people follow them blindly, the teachers are
the unrivalled leaders of the people.
This is primarily due to their social position. For
the most part they are members of well known noble
families in the country. The Colonial Government in-
troduced statute labour ; chiefs, ministers of religion,
and certain others, were exempt from it. This attracted
young men of the best families to the teaching
profession. They at once strengthened the party which
was blindly devoted to the chief. For if they fell out
with the chief, they easily lost their position as village
priests, and therewith the above-mentioned privilege.
So they took care to be always at the chief's command.
In earlier days such scions of the princely houses were
the colonists of the country ; they were separated from
the head village with a couple of poor families and
founded new communities. The Colonial Government
forbade these divisions as far as possible, in order to
consolidate the villages and to have as few chiefs as
possible to deal with. What was to become of the better
class j^oung men ? Must they turn to the low statute
labour demanded by the Government upon the public
roads ? They would then lose their prestige as sons of
the ruling families. Islam opened a glowing career to
them, they could become teachers.
Clever chiefs were prudent in the choice of their
teachers. They did not take much account of the
manner of life or even of the religious character of the
candidates ; they only considered whether the future
teachers would become willing tools, not only agreeable
to all the chief's devious plans, but also likely to pro-
mote them by their priestly authority. If a teacher
succeeds in securing an assured position among the
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 81
people, the tractable tool may further become a danger-
ous intriguer, who will gradually steal the heart of a
chief's people away from him. There are chieftainships
whose princes are only so in name ; in reality the teacher
is ruler with his group of followers. The higher teachers
know well how to serve their own interests in this game
of intrigue. To-day they are on one side, to-morrow on
the other. They keep their aim steadily in view, namely
the maintenance of their own prestige, which is
guaranteed only by the regular sum of their receipts.
The teacher has not merely a good position from the
outset, he not only enjoys the same rank as the chiefs,
but there is also a powerful bond between the teaching
order and the body of the chiefs which has been of
importance to both parties. There has been mutual
assistance ; they have been able to mutually protect
themselves against the attempts of the people to have
a say in the government of the country. Many teachers
become the indispensable advisers of the princes.
In this way ideas hostile to the Europeans percolate
to the hearts of the chiefs ; the Arabian and Pan-Moslem
spirit very quietly and without arousing attention
maintains its footing in the politics of the chiefs. Of
course outwardly they are prudent and subservient ;
it is all only instruction, but the teachers introduce an
evil tyranny into the country. The ordinary man does
not like to fall out with the teacher ; he would then
have the prince also against him. Nor does he dare
to resist the injustice of a weak prince, or he would have
the whole body of teachers about his ears. Islam thus
lays a new bondage politically upon the people.
Unmoved by the anger of his European fare, the
drosky driver dismounts from his box when he meets
these holy men ; because he knows that lack of rever-
ence for a sheik ruins his temporal and eternal happi-
ness. In Java they are worshipped as demi-gods.
Many people look upon them as their god. For they
are Allah's friends and work miracles before one's very
G
82 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
eyes : their curse brings misery, their blessing happiness.
They are the protectors of the faithful and admit them
to Paradise. They know the hearts of all men. Super-
natural knowledge of the thoughts of others is the proof
of their acceptance with God.
They are representatives of God. This is demon-
strated to the heathen by the fact that everything comes
to the teacher's hand without any labour on his part,
simply, " in answer to his prayer to God." The teacher's
wealth is made the test of the truth of the Mohammedan
religion for the heathen. The heathen have the pros-
pect of one day also receiving similar tokens of respect
and similar gifts as do these teachers. The heathen say :
" Once given the title of Baleo or Kulipa or Malim or
Lobe, one has an upper seat at feasts and receives a
present."
The teachers are given the position of the old sor-
cerers. From the Animistic point of view the chief or
the sorcerer is so much feared because the supernatural
powers with which he is endowed give him power over
the souls of men ; indeed the chief is actually called
God's representative. The functions of the old sorcerers
pass to the Mohammedan teachers and the respect
entertained by the common people for the old uncanny
priests is transferred to their successors. The old time
charms, the spells for disease, the exorcism of evil spirits,
the discovery of Avhat has been lost, the selection of
lucky days — all this is taken over by the Mohammedan
teachers. The people say that if only one can read the
Koran aright, one acquires the magic powers (ilmu)
which reside in the Koran. The power to make people
ill by prayer is much sought after. Then no one will
dare to treat one with presumption. The teacher gives
everything a Mohammedan colouring. He says " Bis-
milla " (in the Name of God), a spell which the old sor-
cerer did not know. He sells amulets and Koran texts
carved in stone to serve as protection against illness.
He can interpret dreams and prophecies. A small
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 83
measure of success in this direction has a favourable
effect upon the number of his disciples. The teachers
foretell earthquakes and epidemics. If their prophecies
are not fulfilled, they say : " Allah has had mercy upon
the faithful and once more postponed the calamity that
you may have time to repent."
They are the chief exponents of the magic arts among
the people. They furnish them with excellent methods
for imposing upon the common people, and duly fleecing
the terrified faithful. On the other hand, little store is
set by their instruction. They are more esteemed as
sorcerers than as teachers. Their instruction is of a
purely religious character.
In the Batak country the teacher gathers the young
men around him to teach them the creed, the daily
prayers and the appointed prostrations. Many youths
rest content with that. Others, who wish to learn more,
go to some higher teacher, in which case they generally
find a lodging in his vicinity. During the daytime they
till their teacher's fields, look after his shop, or help him
at his tailoring ; they also accompany him up and down
the country when he goes peddling through the villages.
In return they receive their food, sometimes also a little
clothing and, above all, instruction of an evening.
They learn the Arabic character and how to read the
Koran. This instruction is extremely mechanical.
Passages from the Koran are learnt by heart in Arabic,
which they do not in the least understand, the point
being not to understand but merely to correctly recite
the Arabic sounds ; hence hearing and memory alone
are trained. Since the Batak tongue finds the Arabic
words unpronounceable, the jironunciation is altered
according to Batak sound laws (f becomes p ; ch becomes
h, etc.). How much the Mohammedans make of this
reading of the Koran may be seen from the fact that
Koran reciters journey from Egypt as far as Achin to
give paid lessons in reading the Koran.
Education stops here for the most part. A few who
84 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
have enough money to learn more go to some other
teacher with the reputation of knowing a great deal
He in no way welcomes them ; rather he assures the
would-be student over and over again that his wisdom
is secret lore (batin) ; i.e., the student must pay him a
heavy retaining fee.
The outcome of such teaching as this is naturally
small. The pupils can repeat like parrots, without
understanding a word of what they are saying, what was
once revealed by the Prophet, and at best they can intone
the stated prayers correctly.
The numerous schools and courses carried on by the
Mohammedan teachers offer no secular instruction what-
ever. It is a fundamental Mohammedan idea that
sacred learning alone is of value in the sight of God.
Nevertheless, the influence of the teachers upon the life
of the people should not be underestimated. Doubt-
less Batak Mohammedanism has as yet no native Moham-
medan theologians ; but neither has it needed them. It
does, however, possess in plenty the spiritual leaders
needed for the simple conditions of the country and
scholars too who in time will promote Moslem learning,
if not in their own land, at all events at INIecca ; for all
the pilgrims in the country have passed through the
school of the Mecca professors, and they are the ones
who in their turn communicate the lore and wisdom of
Mecca to the common people, little as they themselves
as yet understand it. Islam has the teaching order
alone to thank for the maintenance of its religious life.
The Mohammedan teachers are popular and respected ;
they do not live apart from the people. As rice farmers
or merchants, they are part and parcel of the comnumity.
Hence they also know the people thoroughly. There
is no hierarchy in the country, and yet the people takes
directions from the teachers. They alone know at
least a few Arabic prayers. At a minimum though it be,
this knowledge of the sacred language, in which alone
one may commune with God, makes the teachers in-
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 85
dispensable to the people. Without them no one can
live out his religion. The teachers alone know the right
hours for prayer, or how sanctuaries, mosques, etc., are
to be built. They are perpetually a living reminder to
the people of its religious obligations. Their mere
existence reassures the people when they are afraid lest
God should neglect them. It is something to have one
even in the most remote village who bears the burden of
responsibility towards God, and who sees that every-
thing is ordered according to His will ; the teacher
knows enough prayers in case of need to get one's sins
forgiven by God.
The teaching profession adapts itself to the needs of
the people. This has at all events the merit of not lay-
ing burdens upon the people too heavy for them to bear.
It is to Islam's advantage that the community need
have no anxiety as to the finding of the teacher's salary.
The teacher lives by the work of his own hands. He is
no apparent burden to the community, because the
contribution he requires does not strike the people as in
any way remarkable. The teacher only receives what
used to be given to the sorcerer. The latter had also
to be given heavy fees for reading lessons ; as a matter
of course the Moslem teacher asks fees for his lessons in
reading the Koran.
The teachers' position as mediators lowers the popular
conception of God. God is approached as one would
approach a dreaded ruler through mediators, and it is
a matter of no surprise that God gives answer through
mediators. In intercourse with God man employs the
prophets, the saints and the teachers, and God does the
same. The gift of magic is the credential of a mediator
with God, without which he would not be believed.
Of course, this does not make the slavish relation in
which man stands to God one whit better. On the con-
trary, having found a refuge other than God, man with-
draws from God. He depends upon visible mediators.
The indolent character of the native, who does not mind
86 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
being in leading strings, makes him more and more a
prey to mediators and to the teachers in particular.
Moreover, God panders to this tendency. A prince pur-
posely employs go-betweens in order to keep his sub-
jects in their proper place. God only defines the more
clearly by means of mediators in holy things the gulf
between Himself and the profanum vulgus. Hence
neither on God's nor on man's part do mediators bring
about a closer relationship ; on the contrary, they hinder
it.
The two ideas which contorted the Animist's conception
of God arc thus reproduced in Islam. In the first place,
the cloud of heathen spirits hovering before the throne
of God, which prevented union with God, appears in
another form in the person of mediators. In heathen-
ism spirits, in Islam saints and prophets — the result is
the same. God is overshadowed. But secondly, the
heathen split up the unity of God into a plurality of
functions and relegated each function to one special
deity. That is the polytheistic tendency of heathenism
which has disintegrated the conception of God in the
Animist mind. In Islam, which we have regarded as so
monotheistic, a multitude of mediators depreciates the
unity of God and destroys the essence of the monotheistic
belief in God. Islam has succumbed to the danger of
man's remaining dependent on the mediator instead of
being led by that mediator to God. Instead of the mono-
theistic formula, the polytheistic tendency so deeply
embedded in the human heart comes out at every turn.
Human beings are deified, the faithful know to whom,
besides God, they can cling. That is polytheism. It
appears in deceptive Moslem guise, it is true, but as
the worship of human beings gains ground, the worship
of God decreases. The more strenuous the faithful
imagine the rivalry between God and His saints, the
further does God withdraw into the background. The
idea of God is influenced by the idea of mediators, belief
in God receives its death blow in the belief in mediators.
GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 8t
God is driven further and further out of this hfe into
the Hereafter. For in this Hfe God gives place to His
representatives.
Only in the life to come does one really have to deal
with God. And in the meantime this world is still
there. The desire to have more of God than Islam gives
does not die. The desire for God, of which of course
Islam has much to say, is for God in some visible form.
This might have been attained by image worship, but
Islam emphatically rejects the worship of images, and
the heathen has no craving for it. Instead of dead
images, Islam offers living men or the spiritual figures
of departed prophets. They are intended to bring God
to the people in tangible form. Their activity is the
activity of God, their blessing the blessing of God, their
curse the curse of God, in them one perceives God. They
are the interpretation of inexplicable dogma, the exegesis
of the dead Koran. What they speak, command, do
and perform — that is the activity of God. The common
people's belief in mediators is their protest against the
dogma of the schools. For the common people are not in
the position to produce other doctrines in rivalry to those
of the schools. They protest by their usages, e.g., by
magic and by their popular beliefs.
Even the heathen Batak is too intelligent to rest
content with what he does not m the least understand.
Islam's utter inability to bring God nearer to man in
divine form, i.e., in such a way that His deity is not
violated, drives the Animist to bring God near to himself
in human form in some other way. Human beings,
whom one can understand, and spirits, who correspond
to the Animist's conception of things, are associated with
God.
The worship of mediators rests upon the twofold
endeavour to fly from the unapproachable God and to
enter into communion with God. This is strange.
Are not these two motives divergent ? Under the sense
of its guilt, the child is afraid to face its stern father ;
88 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
but a secret longing for intercourse with the one to whom
it owes its being urges it to seek his presence. Are there
no other ways of entering into communion with God ?
Perhaps on God's side — has He not given that wonderful
book ? Or on man's side by some mysterious method ?
Of these two experiments we have yet to speak : the
book of God, the Koran, and " the way of God,"
mysticism.
Chapter VII
THE BOOK OF GOD
NOTHING we have said thus far has made up for
the deficiencies in the Heathen-Mohammedan's
conception of God. After, as before his turning to
Islam his relation to God is unsatisfying. We turn
hopefully to the Koran. Many Europeans obtain their
information and upon it frame their judgment concern-
ing Islam from the Koran alone. Doubtless the thought
world of the Koran plays a great role in the intellectual
life of every Mohammedan people. Those who know
assure us that the literature of every Mohammedan
people is suffused with Koran thought. What part does
the Koran play in the religious life of the Indonesian ?
We have just seen that the place occupied by Mo-
hammed in the Koran is quite different from that which
he occupies in the popular consciousness. The theology
of the later Mohammedan theologians and tradition
have always exercised a much stronger influence upon
the religious conceptions of Mohammedans than the
Koran, because its contents are unknown to the leaders
of the people, to say nothing of the common people
themselves. Only in the rarest cases do even those who
study at Mecca attain to the study of the Koran.
Hence there is no question of the Koran's revealing God
to men or even of its establishing communion between
God and men. The Koran is the Book of God, not the
Word of God. Just as God created the heavens and the
sun, so also He created the Koran. Or rather, according
8&
90 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
to the orthodox dogma, the Koran is uncreated, it is
eternal. Mohammed only received a copy of the heaven-
ly original.
The Koran is certainly read. Going through the
villages of an evening, we find people everywhere reading
the Koran aloud in a loud, drawling voice. If we ques-
tion one of these devout souls a little, we find that he
understands nothing of what he is reading. We should
not, however, especially blame the Batak for this, it is
the same throughout Islam.
Even Mohammedans whose mother-tongue is Arabic
only understand the contents of the Koran after pro-
longed persevering study. When we try and read a
book in Old High German without having studied Ger-
manic philology, we are as much puzzled as the Moham-
medan trying to read his Koran. To nations which do
not speak Arabic, it is an utterly closed book. But few
attempt the study. Nor does the knowledge of the
Koran serve any purpose without the study of its copious
commentaries, by the aid of which alone the correct text
is laboriously deciphered.
No wonder then that the Indonesian understands
nothing of what he reads, nor the charms and prayers he
learns by heart. Their wording is corrupt, the explana-
tion the teacher has given him is inaccurate and becomes
more and more distorted by oral transmission. It would
be a simple matter to improve this bad condition of
things by means of a translation, but all such translations
are abhorrent to the Mohammedan.
Translations of the Koran do as a matter of fact, exist,
some of them with an interlinear text, e.g., in Javanese;
but they are much too costly for the common people,
Nor are translations exactly forbidden. Dr. Matteo
discovered a MS. copy of the Koran with an interlinear
translation, or rather a paraphrase, in the Macassar
dialect (Celebes).
Indifferent as the Mohammedan may be to the under-
standing of the Koran, the correct traditional recitation
THE BOOK OF GOD 91
of the text is extremely important in his eyes. This
pecuHar psahnody the Mohammedan loves above all
things. Our musical Indonesians practise the art assidu-
ously. The Koran is, therefore, only prized from the
point of view of form. Not the understanding of the
contents, but their delivery in perfect form is the great
thing.
Nevertheless, the Koran is of great significance in the
religious life of the Heathen -Mohammedan. The Koran
claims to be God's revelation. That is a new idea to
the heathen. This book and those who possess it can
therefore lay claim to absolute authority. That there
should be such a thing at all as divine authority is
already in itself a step in advance of heathenism. Hence
the Koran is treated with the same universal respect
among our people as elsewhere in Islam. It is infallible.
Every teacher takes his oath upon it. The Mohamme-
dans believe that the Koran is a copy of a heavenly
original, revealed by an angel in the sacred month
Ramazan. Hence the Koran is unalterable ; not merely
the words, but the very recitation of them rests upon
inspiration. The doctors explain away contradictions
by clever interpretation or by saying God's will has
changed.
The Mohammedan propagandist knows his heathen
fellow country-man. He will not be drawn into any
sort of discussion about the faith ; taking his stand upon
the Koran, he claims absolute authority for every word
he utters. The heathen, devoid of support or stay, yearns
for authority ; his authority hitherto has been the tradi-
tional dictum and custom of his forefathers. But he
has never dared to enforce them with such assurance as
the Mohammedan. Only the vague fear of every
possible calamity has made him obey their authority for
want of a better. Custom has controlled his action, not
any conviction based upon personal experience ; his
belief is that of his people, his authority the wavering
opinion of the crowd, the purchasable word of the priest,
92 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
the self-seeking decision of the chief, accommodating
tradition ever pliable in the hand of the clever sorcerer.
Nowhere does heathenism offer settled points of view.
How firm is the Mohammedan in comparison ! He
boldly attacks heathen tradition, holds it up to ridicule
with impunity, transgresses unabashed all the sacred
injunctions of the fathers. That raises the question of
authority for the heathen. He has never thought of
pressing his conviction upon another, the Mohammedan
does so all the time. What gives him the right and
power to do so ? The Mohammedan answers without
hesitation : " The Book of God, the Koran ! "
The Mohammedan appears with the Koran in his
hand, a Divine book. The heathen vields the book
itself superstitious reverence, he lives under the delusion
that what is written must be true. Because in contracts,
for instance, the written word prevents the wording of
an agreement being altered. The written word is above
human caprice. Hence his faith in the book. It does
not matter that he has perhaps never seen the book, or if
he does see it, that he cannot read it. Even when ex-
plained to him, he does not understand its contents.
On the contrary, it only increases the halo of sanctity
attached to the book. Its mysteriousness attests its
Divine origin ; because for the heathen the essence of
Divinity is the mysterious, that which is beyond human
ken. The written record thus enforces the authority of
the new teacher. Any one who appears with such power,
with an appeal to such a mysterious book, must surely
stand in some peculiarly close relationship to things
supernatural.
The Koran contains the absolute rule not only for
religion, but also for one's entire earthly life. So-called
Mohammedan law is based upon the Koran. Every-
where in Islam the affairs of everyday life are, if possible,
brought into harmony with the Koran — so great is its
authority. This makes a profound impression upon
the heathen. This one book is the sacred book for all
THE BOOK OF GOD 93
peoples. This book thus hfts Islam not merely out of
the uncertainty of human tradition on to the firm ground
of the written word, but also out of the narrow limits of
national tradition into the world-wide expanse of a unity
embracing all nations. The law of the Koran is valid
urbi et orbi. A person may have but immature ideas
concerning the nations and the world ; but the Koran
gives him the very first inkling at all of a unity of man-
kind and nations which must bow to one law and one
Divine will. That one God rules the world, has created
the whole world and is everywhere present are logical
conclusions which the heathen has never deduced from
his belief in God. Such ideas now break upon the
heathen soul. The Koran, of which he is quite ignorant,
whose religious contents, literary merit or demerit,
historicity and chronology do not in the least interest
the native, have called forth these ideas. One God, one
book, one language for all nations, such are the mighty
conceptions which gradually take shape in the Heathen-
Mohammedan consciousness. The nationalism of his
religion prepares to give way to universalism. An
important spiritual and religious development seems at
hand.
Nevertheless, the Koran again loses this place of
eminence. Animism, still unconquered, reasserts itself
and drags the Koran down into the sjDhere of heathenism.
Once more Islam finds itself confronted with the same
difficulties in which it is continually involved by its
syncretism. The door can never be bolted against Anim-
ism, otherwise the common people cannot be expected
to accept the Koran, the idea being too remote from
the heathen mind that the Koran is the gift of God to the
world, the revelation of Himself to the world. The un-
palatable book must be smeared with the sweet honey
of Animistic thought before the crowd will be tempted
to touch it. To an extraordinary degree Islam has suc-
ceeded in popularizing its sacred book. Even the
heathen talk of it. On the other hand, this popularity
94 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
is dearly bought : the sacred book becomes a book of
magic. The recitation of it takes the place of heathen
incantations. Even the mere volume is treated as a
charm. Thus neither the Koran nor any religious tract
written about it may be held in the bare hand, one's
hand must be wrapped in a cloth.
Again, therefore, the Animist cleaves to the external
gift. In the gift he forgets the Giver. The idea of
revelation does make a certain impression upon him, but
because he is not taught the contents of that revelation,
even if the Koran contained one, and only appreciates
revelation from the Animistic, magical point of view, the
mere book does not draw his soul into any relationship
with God. Otherwise, although not understood, the
Koran might be said to have a certain significance for
his conception of God : God comes forth from the dark
background to which He is relegated by the heathen.
In giving the Koran to the world, surely He has done
something for humanity. On the contrary, the Koran
destroys communion with God. Being itself dead and
incomprehensible and at the same time God's word, it
makes God also dead and incomprehensible. God
comes no nearer to man. His book is to all intents and
purposes dumb. And if He does speak. He only lets
Himself be heard in all holy reserve in the one sublime,
but foreign tongue, Arabic. God does not condescend
to speak to man in his miserable language, his mother
tongue though it be ; to understand His princely tongue
one must take the trouble to learn it ! The gift
of the Koran manifests neither love on God's part, nor
interest in man. Despite the Koran, God remains as
much a stranger to man as He ever was. Nor does man
gain any intimacy with God by means of the Koran.
He cleaves to the external. The Koran takes man by
the arm and leads him back again away from God into
gloomy sorcery. Every one who fails to cut the last
thread of the net of Animism becomes more and more
entangled in its meshes.
THE BOOK OF GOD 95
The Koran has one remaining virtue. It delivers
man from uncertainty about God. It gives him the
firm foundation of a fixed and written word. But that
is a delusion. The Koran in reality only increases his un-
certainty about God. It is true that it is cited at every
turn. Allusions are made to chapter and verse of the
Koran in support of one's every opinion. For such a
quotation has the effect of " Roma locuta, causa finita ! "
These quotations do not really come from the Koran,
at least only in the rarest cases ; they come from the
so-called Kita-books, i.e., certain Malay religious tracts
on which many teachers base their instruction.
Hence fresh uncertainty arises, and when a native
quotes the Koran, it is not clear what he means. He is
often only citing some passage from a religious tract,
which he remembers having heard some teacher mention.
The idea of God only becomes more and more confused
by the use of the Koran and these Malay scriptures.
The contents of many of these writings is immoral.
They obscure the presentation of God ; because the
revelation of God is ascribed to them all without dis-
crimination. The Koran is the plaything of the selfish
teacher. Capital is made out of the native's very ignor-
ance and his complete uncertainty concerning God.
Many an one wants to be relieved of his vagueness about
God by his teacher's Koran lessons. In the hands of
the teachers, however, the charter of revelation is
changed into a cloak with which he intentionally covers
God's countenance. Only by express desire and for a
large sum of money is the veil raised a little. God
remains unknown and is apprehended, not in spite of,
but actually because of the Koran.
Chapter VIII
THE HEREAFTER
NOT for the sake of God does the Animist give up his
ancestral religion and become a Mohammedan.
THis question rather is, for he is grossly egotistical :
" What will become of me if I turn Mohammedan ? "
The answer is not : " You will gain God, if you accept
Islam," but : " You will gain Paradise." No heathen
has any idea what that means.) The word " surgo "
(Paradise) is something quite new ; but it is not long
before this word completely possesses the soul of the
erstwhile heathen. " Surgo " has become one of the
most popular words.
The life hereafter passes through seven phases :
death, burial, the intermediate state, resurrection,
judgment, hell and paradise.
Death. — The term of man's existence is fixed once and
for all. God makes a written covenant with the pre-
existent soul. This exactly determines man's destiny
and the hour of his death. When this covenant ceases
an angel sends a messenger of death ^ to fetch the
already sick man. He says to him : " You have
received what you once asked, so now I take away your
life." By way of the ear or the large fontanel, the death
angel then takes away the life, but not the soul ; the
latter remains for the time being in the body. It is
called " the inner man."
* " Marangkal maut," the two death angels Harut and
Marut. (Cf. Koran II. 96.) These figures may perhaps be of
Talmudie origin.
96
THE HEREAFTER 97
Burial. — No dead man can be buried before the
teacher arrives. The corpse is washed twice. Then
some white cloth is brought, the teacher cuts out and
sews the shroud and says some prayers in Arabic.
Then the body is carried to the grave. Any one who
does not wash the body properly is arraigned in heaven
by the angel (the death angel) and the dead man. If
those left behind can by any means afford it, the shroud
must be long enough to wrap the body round seven
times. Even among the poor the garment must be
wrapped round at least three times. The shroud is
" his wings to the other world." The garment is
sprinkled with sweet-smelling oils. At the grave the
teacher attaches a prayer of protection, written on a
piece of paper, to the corpse and conducts a service. All
who take part in it receive some money. In the evening
there is a solemn funeral feast.
This funeral feast (kanduri) is often repeated seven
evenings in succession, the poor are content with three
evenings. As they leave the teachers receive gifts on
behalf of the dead. The four things required by Mo-
hammedan law are thus fulfilled : (1) the washing of
the corpse ; (2) the enswathing of the dead ; (3) wor-
ship ; (4) burial. Even in the Batak country these
funeral customs are scrupulously observed. Coffins
are not universal, only the upper classes are provided
with beautiful coffins according to national custom.
Only when these ordinances have been duly observed
does the dead man find rest in the grave and enter the
other world. However carelessly other ritual may be
performed, as soon as the eschatological motive comes
into play, everything is thoroughly done. The eschato-
logical hope takes first place in a man's interest.
The Intermediate State. — Troops of demons arrive
as soon as the grave is closed, and to protect himself
against them, the dead man must be ready with the
creed and certain prayers. For this reason the name
of Allah and the creed are repeated over and over again
u
98 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
round the dying man. The corpse is laid on its side in
the grave facing west towards Mecca, in a cavity hol-
lowed out of the side of the grave. As soon as the grave
is closed, the dead man wants to rise and escape from it.
The teachers sustain the dead in the ordeals that come
upon them ; but as soon as they have returned to the
village, the Satanic visitation is renewed. With the
noise of thunder the death angel ^ approaches with his
iron sceptre as large as a palm tree and shouts in a voice
of thunder : " Man, who is thy God ? " The unbeliever,
stricken dumb with terror, is then visited with terrible
judgment ; but he cannot die however terrible his tor-
ment. The angel leaves him, but his torment continues
until the Judgment Day ; a thousand years are as one
day to him ; bitter remorse comes upon him when he
sees devout Moslems upon the earth ; he is not yet
actually in hell, but it awaits him. The believer on
the other hand finds rest after the first seven days, and
the teachers invited to his funeral feast succour him
by their prayers. The wicked angel also attacks the
believer, but he hurls prayer formulas against him and
the Evil One flies in all haste. Then the dead man
settles himself comfortably in the grave. He receives
a lamp and everything else he requires, but at heart
he is full of joy at the prospect of the heaven which
awaits him. Every Friday all torment ceases ; because
on that day believers and unbelievers meet together
in a special place to keep Friday ; when Friday is past,
they return once more to their graves.
The Resurrection. — Ordeals more and more terrible
come upon the departed in the grave. Frightful experi-
ences precede the Last Judgment. The conflict with
the Antichrist, for instance. Then the earth passes
away. The sea swallows up the mountains, the new
earth is spread out evenly like a mat. Men grow out
of the graves upon it like mushrooms with white heads.
^ Mankar and Nakir, really two angels, are regarded as one
person by the Bataks. They question the dead in the grave.
THE HEREAFTER 99
The Judgment. — Then God sends the angel Gabriel ;
Raphael assembles the dead by trumpet blasts, and
they group themselves round their teachers, for they
are led by them to Judgment. On the Resurrection
plains the sinner has a very toilsome way ; seven years
he goes uphill, seven years across a plateau and seven
years down hill, but the believer flies across the plains
like lightning. Gabriel begins to pray, every one
follows. He sees, however, that some are only pretending
to pray. Suddenly in a moment, as all are prostrating
themselves, he casts a very fine chain over the multitude
and all who cannot pray are horribly mutilated. Then
comes the Judgment. Gabriel holds the scales ; the
angel who has kept the record of man's good deeds
and the angel who has recorded his bad ones each throw
them into one of the scales. Mohammed does his
utmost to help believers. He casts a spell over Gabriel
and throws his ring or his turban into the scale with
the good deeds. He often has a conflict with Gabriel
who refers the matter to Allah for judgment. Those
who can weigh down their evil deeds must then cross
the bridge of heaven (" sirat "), no wider than a hair's
breadth, beneath which hell fire seethes. It takes
three thousand years to cross but Mohammed covers
it at a stride ; believers take a longer or shorter time
according to their holiness as measured by their good
works. To fall means hell fire.
Hell.—C' Api," the Batak for fire ; "na roko," from
the Sanscrit word naraka). We may use the expression
hell because it is the place of eternal torment for unbe-
lievers.
Hell is like a man's belly with its seven skins, or like
seven concentric hollow spheres, one inside the other.
In the centre glows the fire ; the first hollow sphere
is the first hell. The heat diminishes little by little to
the seventh region of hell. All those who have not
survived the ordeals of the Intermediate state go to
hell, and all those who are condemned at the Last Judg-
100 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
merit. According to a man's measure of good works,
he must stay a longer or shorter time in one of the
regions. The time varies from one minute to a thousand
years for believers ; unbelievers are eternally damned.
They are the fuel of hell. The alms of one's relations
and Mohammed's continual intercession shorten the
torment of believers. After a thousand years all Mo-
hammedans go to heaven. " Mohammedans " also
include those who have given up Islam in their lifetime
and become Christians or heathen — even these back-
sliders gain entrance to heaven, even they are exalted
by the nabi Mohammed. Other people go so far as
to say that all men, even Christians, must become
Mohammedans at the Last Day. Even Jesus Himself.
Children who die before they know right from wrong
go straight to heaven without passing through hell.
Every transgression, even the smallest fault must be
atoned for in hell. The worst criminal however, pro-
vided that he is a Mohammedan, will eventually pass
from hell to Paradise.
Paradise. — Paradise is a sevenfold heaven. From the
seventh hell one passes to the first heaven. The blessed-
ness and affluence of the citizens of heaven increases
from one heaven to another. Every imaginable delight
is theirs. A bowl as large as the earth stands before
the blessed, full of the most wonderful meats ; any
other food the soul may desire is there on the instant.
Even man's sweat turns to sweet-smelling balsam. The
new citizen of heaven at once receives seven wives,
marvellously beautiful maidens, who satisfy their
spouse's every desire while he is yet speaking. Fancy
runs riot in the description of these women. Many of
the blessed receive forty-four such wives, they grow
in beauty from one heaven to the next. They provide
meat and drink and sweet-smelling odours ; they fulfil
their heavenly lord's every wish ; nor is there any
more child-bearing to defile these heavenly maidens.
Only the obedient wife, who treats her husband with
THE HEREAFTER 101
respect and faithfully worships God, can be her hus-
band's favourite wife in Paradise. Even that de-
pends on her husband's caprice. Hence the eternal
welfare of his wife rests with her husband : he is her
god.
The hope of the Hereafter. — Paradise is the hope in
which the soul of the Indonesian lives and moves. This
magic word is amazingly deeply rooted even in the heart
of the heathen, long before any lemon has been squeezed
over their heads as the sign of their engrafting into
Islam. That an eschatological prospect should be
the special magnet which attracts the Animist to Islam
may seem scarcely credible to those who know Animistic
heathenism. For the experience of Christian Missions
is that the eschatological side of Christian doctrine is
grasped only after a considerable length of time. Never-
theless, the Mohammedan outlook upon the Hereafter
seems to have early made an impression upon the
heathen mind.
Contact with Islam has not however brought forth
the idea of the Hereafter as something absolutely freshly
created ; Islam has only given heathenism a few names
and elaborations ; the belief in a Hereafter, as well
as the belief in God, shadowy as it may have grown,
is universal in heathenism. Many heathen customs
are only comprehensible in the light of a life after death.
The very funeral feasts, at which cattle is slaughtered
to follow the dead into the other world, and certain
mourning customs point to a life hereafter. In the
case of those who are killed by accident, something at
least belonging to them is treasured, so that it may be
buried and assure the soul entrance to the realm of the
dead. Important fundamental ideas however of Moslem
eschatological doctrine already enter into the heathen
conception. The idea of judgment underlies the
description of the many ordeals to which the souls of
the departed are subjected. They are either tried by the
guardians of the realm of the dead or questioned by
102 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
those who are already dead. The Supreme God himself
sits in judgment.^
The idea of retribution is also universal ; the sinner's
passion is visited upon him. According to the Bataks,
gamblers suffer the remorse of gambling. Thieves must
make use in public of the objects they have stolen.
Others, who are regarded as accursed because of the
manner of their death, are chastised in the realm of
the dead.
Finally, the idea of a state of blessedness after death
is not altogether absent. Tradition has inklings of
spirits who have had the special privilege of being
transported to the other world. Indeed, among the
Karo Bataks death is said to bring rich enjoyment.
At all events in the Animist mind a better fate beyond
the grave is secured by merit alone.
In saying this, it should be noted that the heathen
conception of merit and virtue is often diametrically
opposed to our system of ethics. The dead man is
questioned by the guardian of souls as to whether he
has taken many heads in head-hunting, that is, for
some token of bravery. A proof of bravery, that is,
some virtue is essential for entrance to the spirit world.
It is a further virtue for a man to provide for posterity,
i.e., for the continuance of his family ; a man who dies
unmarried has therefore not fulfilled one of his obliga-
tions. In districts where sexual intercourse between
unmarried persons is no disgrace, one is not surprised
at the question as to whether the dead was lascivious,
i.e., whether he practised sexual intercourse. Hence
we have the twofold and apparently paradoxical point
of view that the murderer finds entrance to the spirit
world, whereas the man he murders does not, because
he stands condemned by the judgment of God ; and the
1 The Burus say that the Supreme God Opo geba snulat
writes the deeds of men in a book that he may later judge
the souls of the dead ; the virtuous will enjoy felicity and
peace, the evil will be punished for their deeds in the pit of hell.
THE HEREAFTER 103
immoral person, because he has fulfilled his sexual
obligations, is accepted, whereas the chaste person is
rejected. In both cases acceptance rests on the Animis-
tic conception of merit. It accounts for the fact that
a man who falls in battle may not enter the realm of
the dead, because he has met with Divine judgment,
but the man who may have fled the field out of cowardice
does gain an entrance because it is his right, otherwise
he would have fallen in the fray.
Nevertheless, while life in the realm of the dead is
better for the soul than dreadful, ceaseless wandering,
the heathen conception of the Hereafter life is very
inadequate ; it contains no idea of " blessedness." It
is otherwise in Islam. The Hereafter implies an advance
upon this life. That is Islam's good news. Not the
idea of the Hereafter in itself. Heathenism also raises
the question of the Hereafter. It, however, has found
no clear answer. The anxious query still persists :
" Will the future life restore what I lose in death ? "
The constant terror of spirits under which the heathen
labours — eventually of course he himself becomes such
a spirit — shows that the soul is not happy in the Here-
after. The worship of spirits overshadows every bright
thought concerning the future.
The parallel between the idea of God and the hope
of the Hereafter is clearly manifest. The thought of
the Hereafter has faded as the knowledge of God has
become more obscure. By degrees all concern for the
Hereafter has vanished. Men are lost in the cares of this
life. Worship becomes mechanical, a search after
" soul-stuff " ; the worshipper sinks to the level of the
anthropological. All interest in eschatology is lost.
Islam, however, brings the idea of God to the forefront.
It restores the old idea of a companion and presents
it to heathendom as an old acquaintance. Just as in
the case of Mohammedan magic,' the Moslem conception
of the Hereafter recovers its place of authority through
God. For the heathen naturally asks : " Who is my
104 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
guarantee for your lauded Paradise ? " Islam points
to the Great Companion and says : " God, for God is
the Giver of eternal life." ■ God gives the Mohammedan
his success in the affairs of this life, his social and educa-
tional advantages ; this the heathen sees every day.
God endows the Mohammedan sorcerer with his mar-
vellous power ; that also the heathen firmly believes.
God is man's fate ; that is the inference from the Mo-
hammedan's fatalistic way of speaking. No wonder
that God, who gives the Mohammedans such advantages
in this life, should also provide for them in the life beyond
and secure them the same favoured position which they
have already had on the earth.
The life to come is a perfected present world, hence
its attraction for the heathen. For the heathen looks
upon this life entirely from the standpoint that it is the
supreme good. He has no idea that there can be any-
thing better than this earthly life. He looks out into
the Hereafter in deadly fear because there is no more
life there with its joys. The pleasures of this life are
eating, drinking, sexual gratification and peaceful idle-
ness. Islam holds out hope of all these after death.
The heathen is assured that the life to come is no
shadowy existence but fuller concrete enjoyment of life ;
earthly joys are there held out to him in fulness and
potency not known in this world. Sexual gratification
has no early limit set upon it by age, the pleasures of
eating are not hindered by the difficulty of obtaining
food. The life hereafter certainly does not mean fellow-
ship with God. The mystics may have that idea, but
not the ordinary Mohammedan. Eternity is delight
in living, not delight in God. It brings not deliverance
from sensuality, that one may be more spiritual, but
perfection of sensuality, that one may wholly lose one-
self in sensual delights.
This eschatological hope logically connects itself at
this point with the incompleteness of Animism. Ani-
mism leaves the souls of the departed to their fate.
THE HEREAFTER 105
Islam appoints them a beautiful, unspeakably blissful
and eternal dwelling-place, replete with all that is dear
to the heart of the natives. Islam's amplification of
Animism in this way is bound to appeal to the Batak.
Its eschatology takes possession of his inmost soul.
The native, especially since he has come into contact
with the world of civilization, feels that he is ignorant
and down-trodden and imposed upon. His feelings
may be imagined at the prospect of Moslem blessedness,
when he will be lord of heaven and the unbelieving
European the slave of hell. What prospect like it did
his old Animism hold out to him ? The Mohammedan
Batak's religious life gives full play to eschatology. It
becomes his strong religious motive ; it partly accounts
for his fanaticism and the rapid expansion of Islam.
Its fear of the Last Judgment and its hope of a resurrec-
tion life give Islam significant religious power.
Thus the recent convert to Mohammedanism, who
otherwise pays little heed to Mohammedan ordinances,
sets great store by a Mohammedan burial, which alone
assures him an entrance to the life beyond. Death
makes Islam a matter of great moment. The fear of
being a Dutchman for time and for eternity often drives
the heathen into the arms of Islam. At all events in
eternity he does not wish to have anything to do with
the white people.
The prospect Islam holds out for the future brings
into play the full power of attraction in the other factors
which open the hearts of the heathen to Moslem propa-
ganda. Islam stands by a man, not merely in the new
age now upon him, but also more especially in the life
which is to come. All that Islam can give a man here
is but a faint reflection of what eternity holds out to him.
The Pan-Moslem hope in particular receives its true
complexion from eschatology. Christian rule is at
present tolerated solely because all authority will pass
to Islam in the Hereafter. The last Judgment will be
preceded by the final Holy War, in which Mohammed
106 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
will destroy all the unbelievers and then assume his
supreme power. Forerunners of the Prophet are there-
fore always appearing in the Dutch East Indies and
wishing to abolish Christian rule. These risings recall
the expectations concerning the Mahdi in Africa. In
1882, people said in Borneo that the Imam Maladi was
to come in that year and cut in pieces all the Christians
and heathen. In preparation for his coming the English
were to be conquered in Egypt, where they were said
to have quarrelled amongst themselves, and to have
risen against each other. As a result Queen Victoria
was said to have married her daughter to Arabi Pasha.
In 1904, certain Hadji came to Madura and announced
the coming of the " King of righteousness " (ratu adil)
in a few months' time ; he would triumph over the
unbelievers.
By thus infusing the life to come with earthly inter-
ests, it is certainly made attractive to the heathen ; at
the same time it loses all power to elevate. The prospect
of the Hereafter does not draw a man any nearer God.
On the contrary, God retires into the background at
the Last Judgment in comparison to the angels and the
Prophet. The latter is given the chief role. Islam's
eschatological hope sets the seal upon Mohammed's
glorification. He transcends every other prophet. The
Bataks have it that at the Last Day men will pass from
one prophet to another, from Adam to Noah, from Noah
to Moses ; but each will excuse himself and say his own
burden is all he can carry. Even Jesus is afraid of
Mohammed at the Last Day ; he therefore says to the
departed, who at last appeal to him : " I know you not.
All the people who lived in my life-time do attain ever-
lasting life by my mediation, but since you lived after
my day, I can do nothing for you." But Mohammed will
say to Allah : " Oh Lord, here are my people ! " And
God will answer him : " Lead in as many of your
people as you like, without counting, through the door
on the right hand side of Paradise into eternity ! "
THE HEREAFTER 107
Thus a man has no choice, he must become a Moham-
medan ; even Christians have no other choice. Jesus
himself will one day be converted to Islam and become
the doorkeeper of the Mosque of heaven.
Chapter IX
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD
THE European is always tempted to see the worship
of God in Mohammedan ritual. But therein we
do Islam too much honour. The Mohammedan's
fulfilment of his five religious duties, " the five pillars
of the faith," i.e., the confession of the creed (sjahadat),
the daily prayers (salat), the payment of the religious
tax (cadakah), fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca, is simply
his duty.- We do not thereby lessen the import of his
ceremonial observances ; on the contrary, the worship-
per may not be brought into any closer relationship with
God, but he is reminded at every turn of his duty.
This entirely corresponds to the religious habit of the
Animist, who from the cradle to the grave is fast bound
in the strait waistcoat of religious custom. From this
point of view the native finds conversion in no sense
irksome.
It is a mistake to say that the simplicity of the Mo-
hammedan's religious duties attracts the native. Is
his religious duty actually so simple ? -The elaborateness
of the new ritual, its repetition day in day out, is just
what appeals to the native. He would mistrust a
religion which demanded less of him than what he was
accustomed to.i A religion Avhich demands little, must
also offer little. As a matter of fact but few fulfil their
religious duty completely. Who has time to perform
the stated ritual of prayer five times a day ? But the
very unattainableness of the ideal of religious obligation
renders the new religion sublime in the eyes of the
108
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 109
native and makes its wondrous prospects the more
credible. The elaborate ritual — for it is only to us
Europeans that Mohammedan ritual seems simple —
with its mosques, intercessors, ceremonies and rites, its
sacred language and sacred formulas, captivates the
heathen. What a poor figure in comparison the sorcerer
used to cut with his magic wand and its horsetail, the
old-time simple sacrifice of commonplace rice and fowl.
A heathen ceremony with its appropriate musical dances,
tasteful floral decorations, solemn acts of prayer, pro-
found veneration of the spirit of the ancestors and re-
markable funeral dances might seem to the European
at least as elaborate as that of the Mohammedans. But
at a period when the Animist is despairing of his own
nationality and seeking new forms of life, he is attracted
just by what is strange and incomprehensible. Moham-
medan derision of his heathen ritual does its part, as
also the gross misunderstanding among many blase
Europeans of the religious content of heathenism, which
is often coupled with an amazing appreciation of Mo-
hammedan ritual. The fact that the Moslem's religious
duty goes to the very heart of every -day life impresses
the heathen. In the most ordinary functions of every-
day life, in eating, drinking and bathing, that is to say
in the actions one always performs in public — bathing
is always in public and at public bathing-places — the
difference between the heathen and the Moslem religion
is patent to all. There is nothing remarkable in every
Mohammedan believer's being a missionary — the exag-
geration in this phrase we have already pointed out —
because Islam lays its hand upon these common and
inevitable activities of life and the Moslem cannot deny
his faith, even if he has no inclination towards missionary
work of any sort ; at a common meal with heathen
neighbours, he cannot eat swine's flesh ; he does not like
it, either because he has not eaten it for so many years,
or because he has never touched it. Daily purification
is a necessity to him. Thus the fulfilment of the Mos-
110 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
lem's religious duty entangles him more and more as
the years pass in the net of Islam. The sometime
Animist is trained and disciplined. The five religious
duties are the five thongs of the scourge with which the
Mohammedan teacher reduces his intractable, but by
no means unintelligent hearers to the condition of mere
tools without wills of their own. The scoursre is cun-
ningly provided with the stinging lash of the perpetual
reminder of eternal punishment. In this life a man
has only to deal with the teachers, but in the Hereafter
with God, and He is not to be trifled with. So the ful-
filment of religious duty has two objects. Man learns
to surrender himself to God and in especial to His
representatives, the teachers, and to prepare himself
for the life which is to come.^
1. The creed, the surrender of a man's ancestral
religion. The reception of a new convert consists in
nothing beyond ritual cleansing and the confession of
the creed. Any one who has said the creed commits
himself to keeping the whole law. In the Batak country
a heathen is received without his even knowing the
creed. A prospective convert is not expected to know
anything about Islam. The believer — ^it need not
necessarily be a teacher — only asks : " Dost thou desire
to become a Mohammedan ? " The novice answers :
" Yes," and then a lemon is squeezed over his head with
the words : " That thou mayst be clean." Lemons
being used for cleansing the body, the act of squeezing
a lemon is to be understood as an act of purification.
There are many Mohammedans among the common
people who have simply received this anointing with
lemon juice, but who know nothing else about Islam ;
they are even called " djau anggir," i.e., lemon-Moham-
medans. Usually there is no change of name ; only
children are often given Arabic-Malay names.
The creed runs thus : "I declare that there is no God
but God and Mohammed is the Apostle of God " — (La
illaha ill Allah, wa Mohammed resul Allah).
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 111
Sometimes the teachers give translations ; but these
are, to say the least, very free. They are rather explan-
ations, as also : " I confess with my tongue and hold
in my heart as true the unity of God the Almighty," etc.
In Java the creed and certain other words are repeated
first in Arabic and then in Javanese.
The repetition of these unintelligible words, which
are laboriously learnt by heart as far as possible in
Arabic recitative, seals the heathen's conversion to
Islam.^ Every day this creed echoes from the lips of
the muezzin. It must be used before every act of wor-
ship. Nor does this exhaust the meaning of the words .
The heathen's going over to Islam is not sanc-
tioned by circumcision ; this is not a distinctively
Mohammedan rite, for it was practised by many Indo-
nesian peoples even while yet heathen. It is purposely
put into the background. It is not ordained in the
Koran, it is not a work of merit. Even without cir-
cumcision one may be a true Mohammedan. Especially
the poor prefer to postpone circumcision. The rich
like to associate it with a great feast. Most Moham-
medans are actually circumcised ; otherwise they may be
laughed at. The uncircumcised are considered unclean.
2. Prayer, man's surrender of himself. Teachers in the
Dutch East Indies set much store by the daily prayers,
and this duty is, therefore, impressed upon the people
in various ways. The Koran has it, say they, that one
should pray fifty times a day ; but as that is impossible,
the least one can do is to perform worship five times,
according to the number of fingers on one's hand.
The five times for prayer in the Dutch East Indies
are — (1) at dawn, (2) at midday, (3) in the afternoon,
(4) at sunset, (5) in the evening after sunset. All these
times have special names.
^ Strange to say magic has also captured this formula which
really declares war upon all magic. The sorcerer uses it to
banish impending plague ; cut in stone these words preserve
even heathen children from misfortune who wear them round
their necks as amulets attached to little heathen lead medals.
112 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
As in other Mohammedan countries, the daily prayers
are only said by the stricter Mohammedans, which means,
in the Dutch East Indies, by the teachers. At special
seasons, in time of war, or during epidemics, etc., there
is, of course, a revival of religion. No more than the
Egyptian fellahs can our rice farmers be expected to
perform this stated ceremony five times a day. If a
higher teacher happens to be staying in a village, the
people will assemble in larger numbers for prayer ; they
wish to make a good impression upon the " omniscient "
teacher. But as a rule, the poor have no time and the
rich no desire to attend worship. Every outward detail
is of the utmost importance in this ceremony and,
therefore, minutely regulated ; the worship of the heart
is a secondary matter. Hence the expression " prayer "
is misleading. E.g., the exact hour is important. The
stipulations concerning it, of which the Batak by the
bye is entirely ignorant, are very minute. The place of
prayer is also of the greatest importance. Whenever
possible, prayer is said in a mosque. Where no place of
worship has yet been built, a little place of prayer is
made on the bank of the village stream by plastering
over a few flat field stones. More important still is the
posture of the body, otherwise the whole office may be
valueless.
First, one must be ceremonially clean. Before the
ceremony the Batak generally makes a total immersion,
or else bathes the upper part of his body and his feet
in a stream of water from a hollow bamboo cane. The
body must be covered ; at all events, those parts of it
which Mohammedans reckon indecent, e.g., women must
be covered from head to foot, with the exception of
their heads and the palms of their hands. Batak women
at prayer, therefore, generally wear large white sheets,
which they also throw over the back of their heads.
One's garments must be clean. The body must be turned
towards the Holy City of Mecca, i.e., towards the West.
Originally Mohammed prayed like the Jews, with his
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 113
face towards Jerusalem ; but it was important for him
to break off all connection between the faithful and
Judaism, so he ordained the Kiblah, the turning towards
Mecca. His desire that the faithful should thereby
have their attention directed to the new Holy City is
to-day still being fulfilled. Again, even in the ritual
of worship, the external is the chief consideration. For
the whole ritual of worship consists in certain postures
of the body.
(1) Standing still — one must hereby express the inten-
tion (Arabic : " nija " ; Batak : " ngiet ") of really
desiring to perform the ceremony, otherwise the act of
worship has no value. (2) The hands are raised shoulder
high and the worshipper says in Arabic : " Allah is
great ! " (3) In the same position he repeats the open-
ing verses of the Koran (Arabic : " fatiha ; Batak :
" patiha "). (4) He bends his trunk forward. (5)
He rises to his feet. (6) Kneeling down he touches the
ground first with his hands and then with his forehead.
(7) Still kneeling, he places his hands on his knees. (8)
Is a repetition of (6). At each position he pauses and
repeats the prescribed formulas. (3) to (8) can then be
repeated and the last, (9), consists in kneeling and turning
the head to the right and to the left. This is supposed
to be a salutation to the faithful standing by. Or else
to the two angels which accompany every man to record
his deeds. The Bataks, however, take it as a salutation
to God and the Devil, the latter accepting it as an insult
and turning aside.
The third external of religion to be scrupulously
observed consists in the Arabic formulas. They are not
explained to Moslems in the Dutch East Indies. The
sounds are simply learnt off by heart, often incorrectly,
because the teacher himself knows no Arabic. The
pronunciation does not matter.
According to Mohammedan law, common prayer is
desirable.
Forty-four male persons are, however, required to
I
114 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
make a congregation, that is to say, common prayer can
only be held in larger places. As in many other Moham-
medan lands, women are not admitted to the mosques
in the Batak country. The teacher steps forward and
calls upon the assembly to rise. The faithful stand
and the ceremonies we have just described then begin ;
the gathering intones aloud and in time. There is also
a kind of sermon. It must consist of three parts ; one
is an exhortation, the other two consist of quotations
from the Koran. It is often half in Malay, half in
Arabic, and therefore not understood by most of the
audience. Extracts from some religious catechism
are often read aloud. These sermons have no spiritual
or moral influence upon the people. In Java the teachers
use Arabic texts with interlinear translations for their
sermons (Arabic : Kotbah).
Extempore prayers are not forbidden in Islam. The
ritual of worship is even meant to include a prayer for
some special need, but Awetaranian, in looking back upon
his Mohammedan life, says : "I had no idea of prayer
in the Biblical sense, I thought I could not say a prayer
in a language generally understood." When he said
the Lord's Prayer in Turkish, which was his mother
tongue, it seemed " half a prayer " to him. The
Mohammedans and with them our Batak Mohammedans
have always the feeling that God should only be addressed
in the Arabic language. Islam has represented their
own nationality and with it their mother tongue as
unclean. It has taken all the expressions used in worship
either from Arabic or from the second sacred language,
Malay. Therefore the Mohammedan does not dare
to address God in his own language.
Extempore prayers are to some extent replaced by
vows, which, however, bear the stamp of heathenism.
The Mohammedan considers them more efficacious than
extempore prayer. Vows were a heathen practice.
The Mohammedan also makes vows to the spirits of the
dead. He promises them some gift, e.g., for their help
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 115
in a time of sickness or in other troubles. From that
point of view his vow is the same as when he was a
heathen. Or a vow is often made to one of the old
shrines, which is then given the Arabic name
" kramat," i.e., " the gift of God's grace " ; or to the sea,
which is regarded as the abode of spirits ; or even to some
honoured teacher still living ; rarely, however, to God.
In a bad illness a heathen and even a weak Christian
convert may vow that he will accept Islam.
3. The religious tax, the surrender of one's possessions.
The Prophet borrowed the idea from the Christianity of
his time that the renunciation of all earthly possessions
is the surest way to heaven. So the poverty-stricken
community at Mecca gave what it could. The parallel
between it and the Early Church at Jerusalem is a close
one. In both cases the gifts were laid at the feet of the
leaders of the community. With the Prophet's removal
to Medina, however, the lines of the practice begin at
once to diverge in a manner very characteristic of the
two religions. The Apostolic community continue to
care for the poor, and even a St. Paul trains his churches
gathered out of heathenism to give to the poor saints at
Jerusalem ; whereas Mohammed already begins at
Medina to pour the gifts of the faithful into a bloody
war chest. In thus turning the nominally freewill
offerings to political ends, the charity became a political
tax. Complaints arose when the Prophet proceeded to
pay his vahant armies with the " alms," but this, as so
many other of his irregularities, was sanctioned by
special revelations.
The religious duty called " Zakat " in the Koran has
received manifold modifications in the course of time.
According to the theologians the religious tax should be
distributed among eight classes of people ; (1) the poor,
(2) the needy, (3) those who collect the tax, (4) those
who are weak in the faith, (5) slaves, (6) debtors, (7)
those engaged in Holy War against unbelievers, (8)
travellers. The Bataks' appreciation of the religious
116 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
tax, for instance, accords remarkably well with the
original intention of the Koran, that it should be a work
of merit and a kind of atonement, or a substitute for
the old time sacrifice to spirits. A man's entire harvest
is accursed if he does not pay his dues. No teacher can
take food in such a man's house. All the food in his
house is unclean. And this may have evil consequences.
Funeral rites, for instance, cannot be performed in such
a house ; hence the dead will be exposed to the worst
possible torment in the grave. The religious tax is,
therefore, a kind of atonement which delivers food from
the curse attaching to it.
The gift is paid to the teachers that they may convey
it to God. How they do so concerns nobody. The
teacher ought to know. So for the most part the
religious tax goes into the teacher's own pocket. No
one thinks for a moment that it is given away. The
kulipa (caliph), especially as they pass up and down the
country, say of course that all the gifts will be given to
the poor and to orphans, and the common people then
give them sheep, fowls, horses and clothes ; " but, writes
one of our native helpers, although we have many
poor folk and orphans here in Angkola, not one of them
has ever been known to receive anything from a baleo "
(one of the higher teachers). Nor do the teachers hide
the fact that the religious tax is their perquisite. They
share what they get with the chiefs. For that reason
the ordinary man is not niggardly in the payment of his
religious dues ; who would be so bold as to incur the
anger of the chiefs and teachers ?
4. Fasting, the surrender of human desire. Fasting
was probably borrowed by Mohammed from the Harra-
nians, i.e., the Pseudo-Sabines. With them would also
originate the peculiar custom of always breaking a fast
at sunset. The Koran says that the Koran came down
to earth in the month of Ramadan, which is therefore
kept as a Fast. Fasting is to the glory of God. God
reckons the trouble and sorrow of the one who fasts to
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 117
his credit. Fasting is the ground of his merit, and the
commentaries on the Koran vie with one another in
praising it. " Fasting is supreme among the good
works well-pleasing to God." — " It is for my sake and I
will reward it." Fasting atones for sins committed
until the next fast month. During Ramadan sleep is
worship and silence is praise.
The ninth month of the year is the Fast month Rama-
dan. As the Mohammedans do not reckon their year
by the sun but by the moon, which, of course, makes it
eleven days shorter than the solar year, the Fast of Rama-
dan falls each year at a different season. This makes
the Fast more rigorous, especially if the month falls
at the season when field work presses. It is all the more
astonishing how universally the Fast is kept.
Violations of the law do occur, but breaking the Fast
means abuse from all sides. People are ashamed of it
and even put out their fires to avoid suspicion. The
Fast is, of course, only kept from sunrise to sunset. A
big drum then sounds as the sign to eat. So, strictly
speaking, the Fast, as it is kept in the Dutch East Indies,
is a farce, for at no other time does the Mohammedan
eat so much or so well as during the Fast, of course, only
at night. Even among the mountain tribes of the
Padang Lawas, in Central Sumatra, which as yet are
little instructed in Islam, I came across people who
refused a mouthful of medicine, for instance, which
would have certainly stopped a distressing pain, and
who asked to be allowed to take it away with them and
drink it in the evening. Some say that the whole year
is accursed and that one really ought to fast all the year
round ; only because that is impossible is one content to
fast a single month.
A number of other ceremonies are connected with the
Fast. One must first solemnly announce one's intention
of entering upon the Fast. The evening prayer (ngisa) is
accompanied by longer pauses between the several pros-
trations. On some Fast days in Java, offerings are made
118 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
to Mohammed. On such occasions those present repeat
their prayers together ; sermons on fasting are also
preached. Great evening collations are arranged, sacred
meals, with all kinds of dainties, to which the whole
male population of the village will often be invited.
For during the Fast of Ramadan, all a man has laid by
during the year must be spent on the evening meals.
The close of the Fast consists of a great feast on the first
day of the tenth month. Every one is astir. People
don their best clothes and visit all their neighbours.
The Fast of Ramadan has extraordinary significance
for the religious life. It is the clearest testimony to the
hold that Islam has upon the faithful. Even among the
Bataks Islam secures the cessation for a month of all
trade and traffic, handicraft and labour. And all to the
glory of Islam. In itself there is nothing particular in
turning night into day, in sleeping away the day with-
out eating, because one has taken out in revelry the
abstinence of the daytime. And yet it is foolish to
underestimate the significance of the Fast because of its
travesties. Fasting has become the most popular of all
religious duties ; it is the plumb-line of Islam ; it rivets
chains once more upon the wavering. Hence the Fast of
Ramadan as a matter of course brings most converts out
of heathenism and causes most backsliding from Chris-
tianity. The feast that breaks the Fast has a special
attraction for the heathen. It has become a high holi-
day, when one may give vent to every jollity and at the
same time — perform a work of merit !
The fasting condition of the body tends to cause a
certain fanatical tension ; the whole great wide world of
Islam is fasting together in that month. The feeling of
personal safety, the consciousness that he is making a
great sacrifice for God's sake, elates the believer. As at
no other time the believer despises the unbeliever during
the sacred month. A man's profession of religion is put
to the test as in connection with no other exercise of
worship.
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 119
5. Pilgrimage. — To visit certain holy places at Mecca
was a very old custom of primitive heathen times.
Mohammed and his faithful gained possession of these
sanctuaries only after prolonged and strenuous warfare.
The Prophet then made pilgrimage thither compulsory
for his followers. The old Arab sanctuaries were en-
dowed with special legendary significance, so that they
came to be regarded as religious shrines.
The chief sanctuaries at Mecca are the Great Mosque,
the Kaaba and the well Zamzam. Inside the Great
Mosque, enclosed by spacious porticos, is the Kaaba, a
small, cube-shaped temple ; it is covered with a costly
carpet presented annually by the Sultan of Turkey. On
legendary authority the Mohammedans believe that
Adam laid the foundations of this sanctuary with the
help of the angels. After the flood, Abraham and Ish-
mael then built the Kaaba. The Angel Gabriel built
the sacred black stone, which belonged to the time of
Adam, into its one corner. In the corner of the Mosque
there is the well Zamzam, which once gave water to the
fugitive Hagar.
The pilgrim has to perform a multitude of ceremonies,
which he cannot accomplish without a competent guide.
He must first dedicate himself to the pilgrimage by
putting on the Iram, i.e., he must abstain from various
kinds of food and put on the appointed unsewn pilgrim
habit. The chief ceremony is compassing the Kaaba
seven times ; if possible, the pilgrim should then try and
kiss the sacred stone. Then follows a six days' fast on the
plain of Arafa. Prayer at the Prophet's grave in Medina
is also recommended, but is not absolutely obligatory.
The pilgrimage takes place every year in the first half
of the second month.
Those who remain some years at Mecca for purposes
of study are specially important. Ever since the
eighteenth century there have been whole groups of In-
donesians residing at Mecca ; they form the so-called
Djawa Colony. Year by year young students come from
120 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
the East Indies inspired with the desire for knowledge.
They either seek situations as servants in the house of
some doctor of theology, or enter some pious institution.
The Indonesian pilgrims who return become teachers of
repute and earn handsome incomes ; but many stay on
in Mecca as doctors, giving instruction in Moslem wis-
dom, sometimes in the Malay language, or else as idlers
living on the alms of the middle classes. Pilgrims to
Mecca also learn the more correct way of reciting the
Koran. Many, it is true, in spite of daily instruction,
only attain a more correct pronunciation of the Fatiha.
Finally, many natives apply to some Sheik for admission
to an order.
Few Mohammedan lands send such a high percentage
of pilgrims to Mecca, or take so much money to Arabia
as the Dutch East Indies.
On December 10, 1908, there were 10,729 pilgrims in
Mecca from Java, which presumably means the whole
Dutch East Indies, as against 10,891 from India, which
has almost double the Mohammedan population. In
1895, there were in all 57,219 pilgrims at Mecca ; in
1907, a round 108,000. The average for the last twenty-
nine years has been 70,000. Of these, 11,570 came from
the Dutch East Indies (from Java alone 7,088, from
Sumatra, 1,177). According to Dr. Snouck Hurgronje,
the average for the last ten years has been 7,300, i.e.
10 per cent, of the total number. The slight increase
does not correspond to the increase in the population.
Of the pilgrims from the Dutch East Indies not 10 per
cent, are women and not 5 per cent, children under six-
teen years of age ; it is still the exception among the
Bataks for women and children to go on pilgrimage.
Here we have, therefore, a really important contribu-
tion to Islam from the Dutch East Indies. To rightly
appreciate these bold statistics, one must understand
what it means for an Indonesian to go on pilgrimage.
To begin with, it entails considerable expense. The
ordinary man, who has no ready money at his disposal.
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 121
must save up for years. The wives who are left behind
often suffer the greatest hardships during their husbands'
long absence. Cattle is sold and often everything else
that can possibly be done without. Doubtless, it is
unmarried people who go for the most part ; but then
the duty falls upon the relations of finding the means to
send the young pilgrim. Every pilgrim from the Dutch
East Indies has been reckoned to start with an average
of about £44. That implies that from the Dutch East
Indies alone some £172,000 is spent annually upon
pilgrimage. Over and above this the pilgrims also for
the most part have presents and maintenance money
sent after them from home, especially when it is a case
of young men spending several years in Mecca for pur-
poses of study. Nevertheless, it sometimes happens
that pilgrims, who started with £60, have run through
this money and been obliged to apply to the Consulate
to reach home again at all.
The pilgrims are terribly swindled at Mecca. On
their arrival, " Sheiks " present themselves as their
guides ; without them the holy places cannot be visited.
These Sheiks are an organized body ; they are under the
High Sheriff of Mecca, who is said to have an annual
income of over £83,000. The High Sheriff of Mecca,
Avni Ali Pasha, and his Wali, Ahmed Ratib Pasha, com-
bined to fleece the pilgrims. They received annually
480,000 Turkish pounds (£432,000), of which the Emir
High Sheriff had three-fifths and the Wali two-fifths.
As a result the Wali amassed a fortune of nearly
£1,500,000 sterling, together with a treasure horde of
jewels. This Wali was taken captive in October, 1908,
by the Young Turks and sent to Constantinople.
The agents of the shipping companies were also obliged
to pay subsidies to the Sheriff. Every camel from
Djedda to Mecca was charged £3. A large proportion
of his income was spent in imposts to the people at
Constantinople, to whom he owed his position and whose
good-will was essential to his retaining it. He was the
122 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
absolute autocrat of Mecca. The Sheiks are his under-
strappers. They have to pay him from £50 to £65 for the
privilege of being pilgrim guides, and of course they see
to it that they make up this sum as soon as possible.
Every national group finds its own representative
among the Sheiks. The Buginese of Celebes, the inhabit-
ants of Lampong, Achin and Java, each find some one
who knows their language and serves him as guide. In
this way these people, many of whom have never been
anywhere beyond their own forests and rice-fields, easily
adapt themselves to their new surroundings. Besides
every Indonesian knows a little Malay and the people of
Mecca itself often speak the East Indian dialects with
surprising fluency. Many of the islanders become them-
selves pilgrim guides in Mecca and join in fleecing their
fellow-countrymen. The pilgrims are lambs in the
Sheiks' hands. High-class Javanese kiss the hands of
Arab servants in their utter reverence for everything in
the Holy City. The Sheiks receive the money with
which the pilgrims have been entiTisted.
Many are the devices for swindling the people. They
provide the strangers, who are quite at sea as to ways
and means, with food at too high prices ; they exchange
their money into Turkish currency, find them camels
and tents and the prescribed pilgrim habit. The pilgrim
is told that the more he gives, the more will God for-
give ; but the price of the animals is too high and the
pilgrims can often not keep count themselves of the
number of animals actually sacrificed. They are taken
to the sanctuaries, e.g., to the sacred well, which it is not
at all necessary to visit. There are certain ceremonies
which Indonesian pilgrims have only begun to perform
of recent years. Again, the drawers of water are in
secret league with the Sheik and sell the water from the
sacred well for high sums to the pilgrims. Finally,
when the time arrives for the pilgrims to prepare for
their homeward journey, they detain on all kinds of false
pretences those whom they think have still got money.
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 123
The pilgrims are told, for instance, that the cost of their
voyage home will come down. Or their fare, which
may run to about £3 10s., is taken from them in advance ;
they receive tickets to Singapore, which cost about
£1 155., and are told that a fellow-passenger will pay
their voyage to Java. At Singapore, the fellow-passen-
ger has either suddenly vanished, or the pilgrim receives
a ticket by a wretched Chinese ship which costs less
than 105. The crafty Sheik in Mecca has thus defrauded
his pilgrim to the tune of perhaps twenty-five shillings.
On their return the pilgrims are ashamed to tell these
things even to their nearest relations. Hence it is no
easy matter to circumvent the cunning of the Sheiks.
The Consuls often complain that the pilgrims are actu-
ally afraid to advise them of these things. If a pilgrim
dies, the Sheiks, if they possibly can, appropriate his
money or pay it into chancery ; but even so they hold
it in possession and look upon it as their property. Many
a time the relations cannot get the money out of the
greedy hands of the Sheik without Consular intervention.
A large proportion, it is said 38 per cent., of the pilgrims \
never return. From the Dutch East Indies alone 25 \
per cent, did not return in 1895. Of the 13,000 who 1
went in the years 1853 and 1859 only 5,600 returned. '
The question arises : What becomes of these pilgrims ?
The Turkish Government refused all information, when
the attempt was made to trace them, and gave orders
that the Consulates were also to be refused all informa-
tion. A number of pilgrims do stay on for a certain
length of time to study. A few even of the Bataks also
pass on to Cairo to study at the University there. But
this does not account for the huge percentage which
never returns home. One reason is probably found in the
terrible ravages of plague. Every year cholera breaks
out and the sanitary regulations of the Turkish Govern-
ment meet with great opposition from the population ;
in 1895 they actually caused a rebellion. In 1895 alone, ^
2,000 of the Indonesian pilgrims are said to have died.
124 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Then caravans are followed by marauding Bedouins,
who fall upon any pilgrim straying from the caravan,
and the Turkish escort in charge of the pilgrims does not
dare to pursue the Bedouins. As recently as December
6, 1908, a caravan was attacked by Bedouins and many
were killed. At the same time Dr. Snouck Hurgronje
attributes the utter disappearance of so many pil-
grims to misapprehension in the matter of statistics.
The dangers of pilgrimage were often greater before
steamers began to run. Intercourse between Mecca and
the Dutch East Indies has been going on for nearly three
hundred years. Pilgrims were known in Bantan in the
seventeenth century. In Mataram one prince wishes
to send an embassy to Mecca and another wishes to
spend the rest of his life in Mecca. An embassy comes
from Mecca to Achin, and there is already a Malay pil-
grim doctor of the law established there. Even in the
sailing ships of the nineteenth century a single visit to
Mecca often occupied three years. The pilgrims sat
closely herded together on deck without sufficient pro-
visions ; they often lost their lives by shipwreck and
oftener still by fell diseases. They often lost their
money and had to beg the money for the rest of their
journey at the ports of call. The Dutch Government
even tried to prevent pilgrimage for a time.
The motive for 'pilgrimage. — More than ordinary
energy is surely required to make a native venture on
such a journey. Yet pilgrimage always preserves its
great attraction. Pilgrimage is a positive religious duty.
Only it is surprising that this duty is fulfilled with so
much zeal while others are not taken seriously. As a matter
of fact, in Islam pilgrimage is only ordained under certain
conditions and in many cases is even forbidden. Malay
Scriptures point out that more merit can be gained by
other means. It is more meritorious to secure justice
for the oppressed. Van der Berg says that he sometimes
pointed out to debtors, sick people and aged folk that
Mohammedan law absolves them from the journey to
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 125
Mecca, but that he received the answer : "Allah calls
me ! " There we have the strong religious motive.
Any one who sets foot in the Holy City and enters " the
house of God " (the Kaaba) and kisses the black stone,
has forgiveness of sins. Any one who offers a sacrifice
at the Tomb of the Prophet in Medina is well-pleasing to
the Prophet, Any one who dies on the way there goes
straight to heaven. The glory of pilgrimage is unclouded
in the eyes of the common people. Mecca is the pure,
holy land. The hadji do their utmost to foster these
ideas. They carefully do not tell how they have been
treated. Their whole standing would be undermined if
people knew how they had been led by the nose in Mecca.
The Bataks know but little of the disorders at Mecca.
One hadji who came back from Mecca did discard his
pilgrim habit and reveal the terrible bloodsucking of the
Sheiks in the Malay newspapers. But the common people
do not talk much about it. Enlightened hadji who cease
to have anything to do with pilgrimages are rare.
The great distance of the Holy City enhances its
attraction. Its halo is still unclouded. The journey
is undertaken with great enthusiasm. A man who has
decided to go on pilgrimage comes under the spell of
its experiences even before he starts. He becomes
very much excited, his whole soul is possessed by the
thought of the journey ; he runs hither and thither
asking the had j is what he has to do. His keenness
to learn and to recite the prescribed formulas increases.
The Indonesians retain their religious zeal even at Mecca.
They are conspicuous for it. They are beloved for it.
They come without any ulterior object, do no trade and
have a universal reputation for honesty. They come
primarily for religious motives.
Nevertheless, there are also other expectations present
to the mind of the pilgrim from the Archipelago. Mecca
is the centre of civilization. This fact and a general
desire to see the world impels many a gallant youth to
leave home. The craving for education, which to-day
126 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
plays such a great role among the peoples of Eastern
Asia, seeks satisfaction in Mecca. Disillusionment may
sometimes follow conversion to Islam. The education
it imparts is but meagre ; a man's national aspirations
are still unsatisfied. He hopes to find in Mecca what he
has in vain sought at home. Exquisite independence
from all authority inimical to Islam beckons him thither.
There he will be able to live for his faith unhindered and
acquire endless wisdom. The old man weary of life
sets out on pilgrimage in the expectation of being cured
of his ennui in the Holy City. Away there in Mecca
the brown man comes to his own and escapes from the
oppressive feeling that he is one of a despised race.
There he has hope of enjoying life. The carnal desire for
life with a beautiful Mecca woman for a certain length
of time, as is the universal custom in Mecca, also does
its part. The religious motive is thus gradually super-
seded. Pilgrimage to Mecca is very lucrative. The
pilgrims are given large sums for their journey to help
the dead to make the pilgrimage. No one asks what
becomes of these gifts. And when eventually the pilgrim
returns safely home, what a glorious future awaits
him !
In Northern Java, for instance, Mecca pilgrims take
rank with the higher teachers whether they have studied
or not ; they are teachers and missionaries, the influen-
tial leaders of the people. The common people's vener-
ation, a good income and many presents are an enticing
prospect. The journey to Mecca is not so much the
penitential way of a poor sinner as the spring-board
from which a venturesome youth may leap into a lucra-
tive profession of good standing ; the sacred journey is
not so much an offering in money on the part of a
believer in distress of soul as a good, safe investment of
capital for a clever speculator and man of the world.
The significance of the pilgrimage in the Moslem life
of the Archipelago is quite apart from the motives for
which the pilgrims undertake it. The pilgrimage, to-
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 127
gether with sundry other religious duties of the faithful,
bears altogether different fruitage from what one might
expect. Its centre of gravity Hes in quite a different
line from that which Mohammed and the doctors
imagined. It inspires and promotes propaganda, deep-
ens and fosters the rehgious Hfe of the Indonesian Mos-
lem, and as time goes on, infuses distant peoples with
the Arabian Moslem spirit. Islam in the Archipelago
owes an incalculable debt to Mecca, and not merely on
account of the pilgrimage thither. Three groups of
people are concerned in the matter : the pilgrims, the
doctors of the law at Mecca, and the members of the
mystic corporations. In Java there are hadji of suffi-
cient literary education to read scientific works in two or
three languages. The pilgrims and the " students " can-
not be differentiated ; any one who has been to Mecca,
for whatever purpose, or whatever length of time, is
called a " hadji."
In the first place, Mecca awakens the thought of the
possible realization of the Pan-Moslem ideal, which
otherwise seems unattainable. The pilgrim hears about
the Holy Wars of the faithful against the Christians,
those people who also possess Scriptures and yet are
worse than infidels. For the present they are certainly
in power, but Allah will one day take it from them.
Closer and closer intercourse is being established be-
tween the East Indian Archipelago and Mecca, the fount
of Islam. The feeling of the solidarity of all the faithful
has simply an overwhelming influence upon the isolated
people of the Islands. At Mecca there may be no talk of
politics, but the fact is the pilgrim imbibes a deep-rooted
hatred of every Christian power. The High Sheriff of
Mecca is in close touch with Turkey. The hadji thus
come into contact with the Pan-Moslem movement.
This explains how it is that many rebellious risings in the
Dutch East Indies owe their origin to the hadji's
sedition. The pilgrimage is the mortar in which the
scattered peoples are welded together. Even small
128 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
independent peoples are thereby wrought into the one
living whole.
Indeed, in a certain sense, the Pan-Moslem ideal is
already realized at Mecca. United in one spirit, in one
language, every one is independent and free. It is the
world in miniature, a multitude of races are represented
of whose very existence the simple rice-farmer had no
inkling in his primaeval forests. Here he sees that the
promise is really true that Islam is the one religion for
all peoples. The pilgrimage is the review of Islam, a
foretaste of the glorious time to come, and the pilgrims
return home inspired by the firm resolve to live and die
for the realization of that idea of unity.
Here lies the significance for Colonial politics of the
pilgrim problem. As Dr. Snouck Hurgronje has em-
phatically shown, such generalizations as either stamp
every hadji as a hypocrite or a saint are useless. Every
hadji is the agent of Moslem propaganda, that is his
significance. What Christian Churches strive to accom-
plish at the cost of great financial sacrifice, by such com-
prehensive institutions as organized Churches and mis-
sionary agencies, the pilgrimage to Mecca does for Islam;
and the needs of a religious society, such as ministers
and teachers, leaders and missionaries, doctors and higher
learning, Mecca also supplies.
The Mecca pilgrim carries the great ideas of Islam to
the most remote mountain villages.
Now the higher the esteem of the Indonesian pilgrim
for the Arabist teachers, who are actually his ovm. fellow-
countrymen, the more he marvels at the literary output
of their genius, the lower his own nationality falls in his
estimation. This is another noteworthy consequence of
the pilgrimage to Mecca. The pilgrims approach the
Holy City in all humility, because they regard the old
national traditions of their homeland as futile. The
advent of Islam is, according to their ideas, the dawn of
civilization. We can see why the pilgrims have no
appreciation for what is national. The newly arrived
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 129
pilgrims regard their home as a dungheap, because its
outward surroundings continually remind them of their
heathen past, whereas in Mecca everything reminds
them of the Moslem creed. They sacrifice every patriotic
thought, all love for national custom, to the inspiring
consciousness of their place in the Empire of Islam.
They despise the unclean society to which they once
belonged in the proud realization of their own progress.
The hadji on their return are quite other men ; they have
definitely renounced their national individuality ; they
are now at last true Mohammedans.
In considering this lively intercourse with Mecca, one
must be careful not to underestimate Indonesian Islam.
The immediate tendency is to consider the Islam of the
East Indies as almost without vitality ; it seems too
little organized, too much suffused with heathen ele-
ments, too mechanical, too childishly naive to be placed
on a level with Islam as it really is. What we have
studied up to this point does all seem very mechanical
and lifeless, especially the ceremonial exercises of wor-
ship ; at best what is of living power is only of such a
temporary nature, as, for example, the yearly Fast. Do
not let us, however, forget the link with Mecca. It
secures that what is naive and primitive is always being
wiped out and that the thought of the Indonesian peoples
is being more and more cast into the Arabian mould.
Little as the people themselves may be conscious of
the fact, two religious forces are clearly striving for the
mastery in the Dutch East Indies : Indonesian Animism
and the monotheism of Arabian Islam. Islam's power
partly to assimilate, i.e., to absorb Animism, and partly
to reject it, is only to be explained by the Arabian
influences which stream into the Dutch East Indies as
the result of their contact with Mecca.
For the Dutch East Indies in particular, these pilgrim-
ages to Mecca are radii from the still fluid circumference
of Islam to its more consolidated centre, the veins in
which the life blood of Islam pulsates and by means of
K
^■
130 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
which the organs as yet scarcely ahve receive fresh
strength. How a rehgious community such as Islam
holds together at all, when entirely left to itself, without
intelligible Scriptures and without a trained ministry,
would be incomprehensible but for Mecca.
In this way Islam seeks to bring about man's surrender
to God. Does it succeed ? The Mohammedan makes
sacrifices, we would not dispute that. But he makes
them as the heathen does against his will. The sorcerer
used to demand them. He helplessly conforms. What
else can he do ? The same fear which induced him to
do the most foolish things as a heathen, if the sorcerer
ordained them, has him still in its grip. Indeed, it grows
upon him, because the terrible God has now taken His
place among the spirits ; with his fear his willingness to
bring the appointed sacrifices also increases.- An evil
conscience makes the Mohammedan the abject slave
of every ordinance laid upon him.
(Religious activity is therefore not so much voluntary
surrender to the deity as slavish terror-stricken sub-
mission to a yoke which no one can shake off without
falling into the terrible hand of the unapproachable God."
If, on the other hand, the ordinance is observed, salva-
tion is assured. The fulfilment of his duties increases
the Heathen-Mohammedan's security. Because he
prays every day, gives a tithe of every harvest, fasts
every year, he expects exact retribution from God. ^
There is merit in his every action, and the more oppres-
sive he feels a work of merit, the more irksome is his
month of fasting, the more inconvenient his daily prayer,
the greater will be the sum of his merit.
Surrender to God is thus misrepresented. Not God,
but oneself receives the glory. There is no humble sur-
render of oneself to the Creator, only proud reliance
upon one's own merits. The surrender consists not in
the renunciation, but in the glorification of self ; it lies
at the root of the coercive, overbearing claim which the
self-righteous make upon the favour of God. /
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 131
Magic is associated with every religious activity.
It follows everywhere in Islam's trail like a demon.
The very creed, so expressly a battle-cry against heathen-
ism, becomes a heathen charm. The daily prayer,
" the petition for enlightenment from error," becomes
even for the faithful an exorcism actually leading them
astray into evil.
Teaching the common people unintelligible formulas
has its bitter revenge. They put a magical interpreta-
tion upon them, because the incomprehensible is always
magical to the Animist. Even the pilgrimage to Mecca
has suffered the same fate : the pilgrims trade upon their
fellow-countrymen's craving for magic and the miraculous
and pretend to have learnt a great deal of magic in
Mecca. The pilgrimage becomes an expedition into
the immeasurable realm of magic.
These are ideas which have nothing to do with true
surrender to God. A sincere desire to do the will of
God does certainly exist, especially among those who
have recently become Mohammedans. Its speedy cool-
ing off, the mere blind performance before long, or non-
performance, as the case may be, of what is ordained is
to be ascribed to fatalism. Fatalism, the immutable
will of God, robs surrender to God of all joy ; it sinks into
mechanical ceremonialism. Of an inward surrender
there has never been any question. Indeed, every effort
is made to prevent the ritual from becoming heart
worship.
They say, " Be a man never so circumcised in heart
towards Allah and uncircumcised after the flesh, he is
for all that a kafir and rejected by Allah ; and be a
man never so godless and yet circumcised after the flesh,
he is accepted of God as a believer." Of communion
with the Deity there is never a word.
To come to a right understanding of Mohammedan
daily prayer, it is important to set aside every Christian
idea on the subject. Of the soul's aspiration after God
there is here no question ; the inward attitude of the
132 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
worshipper to God, indeed his understanding of the
content of his prayer is a matter of indifference. The
value of prayer lies not in the worshipper's relation to
God, nor even in the desire that his prayer be heard ;
for the idea that prayer should be a conscious move-
ment of the soul of the human individual towards the
Deity is utterly foreign to our Mohammedan. He does
not understand either the need of it — is not a man's
destiny predetermined once and for all ? — or the possi-
bility of it ; God to him is an alien Being quite dis-
interested in the affairs of man.
In prayer the chief thing is the dead letter of the
petition ; in almsgiving, the mere payment ; in fasting,
the petty restraint for the appointed number of hours.
In no case does surrender mean the submission of the
inner self. " Every one who praises the word Mecca is
looked upon as righteous ! " declares the wandering
preacher.
But have not the daily religious exercises a certain
value in their constant reminder of God to men ? Even
civic functions are opened with prayer and the name
of God and the creed are daily on every tongue. What
a reminder of God there is also in the yearly fast, which
stops all trade and commerce ! * Nevertheless, these
reminders of God at best serve only to discipline the
faithful, they accustom a man to a certain routine ; (
but they bring him not one step nearer God. On the
contrary, intercourse with the higher powers becomes
mechanical, prayer becomes an art. It kills every
instinctive religious feeling.
The Mohammedan is certainly often a tractable,
devout adherent of the new religion, but he is devoted
not to God but to his teacher. The intricacies of Mo-
hammedan law, the many ordinances to be observed
without being understood, enslave the believer from the
outset to his teachers. Without their aid he cannot
learn a single formula ; only through their mediation
do his alms reach Him to Whom they are due, namely
MAN'S SURRENDER TO GOD 133
God ; they alone know the rules concerning fasting,
and without them what would happen at Mecca ? The
more difficult the complete fulfilment of Mohammedan
duty, the more absolute is the believer's dependence
upon his teacher. Mohammedan law in the hands of
these crafty, tyrannical teachers is only a means where-
by they fleece the faithful as best suits their purpose.
The fault is, of course, not only on the teacher's side.
The laity themselves relegate their duty towards God
as much as possible to the teachers. They are afraid
of coming into direct contact with God.
Chapter X
PREPARATION FOR THE HEREAFTER
WE have already seen what fascinating power the
Moslem's ideal has over him : the prospect of
Paradise. This does not prevent many materialistic
Mohammedans from adopting the modern motto :
" Make the best of this life, there is no Hereafter, no
reunion." At the approach of death, however, in
anguish of soul, they too clutch at the ceremonies which
avail for the Hereafter. Fatalism is so strong in many
of them that the future concerns them but little. In
the end everything will surely turn out all right ; no-
thing can be detracted from nor added to the immutable
decree of God. Onesided eudaemonism stimulates the
religious impulse. For the eschatological idea proves
as sure a bait for the unbeliever as it is a never-failing
discipline for the backslider.
The very doctrine of the intermediate state appeals
to the heathen ; for the grave was an uncanny thought
to him even as a heathen. Rest and peace in the grave
beckon to him from Islam. The Mohammedan Bataks
have a saying : " Man has a religion because there is a
Hereafter ; were there no Hereafter, there would be no
need to worry about religious things." Many customs
are in preparation for the future.
The Arabic language is indispensable because it alone
is spoken in the Hereafter. No one who does not know
Arabic will get to heaven. " How can the Christian
missionary get to heaven, when he does not even know
Arabic ? " say they. The teacher says that nothing
134
PREPARATION FOR THE HEREAFTER 135
but the creed will get a man to heaven. In Achin the
ordinary person is content to learn the formulas " which
he needs on his journey to the other world." One must
know the creed because those words alone drive away
spirits from the grave, because they alone are the shibbo-
leth of the true believer in the other world. A man
must know them even in his sleep, because the terrible
visions of the intermediate state may perhaps deprive
him of the power to rack his brains for them. These
words are, therefore, given to the dead for their last
journey. No spirit can harm any one who knows them.
Even magic has its value in the life to come, it secures
many an indulgence in eternity. It can spirit a man
safely through the Judgment at the Last Day and make
him invulnerable to the pains of hell. The dead may
not be sufficiently armed against the dangers which
threaten him. In that case it is the duty of his survivor
to support him on his way through the intermediate state
by funeral feasts. After the decease of a near relative,
if funds permit, one of the higher teachers, a Sheik or
a Caliph, is invited on seven successive evenings with
the lower teachers to a solemn meal of rice and fowl.
Verses from the Koran are read aloud and prayers are
said to Mohammed as well as to God that He would
grant life to the departed.
Among the Bataks the malim is given presents,
especially of such things as the dead requires on the
Resurrection fields : a cooking-pot, a laiife, a calabash,
a bottle, a plate, cups and a lamp. At the funeral feast
the hadji is also presented with a piece of cloth that the
dead may receive a banner. If a little child dies, who can
be borne in a carrying cloth, the teacher is given the
carrying cloth ; because if that is not done, the little
one will have no carrying cloth in eternity. The teacher
is given the dead man's trousers, or else the departed
will have no trousers in eternity. All these presents
and prayers are for the benefit of the dead man. They
open the gates of Paradise.
136 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
These sacred meals have become customary all the
more easily because the Animist used also to try and pro-
pitiate the dead by a sumptuous feast. The heathen's
funeral feast is also in honour of the dead whose
spirit may become dangerous for his survivors. Slaves
used therefore to be sacrificed in the old days and at a
later time buffaloes, so that the souls of these animals,
or human beings, as the case might be, might follow the
dead into the realm of the dead. They are intended to
make a due impression upon the rest of the departed as
to the respect in which the dead man was held ; they are
thus to assure him a good position in the other world.
The hope is that the spirit of the dead will thereby be
appeased. This Animistic conception predominates
even in Mohammedan funeral feasts. It is not so much
solicitous love which prompts the survivors to bring
their many offerings as the truly Animistic hope that
the dead will leave his survivors in peace if they make
the intermediate state pleasant for him. Otherwise he
might conceive the idea of escaping from the torment of
the intermediate state and return amongst men.
The same Animistic ideas constrain survivors to
atone as far as possible for duties the dead have neglected.
Here is the best opportunity, for instance, for doing a
work of supererogation for the dead : supplementary
fees are paid for instruction, and then in the other world
the teacher will bear witness that the dead was a diligent
reader of the Koran, even although he never had a Koran
in his hands.
These gifts for the benefit of the dead the Bataks call
" the ransom of the soul." They are distinguished into
six categories : (1) " The pilgrim fee " (upa hadji).
A dead man's survivors pay the teachers £6 IGs., and in
return the teachers must testify at the Day of Judgment
that the departed had been to Mecca. A substitute
may also be engaged for the dead man, the expenses of
his journey being paid out of the dead man's estate.
Agents travel round collecting these gifts (badal hadji).
PREPARATION FOR THE HEREAFTER 137
(2) Gifts for purification. These are to obtain the
testimony that the dead man was a blameless Moham-
medan. The forgiveness of his sins is thereby ensured.
(3) " The mount fee " (korban or kibas) is to ensure
that the dead has some animal to ride upon at the Last
Day on the fields of the Resurrection.
(4) " The instruction fee " (upa kadji). The dead has
not known the entire contents of the Koran ; that he
may not now appear to have shirked his fees for instruc-
tion, the teachers are paid a supplementary fee of 255.
Then the departed receives the testimony that he knows
the entire Koran and is admitted to Paradise.
(5) " Redemption money " (padia fidjah). If any one
dies a heathen, and his parents wish to have him received
into Islam posthumously, the dead man can be redeemed
from heathenism by a gift of 25^. At the Last Day the
teachers will then testify that the dead man has
been converted by his parents to Islam.
(6) " Atonement " (makola hasilomon). All the sins
committed by the departed from the hour of his birth
till his death can be washed away by the payment of
about 455.
Every one, therefore, that can possibly afford it pays
this total sum of about £15 IO5. to the teachers to make
sure that every possible duty is fulfilled. Naturally,
the rich only can afford it. Sometimes sacrifices are
also offered for the dead. Otherwise of course sacrificial
ritual is unknown in Islam, although Mohammedan law
provides for the slaughter of sacrificial victims.
The dead can thus be raised to supreme places of
honour ; this is very satisfactory. He will not wish
himself back in this life. Happiness for the departed
Moslem means protection for his survivors from the per-
petual torment of departed spirits. This, much more than
a belief in God's almighty, protecting power, gradually
allays the fear of spirits. It does not actually vanish,
for of course no one ever knows whether the departed
do actually prevail in the intermediate state. But Islam,
138 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
at all events, considerably lessens the danger for them
as regards evil spirits.
That Islam can convert the heathen even after death
makes it easier for the living to go over. The heathen
is concerned as to how his ancestors will regard the step.
The Mohammedans used to tell me, for instance, in
speaking about the Kramat beyond Bander, on the East
coast of Sumatra, that the ancestral prince, who was
buried there and is now greatly reverenced, lies in holy
ground because many Mohammedans have settled in
the neighbourhood, and that it is now his earnest desire
that his descendants should also become Mohammedans.
Zimmermann, a missionary in Borneo, makes a similar
report.
Here again Islam does not demand of the heathen
the great act of faith in God rather than in his ancestors ;
it has recourse to a solemn posthumous reception of the
ancestors into Islam. A convert is then beyond the
reach of persecution, his ancestor himself abrogates the
old order of things. One may have an easy conscience
with regard to him. Very human motives here come
into play. The heathen is rooted in his clan. It is
because it means breaking loose from his clan that con-
version to a new religion is so difficult — we know that
from frequent experience on the mission field — to be
parted from one's own people in the Hereafter is an
intolerable thought. The heathen and the Heathen -
Mohammedan alike have the idea that all the different
religions have each their own Hereafter.
Those who are strongly attracted to Christianity will
say : "I cannot become a Christian because my ances-
tors died Mohammedans, and I should like to be united
with them after death." A Christian mother on the
other hand, who has had her child baptized and buried
as a Christian, will not so easily fall away from Christi-
anity ; she will over and over again meet Mohammedan
blandishments with the words : "I want to be where
my child is ! "
PREPARATION FOR THE HEREAFTER 139
The problem is solved by converting the dead to
Mohammedanism. There is then sure prospect of
seeing them again. That really fine and noble element
in heathen nationalism, the oftentimes striking love for
one's own people, thus becomes a strong motive for
accepting Islam and remaining faithful to it.
Works of merit. — This endeavour to render service
to the dead and to increase his religious debit balance
in the Hereafter, is inspired by the truly Moslem con-
ception of the meritoriousness of religious exercises.
It may surprise us that this idea of merit should have
become popular among Animistic heathen. For we
usually regard salvation by works as a Jewish doctrine.
Yet we do find a tendency to it in Animism. Where
the guardian angel of the dead asks the soul on its
entrance into the shadow world how many heads it has
taken in head-hunting (i.e., whether, according to
Animistic ideas, it has contributed towards the life power
of the tribe), or when the departed is asked whether he
has adequately provided for posterity (i.e., contributed
towards the maintenance of the clan), or whether he
has been brave (i.e., possessed the virtues of his clan),
and the gates of the other world are only opened to him
when he replies in the affirmative, we meet the forerunner
of a doctrine of merit. A place in the realm of the dead
may not mean blessedness ; but even if the merely
relatively better state of the realm of the dead is only
attained on the ground of Animistic merit, the Moslem's
need of merit is much greater, because of course much
greater blessedness is the prospect held out to him.
Every means which assures an entrance to Paradise is
eagerly grasped at. And woe to the Moslem who misses
his heavenly goal ! The heathen who does not reach the
realm of the dead finds no rest, that is all ; but the
Mohammedan who is not received into Paradise passes
into torment beyond imagination. The eschatological
outlook has utterly increased man's terror of God and
therewith his craving after merit.
140 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Whereas uncertainty as to this life and the life to come
reduced the heathen to a state of perpetual fear, the
Mohammedan is tormented by the certainty of judg-
ment. Man's earthly lot may be entirely dependent
upon the caprice of God, which at best is one of com-
passion, and his eternal destiny may be predestined by
God's immutable decree, but with the absolute incon-
sequence of a man distraught as to his future, the Mo-
hammedan really focusses his entire religious endeavour
upon the pursuit of merit which shall assure him of an
entrance to heaven. It is meritorious even to be a
Mohammedan, to name the name of Allah, to repeat
the creed, to observe the law of purification, to pay the
religious tax. The believer's daily prayer reminds him
of the worship of the other world, admonishing him
to do at least something beforehand to influence as
favourably as possible the closing act of his earthly life.
To gain eternity, that is his one absorbing thought. His
worship does not spring from any inward desire for
communion with God, it is not the thanksgiving of a
soul overwhelmed by the goodness of God which cannot
find words to praise its Lord : those are all emotions
far removed from the Mohammedan. He gives some-
thing in order one day to receive something from God.
Do ut des !
The month of fasting affords further opportunity for
special works of merit. Not so much the actual fast
is of supreme merit as the duties performed in connection
with the revelry and feasting on the evening of the
break-fast festival, e.g., the losses incurred by the fast
and the accompanying standstill of merit are treasure
laid up beforehand for eternity. The earthly debit
balance from the period of fasting is carried to the credit
account of the Hereafter. Many an one therefore spends
his little all during the Fast. The Fast thus stands
on a level with the religious dues. The prospect of ac-
cumulating " good works," the expectation of ultimate
retribution, is the mainspring of all their fanaticism.
PREPARATION FOR THE HEREAFTER 141
A rich eschatological promise is also attached to Holy
War. " He who falls in Holy War passes straight into
the presence of God." It is such ideas as these which
makes Islam dangerous. No Colonial Power is secure
from rebellions ; the eschatological idea needs but to
fall into the powder barrel and the most frenzied fana-
ticism is set aflame. During the fighting at Menilla,
Moors bound themselves together and faced the Spanish
guns, allowing themselves to be torn in pieces that their
souls might ascend to Allah. One day at Achin one of
the natives rushed into the Dutch camp and wounded
several soldiers with his sword. Of course he was shot
down by the nearest sentry ; he only expected it. The
case was investigated. The man had made an unhappy
marriage. In despair and to escape from his bad wife,
he took his desperate step ; he was not committing
suicide, which would have sent him to hell ; he fell
in Holy War and his soul, so embittered in this life by
his wife, ascended to the bliss of Paradise.
The impress of Paradise and of Pan-Moslem concep-
tions is strong and deep upon the people. The more
so because of the contrast between their religious and
political ideals and the actual reality. These ideas
welded together by an astute agitator into the word
" Holy War " will rouse every Moslem to the pitch of
excitement. The Pan-Moslem ideal may be attainable,
the great day of final victory over the unbelievers may
be at hand ; it will at least be the glorious fate of Allah's
slave to fall by the hand of the unbelievers and enter
Paradise ! Hence the battle-cry in every war between
Mohammedans and Europeans is : " Holy War ! " It
was so in North Africa in the war between the French and
Spanish and Italians, in the rebellions in the Dutch East
Indies, and the unsettled element in German East Africa
knows the rallying power of this magic word only too
well.
Pan-Islamism may be a Utopia, its realization still a
long way off. " Holy War " is of course a foolish catch-
142 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
word. The eschatological phantasmagory is of course
a stupid fiction of the brain. Yet all three have mysteri-
ous, seductive power over Nature Peoples with their lack
of sober insight into the seriousness of the political
situation.
Teachers in the Hereafter. — The eschatological hope
is a welcome lever by which the teachers may revive
their waning influence and replenish an emptying pocket.
For the teacher, say they, leads the faithful to Judgment.
The full force of his mediatorial office now comes into
play for the first time. The eternal salvation of those
under his protection is in his hand. In this life the
teacher's office is to receive the legal alms and worship
of the faithful in Mohammed's stead, so that he may
eventually be able to testify that he has received them.
Not by virtue of exemplary conduct nor superior edu-
cation, but by his place of vantage in the Hereafter,
the teacher has become a powerful personage. Indeed,
the teachers into whose hands the gifts of the faithful
stream from all sides to a certain degree enjoy eternal
life even in this present world.
As a matter of fact the influence upon the heathen of
the eschatological hope cannot be exaggerated. It
completely changes their outlook upon this life. The
heathen used to spend all his energy upon the business
of getting an increase of " soul-stuff," life power, and by
that means more enjoyment out of life. He almost
forgot the Hereafter. To the Moslem, on the contrary,
this life is of no account as compared with the Hereafter.
This life is an enigma, the Hereafter alone of real mo-
ment.
Chapter XI
MYSTICISM
MYSTICISM is widely prevalent in Islam, and not
merely as the peculiar fancy of a few peoples.
In the Dutch East Indies there is no higher mysticism,
no scholastic system of mysticism, but on all hands we
come across mystic ceremonies, that is to say, upon
practical mysticism, which the common people regard
as the supreme expression of piety.
» This mysticism did not come from Arabia but from
India ^; for mysticism in the Dutch East Indies influ-
ences even the lower classes. In the days of the mystic
Ghazzali, Moslems universally believed even at Mecca
that it was impossible to please God without being a
mystic. Mohammed and all the other saints were
declared to have been sufis,'and to-day the mystic in-
fluences at work in the Dutch East Indies may be
traced to the corporations and orders of mystics which
have their head-quarters at Mecca.
The works of the mystic Ghazzali and portions of the
writings of other Arabian and Persian mystics are cir-
culated in the Dutch East Indies, and everywhere there
is a strong predilection for mystical exercises. In Java
the " ilmu peling " is regarded as a proof of the deepest
piety. Allah is within man. Man is absorbed into the
world-soul, which is likewise the Deity. This accounts
for the fact that old men sometimes become hermits ^
1 Cf, Mededeelingen, 1860, p. 217 £f.
143
144 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Devout Bataks like to close their daily prayer with a
little mystical exercise. The worshipper sits upon the
ground, his hands lying upon his knees in such a way that
the tips of his fingers do not stick out beyond his knees
(otherwise the Prophet will cut them off). The wor-
shipper keeps in this position without moving ; the
Prophet then enters his soul. Or the worshipper will be
told to shut his eyes after he has finished his prayer and
stop his ears ; then his soul communes with Mohammed
and Ali. From them he receives the power to work
miracles, to rise to eminence and obtain wealth.
Mystical exercises. — The native loves the mysterious
and fantastic. Practices which he can only partially
understand are a welcome substitute for the Animistic
ceremonies Islam has taken away from him. We find
among the Bataks three mystical exercises of devo-
tion :
1. The so called " ratip," which proceeds as follows : —
the malim appears with his pupils and associates more
or less grounded in the faith. Arabic prayers (doa)
and Arabic charms, which are to be taken from the
Koran, are said aloud. The company sits in a semi-
circle round the teacher. Then they draw in closer
until their shoulders touch, and then the whole circle
begins to sway to the left and to the right, shouting
the La ilaha ill'Allah louder and louder. The bystanders
beat time with their feet to increase the solemnity of
the exercise. Most of the lamps are extinguished. The
noise and the perpetual motion has a positively fascinat-
ing effect upon the participants, they seem to go mad,
they fall into ecstasy. In some districts a ratip takes
place three times during the month of fasting as a sub-
stitute, they say, for reading the Koran in three parts.
The ratip is universally practised as a charm at funerals
and during epidemics.
The common people have simply adopted the ratip
instead of certain heathen customs. The mourners
are glad to accept the noisy ratip in lieu of the manifold
MYSTICISM 145
frenzied devices that used to be practised to propitiate
the spirit of the dead. They do not reahze the far-
reaching distinction between the old magic which was
for the protection of the survivors and the new ratip
which is exclusively for the protection of the departed
soul. The common people realize the difference all
the less because the formulas and charms are as unin-
telligible to them as was the old sorcerer's gibberish.
During epidemics the noise of the ratip replaces the wild,
old-time exorcisms, although as a matter of fact, Mo-
hammedan teachers still keep up the old methods of
driving out spirits, especially on the occasion of an
epidemic.
This kind of mystical exercise is very popular, al-
though the common people of course do not understand
its mystical import, namely that the worshipper loses
himself completely in glorifying the name of God in
order to be but for a moment dead to this world. The
ratip is one of the Zikr exercises by which the Moslem
is to glorify God. To justify these exercises, they are
attributed to Mohammed. " Zikr " means " remem-
bering " ; the various orders of fakir (dervishes) namely
remember God by reciting His name hundreds and
thousands of times in succession. Nearly every devout
Mohammedan in the Dutch East Indies is a member of
such an order.
2. In the Dutch East Indies mystical exercises are
also performed with the help of a rosary of 100 beads,
which represent the name of God and His ninety-nine
attributes. This string of beads is passed ten times
between the first and second fingers. With each bead
one of the attributes of God must be said, or simply
remembered, so that God's name is thus invoked 1,000
times. The exercise opens with litanies in which there
are obvious traces of mysticism. Here is the opening
prayer : —
Pure is the garment,
Pure the body,
L
146 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Pure the place of prayer,^
Sitting in the left unison of the heart,
Turned towards the West,^
The heart of hearts in view,
One in perception with the teacher,^
Help me to obey thy law !
May God slay me in the all holy,
In the true faith, in pure Islam. ^
Lord God, admit me to glory. ^
All rosary prayers culminate in the thought of the
abnegation of the ego and the contemplation of the
vision of God. The earth, they say, vanishes from the
worshipper's sight, it becomes as small as a coin, he holds
it in his hand, and the soul is one with God.
After the novice has learnt the appointed prayers
and performed certain bodily purifications, he must
spend the night in a closed room. In the morning he
is solemnly conducted to the place of prayer, where
he has to confess his sin aloud seven times ; then the
teacher carefully examines him to find out whether he
has really beheld " the form of God." If he has, he
receives his rosary.
Women also perform these exercises. They are
required to spend a night alone with the malim. The
^ External purity is the primary condition for communion
with God.
2 To enter into communion with God, man witlidraws into
his inmost soul to the place where the heart-beats fall in unison ;
motionless he " sits " towards the West, facing towards the
Holy City of Mecca.
* Altogether lost in contemplation of himself, his inmost
soul, so that his immediate gaze is upon the representative
of God within him.
* This means the complete transporting of oneself out
of this world, i.e. ecstasy. Man's ego is no longer there, he
must be " dead " to this world (the teacher impresses this
upon the novice) and only concern himself with God. Notice
here that the meaning of " Islam " is " resignation."
5 The glorious bliss of union with Thyself. The fruitio dei
(delight in God) of the Christian mystics which comes of con-
templation.
MYSTICISM 147
women assert that they have first to take an oath not
to tell any one what happens during that night. That
immorality accompanies mystical exercises is a well
known fact in the Near East.
These acts of devotion culminate in the so-called
" Suluk " exercises, from the Arabic " suluk," hidden
walk with God, mystical exercise. Any one wishing
to perform a suluk exercise must first promise his teacher,
generally on oath, (1) perfect obedience to all that the
teacher says, even though it may seem wrong. (2)
Unconditional faith in the teacher's word. (3) Faithful
performance of all religious duties for ever. (4) Secrecy
as to the ceremony. The exercise then proceeds as
follows : the novice is led into a dark room and there
treated like a corpse. He is washed and swathed in
white cloth. The teacher reads the prayers for the
dead, and then he is visited by the well known terrors
of the grave. This lasts seven days. The novice is
only allowed very little food. " One may not satisfy
one's hunger or else the spirit of Mohammed will not
appear." All the food must first be blessed by the
teacher. No moan or cry must pass his lips, no matter
what terrors, evil spirits and wild animals may appear
to him ; many cannot endure the ordeal and stop before
the end of the first week. But he who endures to the
end is endowed with great magic powers.
To him who overcomes prophets and angels appear
in the second week to instruct him in all the magic arts
as long as he cares to listen. Possessed of these powers
(" ilmu "), he is blessed.
Now finally, the last great experience ! The believer
is worn out with fasting and prayer, his senses are be-
wildered with his thoughts and aspirations, with the
terrible visions of the last few days. All kinds of animals
and the spirits of earth and hell have appeared to tempt
him ; his body is exhausted ; but in a final tension of
soul he awaits the coming of the saints. There they
come — his senses leave him. But see, the holy prophets
148 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
and Mohammed now take possession of his soul ; his
body lies like a corpse and with his last gasp the novice
murmurs once more the La illaha ill'Allah — and then
Allah himself actually descends from his throne and
takes up his abode in his heart. The mystic is blissful,
enraptured, he hurries away to tell the waiting teacher,
the Sheik of the order, of his last great experience, this
meeting with the Almighty Allah. He has now attained
the highest stage of earthly holiness which a man can
reach in this world. He has beheld the Almighty within
himself. All now lies at his feet, he can even become
a prophet. He is happy here on earth, for who can
withstand him ?
Happiness is also his in the Hereafter, for the terrors
of death are past and over for him. The exercises
often last forty days. As may well be imagined the
novices at the end of that time remain squatting
apathetically on the ground. Spiritual intercourse with
his teacher is recommended as a solace ; the latter appears
in a vision to the postulant's soul and overcomes his
terrors. In a year's time the novices receive a paper
saying they really have performed these exercises.
However only a few, perhaps 5 per cent., endure the
ordeal, and still fewer can pay enough to satisfy the
Sheiks.
The religious content of mysticism, — Mystical exercises
are really only intended for those who already know the
law and the traditions ; but since it is especially the
illiterate for whom these mystical exercises have such
a fascination, ordinary people are also allowed to per-
form them. Nevertheless, they are only kno^\^l to the
chosen few ; the great mass of the people look with awe
upon those who are versed in mystical matters. Here
again, therefore, a clever opportunist policy prompts
the leaders of Islam to let the abuse pass un-
noticed.
The fascination of mystical practices is easily
explained. Mysticism pertains to the twilight in which
MYSTICISM 149
Islam for the most part is hidden from the common
people. It is part and parcel of the many strange and
mysterious things in Islam : the Arabic language, the
foreign dress, the hadji, etc. More satisfaction is found
in these things than in the study of the law. Even self-
righteousness repels more serious minds. It is true
that mysticism is inter-religious, the common property
of all religions, and yet it especially calls for explanation
in Islam because it seems to be diametrically opposed
to its conception of God, and its presence among the
Animistic peoples is a striking phenomenon because
heathenism has no parallel for mysticism. It is a reac-
tion from the over-tension of Islam's stern idea of God.
Man's longing for union with God bursts the barriers of
orthodox doctrine which holds that communion with
God is blasphemy.
Mysticism is distinguished from communion with God
in that mysticism does away with the individuality of
man ; God and man become one. Substances but not
personalities can be co-mingled ; this distinction forms
the essential condition for communion. When we apply
it to Islam, anything surprising in the progress of mysti-
cism vanishes. For Islam discredits both the person-
ality of God and the personality of man. The freedom
of God's personality is shackled by the idea of fate, and
man as the bond-servant of determinism forfeits the
hall-mark of personality, namely free-will.
This solves the further problem that, on the one hand,
Islam places a man once more in fear of God, and mysti-
cism, on the other hand, carries him at one leap beyond
the bounds of fear. True fear based upon ethical
grounds, that is to say awe, would seem impossible in
respect of a personality so circumscribed as a God Who
is the victim of fate. Realizing his lord's impotency,
in that He cannot " will " but always " must," the slave
becomes suddenly bold and grasps at mystical com-
munion. Islam overlooks that which really separates
God and man, namely sin. Thus man's slavish abjec-
150 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
tion and the denial of Divine free-will actually prepares
the way for mysticism.
Even more simply are Animism and mysticism har-
monized. Once Islam has awakened the Animist's
slumbering thoughts of God and roused his hopes for
the Hereafter, the Animist naturally takes any path
which promises to bring him nearer his goal. Mysticism
is one such way to God and the Hereafter. For mystical
exercises help the dead in the other world and forearm
a man for his conflicts hereafter ; indeed, mystical
exercises are sometimes more or less a prelude of the
Last Day ; the eschatological process, which so engrosses
the believer's fancy, is anticipated to a certain extent
even in this world in mystical practices.
Islam does awaken the desire after God, although of
course not in the Christian sense. God is sought after
because all magic power, for example, is centred in Him.
Mysticism and magic run into one another. If all magic
really comes from God, then nothing is more important
than as close a relation to Him as possible, so that as
much power as possible may be poured out upon the be-
liever. Magic and mysticism have essentially much in
common. Magic like mysticism is a means towards
softening the stern idea of God, a method for bringing
the unapproachable God nearer to oneself. No matter
how the desired communion with God may be conceived,
whether as religious aspiration after God, magic, or in
the eschatological sense, the mystic's goal is always
union with God. Although the doctors of the law say
nothing of the kind, the Moslem hopes to attain that
end by performing the prescribed duties. They, how-
ever, leave him in the lurch. His prayer five times a
day, for instance, does not satisfy his desire to pray.
The very prayerlessness of Islam promotes the cause
of mysticism. The most scrupulous observance of the
law never gives the Moslem any heartfelt assurance
that he has attained the communion with God that he
so longs for. Does any one ever keep the whole law ?
MYSTICISM 151
The mystic life (tassawuf) covers at a stride the long
road of justification by works ; the hope is that it will
suddenly fill in that gap. This is what attracts more
serious Moslems to mysticism ; it constitutes their final
effort to reach the supreme heights of religion.
But few, however, reach their goal of union of the
soul with God. Here again God's representatives take
the place of God. It is enough to be one at heart with
them. This is not surprising in view of what we have
said about the teacher's position as mediators among
the people. In all these exercises, if there is to be union
with God, mystical union must first be established with
the teacher, who in that case represents the Sheik of
the order. The teacher, who, as we have heard, knows
the thought of the absent, has the power to behold the
souls of the departed, has in fact such deep insight into
the soul of the novice, that he can decide whether union
with God has actually taken place or not. These
mystical exercises enslave believers more and more to
their religious leaders. The believer's spiritual inde-
pendence is lost in blind submission to the men who are
God's representatives.
This peculiar relation to believers distinguishes
the leaders of the mystic orders at Mecca from the
teachers in the University. In the Dutch East Indies
every teacher of any note tries to give instruction in
mysticism ; because only so do they get any real hold
upon the people. Even at Mecca the mystic orders exist
for the same purpose side by side with the University
without actually running counter to it. Many of the
professors are themselves members of such orders ;
they know that it only increases their reputation. If
the great doctors in the Holy City of Mecca esteem these
mystical exercises so highly, it is little wonder that the
common people regard a man who has safely passed
through the ordeal as the ideal Moslem, a holy man, who
enjoys God's special favour and is in closer communion
with Him than the rest of mankind. He has looked
152 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
upon the eternal form of God. Thus all who have learnt
the rosary are regarded as a special class of more perfect
believers, unconditionally resigned to Islam. They
actually give one the impression of fanatics. They look
upon themselves as a class apart and look down in pity
on all who have not yet passed through their supreme
experience.
Where, however, mysticism counts as the soul's
supreme experience, other religious exercises recede into
the background. In the Archipelago, as also in the
Batak country more particularly, there are teachers
who say it is no longer necessary to pray aloud, the
secret prayer of the heart is sufficient. This is a mysti-
cal reaction from the externality of the idea of God and
His worship.
Moslem mysticism, therefore, contains a certain
revolutionary element ; for once the drill of external
religious observance is relaxed, Islam's very fabric is
imperilled. These radical views are, however, only
held by the chosen few ; the body of the people knows
nothing about them. On the contrary mysticism actu-
ally renders valuable service among the lower classes :
it diffuses Pan-Moslem ideas more and more widely.
For mystical exercises can of course be learnt only at
Mecca in the societies of mystics which are generally
called the Orders of Islam. The political power of Islam
is steadily on the decline, even the strongest Moslem
princes do not dare to engage in Holy War ; the mystic
orders discipline the common people as willing tools in
their teacher's hands, making them obedient even
against their own interests. Quite ignorant and very
superstitious pilgrims are welcomed as members of these
orders ; the hope is that they will eventually retrieve
their ignorance. Political powers are glad to curry
favour with the leaders of the orders, because they have
the masses so well in hand. For the mystic orders are
a much stronger influence in implanting and fostering
political ideals than study. The doctors impart theories,
MYSTICISM 153
the mystics practical conclusions. Hence the issue
of these movements in popular fanaticism. Nor is the
political tendency lacking, e.g., the " Sikir " has a
political significance. " In telling his rosary, say the
Bataks, a man learns to fight, to cross the ocean, march
over hill and dale and conquer his enemies, so that some
day he may make war against the unbelievers."
These mystic orders are spreading more and more in
the Dutch East Indies. The Mecca pilgrims may often
understand but little of the meaning of the mystic rites
they have practised at Mecca, but they make the most
of that little. It is not unlikely, as many Moslems hope,
that mysticism will once more work a reformation in
the national life ; and what they mean by that is obvi-
ous : worse bondage than ever to the religious leaders,
and a more complete blending of eschatological aspira-
tions and mystic political tendencies. This is the direc-
tion in which mysticism, as it gains firmer footing, is
driving Indonesian Islam. Refine the Moslem's idea
of God, bring him into closer communion with God,
or purify his hope of the Hereafter, it cannot. Mysticism
can only increase the perplexity of an Animist people,
at all events so fanciful, and obscure the living God from
its sight more and more.
PART II
The Moral and Religious Condition of
the Heathen-Mohammedan
IT is a mistake to think that when the heathen goes
over to Islam he remains the same as he was
before. The whole of the first part of this book goes to
prove the contrary. We have seen into contact with
what grand new thoughts and hopes Islam brings the
heathen ; we have repeatedly remarked upon the inner
cohesion of the Moslem world as a whole. We have
observed the way in which Islam adapted itself, one
might almost say, by instinct, to the needs of the Animist,
indeed, how it has fused the new with the old in one
organism. ; Minute as may be the bacillus of Moslem
theology among the uncivilized races, slight as may be
now and then the Heathen-Mohammedan's serious inten-
tion of really fulfilling his religious duties, a new spirit
has somehow been kindled and is moving in the Animist
heart of the people.
Dr. Snouck Hurgronje contradicts the statement
that the Javanese, the Buginese and other East Indian
peoples are not good Mohammedans because they are
ignorant of their religion. Being a Mohammedan, says
Dr. Snouck Hurgronje, does not depend upon a man's
knowledge of Islam, but rather upon his wish to be
called a Mohammedan.
That natives like to call themselves Mohammedans
without any right to the name does not modify this
155
156 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
statement. In practice it is sometimes difficult to
decide whether people are still heathen or have become
Mohammedans. We call Mohammedans those who
have joined Islam by some ceremonial rite and from that
time onwards desire to be Mohammedans. The leaven
of Mohammedanism is at work in all these people. The
measure of heathenism they may still continue to cherish
is a matter of indifference. There is only a gradual dis-
tinction between them and the acknowledged leaders of
the movement. This also applies to those who have
only just entered the outer court of Mohammedanism
and is also found in East Africa. " Besides the natives
who have been officially received by a malim into the
organized community of Islam, there are many who only
follow certain customs as suits their convenience and
who, nevertheless, regard themselves as Moslems." ^
All the heathen who see in Islam the religion of the
future find in it not merely their ideal of piety, but also the
ideal of their whole conception of life, morally, religiously,
politically and socially. In their heart of hearts —
at least so they think — they are done with heathenism,
even if they have not yet outwardly broken with it.j
These men set their entire hope upon Islam. Are their
hopes fulfilled ? Does what the heathen becomes
under the influence of Islam imply progress or not ?
^ Cf. Berliner Missions-Berichte, 1908, xii.
Chapter I
ANIMISM
ANIMISM lies at the root of all the heathen misery
of the peoples at this level of civilization. If help
is to be brought to these peoples, the first thing to be done
is to set them free from the strait waistcoat of their
Animistic belief. The question is how far Islam has
succeeded in doing this.
Looking back over the first part of this book, we may
say that Islam relinquishes the fight against Animism
entirely. Here and there it may prune away a few
excrescences, such as cannibalism and head-hunting,
but the axe is never laid to the root of the tree. Indeed,
Islam has yet to tackle the whole problem of uprooting
Animism ; and it never will tackle it, because Islam
from the first has failed to perceive it. The impassable
gulf between the bondage of Animism and belief in God,
it has never noticed. Otherwise, Moslem propaganda
would have taken another direction ; it would at all
events never have found its way to the peoples of
Indonesia.
The objection that Christianity — and especially the
Roman Church — has not succeeded in conquering
Animism, a question to which we shall return, falls to
the ground, because Scriptural Christianity, at all events,
does do battle against and overcome Animism. Where
Animism is tolerated, it is contrary to the essence of
Christianity. The Moslem, on the other hand, is natur-
ally inclined to Animism ; his Animism does not run
157
158 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
counter to the ideal of his religion. Islam is the classic
example of the way in which the non-Christian religions
do not succeed in conquering Animism.
This weakness in face of the supreme enemy of all
religious and moral progress bears a bitter penalty.
I Among the Animist peoples Islam is more and more
entangled in the meshes of Animism. The conqueror
is, in reality, the conquered. • Islam sees the most
precious article of its creed, the belief in God, and the
most important of its religious acts, the profession of
belief, dragged in the mire of Animistic thought ; only
in Animistic guise do they gain currency among the
common people. Instead of Islam raising the people,
it is itself degraded. Islam, far from delivering heathen-
dom from the toils^of Animism, is itself deeply involved
in them. Animism emerges from its struggle for the
soul of a people, modernized it is true, but more power-
ful than ever, elegantly tricked out and buttressed by
theology. Often it is scarcely recognizable in its refined
Arabian dress, but it continues as before to sway the
people ; it has received Divine sanction.
Animism is a foe which must be refused all quarter.
In not doing so, Islam is bound to suffer absolute
defeat itself at the hands of its hypocritical oppo-
nent.
Many customs are doubtless forgotten ; sacrifices
are soon things of the past. Many prayer formulas,
many names of spirits and ancestors are lost, but what
an impregnable position magic gains in the new religion
by entrenching itself behind the new conception of God.
How many possible ways the Heathen-Mohammedan
finds of satisfying his Animistic cravings in his daily
religious exercises — and, above all, in the vagaries of
mysticism. / Moslem ritual, instead of bringing a man to
God, serves as a drag net for Animism. ' (Dr. Adriani
confirms this from Celebes : the Mohammedan there is
more superstitious than the heathen.) Hence Islam
has exercised quite a different influence upon the heathen
ANIMISM 159
from what we should expect. It has not left him as he
was, nor has it tempered his Animism. Rather it has
relaid the old Animistic foundations of the heathen's
religion and run up a light, artistic superstructure upon
it of Moslem customs.
Chapter II
FANATICISM
THE religious life of the Heathen-Mohammedan is
completely transformed. Something new comes
into his soul, something hitherto unknown to him, but
which in time characterizes his whole religious life : the
Heathen-Mohammedan becomes a fanatic.
This is surprising. For fanaticism is utterly and abso-
lutely foreign, at all events to the Indonesian peoples.
We stand here suddenly before a " novum " in the
thought world of the Heathen-Mohammedan, for which
we must account. How does it come about that such a
tolerant race of men as the Indonesians becomes fanati-
cal ? Towards those of every other faith the Animist
advocates the principle of " Laissez faire, laissez aller ! "
The Chinese in his midst burns incense before his tablets,
the Mohammedan worships his Nabi (prophet), the
Christian keeps his Sunday. The Animist has no idea
of forcing his ancestral traditions upon any other nation.
And yet people who yesterday were still quite con-
tentedly eating swine's flesh and to-day have gone over
to Islam, will to-morrow, without further instruction
than the casual conversation of a Mohammedan pack-
man, deride their fellow-countrymen's taste for that
same swine's flesh. People, who only yesterday gave us
a friendly greeting, pass us to-day with a haughty,
gloomy look, because in the interval they have received
their solemn initiation with lemon juice at the place of
prayer on the river-bank. Hatred for all those of differ-
160
FANATICISM 161
ent faith is apparently an essential constituent of the
new thing of which the soul of the Moslem convert has
become possessed.
Nor is this fanaticism merely the first zeal of the rene-
gade, such as we have met elsewhere. It rather grows
stronger as time goes on. Its origin is probably to be
traced to Mecca ; at all events, Mecca supplies it con-
stantly with fresh stores of energy. Every Mecca
pilgrim returns home, at all events with this element of
Islam. Once implanted, the seeds of intolerance and
fanaticism find full opportunity to develop in this atmo-
sphere. Such seeds are already sown in the heart of the
Indonesian Moslem in early youth. Even in the teach-
ing about the true faith given him as a child, the native
has heard that hatred against unbelievers is the duty of
the faithful. The Decalogue of the true faith includes a
law that " a man must hate all non-Mohammedans ; for
these are abhorrent to God."
That fanaticism should appear so quickly in converts
is partly explained by the fact that the actual conversion
of the natives to Islam does not proceed so suddenly
as we generally think. Sometimes there have been
centuries of contact with Mohammedans, e.g., in deal-
ings with Mohammedan traders in the coast regions of
the Archipelago. But even where the contact is of
merely recent date, a stream of Mohammedan thought
will have percolated into the mind of a people long before
the first conversions take place. The charms of heathen
sorcerers often breathe the Mohammedan spirit ; one
meets even women in the interior of Sumatra who already
know about the Nabi (prophet). Of course the native
will often go over to Islam without any sort of instruc-
tion ; but a convert has always assimilated a certain
quantum of Moslem thought ; when he at last calls
himself a Moslem, he has been so at heart for a long time.
And fanaticism is included in that quantum of thought.
This should prevent us from saying these peoples have
been superficially Islamized. For it actually enables us
M
162 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
to estimate how far the Islamizing process has already
£fone. The fanaticism of the Indonesian Mohammedan
is merely one phenomenon in the whole transformation of
Indonesian thought under the influence of Islam.
A deeper reason, however, for the Mohammedan's
fanaticism is found in his conception of God and his
idea of the Hereafter : it is the practical outcome of
both.
The God of the heathen was only a national God,
although as Creator of the world, He must of course be
really a God universal ; the heathen has, however,
never drawn this logical conclusion from his belief in
the creation of the world. He conceives of the world as
the territory known to his own tribe. The Moslem's
God lays claim, however, to universal supremacy. Any
one who resists Him, i.e., who does not accept Islam,
is rebellious against God. God pursues him with burn-
ins hate. The national God of the heathen concerns
himself as little as the heathen himself with the religion
of other nations, but the God of Islam is terrible in his
wrath against unbelievers ; and any one at enmity with
God is also at enmity with the faithful. The Moslem's
God knows nothing of salvation for the sinner ; there is
neither conversion on man's side nor acceptance on
God's side, only submission. Any one who does not
surrender suffers God's inexorable hate. Hatred and
violence are heavenly virtues. Unfortunately, the con-
ditions of the age render it impossible for the Moslem to
give practical expression to this hatred. Holy Wars are
not possible, rebellions are hopeless ; but at least in
his secret heart every one can hate the unbeliever.
Fanaticism is the Holy War which every true Moslem
can wage in his inmost soul without hindrance. Any-
thing further is, unfortunately, impossible at present.
But a man at least fulfils his duty in respect of war by
faithfully hating those of other creeds.
Added to which there is the Pan-Moslem ideal. That,
indeed, fans the flame of fanaticism. It keeps the
FANATICISM 163
Moslem alive to the fact that he belongs to God's
Chosen People. . The utopia of Pan-Moslem hopes feeds
every Moslem's pride with fresh fuel. His passion for
power is stirred. He is called to rule, he therefore looks
down in pity on every unbeliever. And yet those
born to rule are doomed to obedience ! The more
deeply does fanaticism eat into their hearts and secret
wrath at the unnatural state of the world which should,
but cannot be altered.
Their sole consolation lies in the end of the world.
The last Holy War will then be fought to a triumphant
finish ; the unbeliever will at length receive his due.
The prospect of this eschatological event fans the flame
of fanaticism in the heart of the faithful. As the hope
of the Hereafter gains ground in the Moslem's soul, he
becomes more and more fanatical. For in the Hereafter
the Moslem will have the lordship denied him in this
present world, the unbeliever will suffer the humiliation
he already deserves. Mohammed revels in actual enjoy-
ment as he pictures the torment of the damned. And
to-day the Mohammedan and the Indonesian in particu-
lar feasts his soul upon these descriptions with all the
details added by tradition.
What he will one day be at the right hand of God
makes the Mohammedan realize his superiority to all
mankind. \ His amazing self-conceit is fostered by the
daily ritual of his religion. iHe alone is pure among
the impure. He bears the mark of circumcision ; he
abstains from every kind of unclean food ; daily he per-
forms the ceremonial ablutions which alone ensure a
heavenly existence. The pure despises the unclean.
He actually hates them, their impurity is a daily menace
to his purity. Unfortunately, present conditions are
such that he cannot avoid contact with the unclean.
But in his heart of hearts he knows he is better than
other men, because he is rich in merit. That constitutes
his guarantee of God's special favour and his claim to
Paradise. How much reason he has to despise the
164 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
unbeliever who ends his days without merit and hence
without title to the after life or any claims upon God.
Salvation by works in Islam is thus purely external,
dead formalism. The form, not the inward intention of
religious acts is the main thing. How important is a
man's posture at prayer. In what a mercenary spirit
he observes the month of fasting. The religious tax is
a regular counting-house transaction. The overrating
of purely formal observance causes the underrating of
the intention behind it ; the man deadens.
But surely dull indifference is not fanaticism. Never-
theless, many a Mohammedan is really deadened. He
is given too little independence, he is entirely under the
tutelage of the ministers of his religion. The habit
grows upon him of relegating the heavy burden of
religious ritual to the Moslem teachers. They are after
all the only ones who understand the Koran, only they
know the right way, and it is they who see to it that a
man reaches Paradise, his final goal. And hence the
teachers' unholy power over the indolent mass of the
people. A quiet nod from these masters of Islam, as
they are reckoned by the common people, is quite suffi-
cient for an outbreak of fanaticism in the Name of God.
The apparently grave-like peace is but slumbering
fanaticism. This is the reason the teachers try and keep
the people as much in ignorance as possible. The more
ignorant the masses are, the more easily is their fanati-
cism kindled. Their ignorance maintains their belief
in the power of their sorcerers, it makes them ready to
believe all the tales that are poured into their ears
about the Christians.
The theory that the Heathen-^Mohammedan is much
too ignorant ever possibly to be fanatical is untenable.
Fanaticism is no proof of deep religious experience ; it
only blinds the observer to the emptiness of the Moslem
heart. The medley of unintelligible formulas which a
man has to learn nips in the bud his heart worship.
The more foreign words and foreign customs take the
FANATICISM 165
place of his mother-tongue and the customs of his fore-
fathers in his rehgious hfe, the more moribund does the
natural religious instinct of the Heathen-Mohammedan
become. When the heathen prayed, material as his
object may have been, he did express an inward longing.
His spirit-oracles, the hallowed custom of his fathers,
were really more illuminating to the heathen than the
strange texts from the Koran and the Malay formulas
which form his moral code as a Mohammedan. The
former did not let his religious inner self entirely die out,
the latter have no influence upon his inner life at all.
The more and more elaborate routine of religious exer-
cises, which is becoming common property for the whole
body of adherents of Islam, the perpetual listening to
unintelligible formulas and phrases, whose merit is
independent of being understood, gradually smothers the
lingering embers of really personal religious experience.
In the inner religious life of the Animist, already feeble
enough, going over to Islam means a retrograde step.
In place of the natural religious feeling with which the
Animist is incontrovertibly endowed, there appears the
white heat of a fanaticism which is really foreign to his
nature, and which merely covers cold religious indiffer-
ence. Once peoples are submerged, Islam can only
inflame them with fanaticism ; it will always stand in
the way of any real spiritual and moral uplift.
Fanaticism is not the expression of religious power,
but of weakness. Any one not sure of his cause is glad
to hide the shakiness of his position under the cloak of
enthusiasm. Fanaticism is the self-deception with
which a man blinds himself and others to the powerless-
ness of his religious life. He not only wants to give
his fanatical teacher and God the impression that he is
a fanatic and so make up for the short-comings of his
religious life ; he also seeks peace of conscience for him-
self. His proud, external show of assurance is a cloak
for complete uncertainty as to his own destiny in this life
or in eternity. This fanaticism has its origin in the
166 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
unreality of the religious life. A man wants to appear
better than he is. He manifests to the world a zeal for
the faith, devotion to God's cause, which in reality he
does not possess.
Fanaticism is the natural expression of the inward
unrest of the Heathen-Mohammedan, the reflection of
his whole inward condition. The Heathen-Mohamme-
dan, like the heathen, is oppressed by terrible fear. His
good works only make him the more miserable. This
inward dispeace, this despair at the superfluity of good
works demanded of him impel him to be a fanatic ; at
least one thing he can do : he can hate, he can be fanati-
cal. The voice of conscience shall therefore be drowned
in the warcry of the fanatic. Of course Islam itself has
no inkling of this. What does the Mohammedan know
about conscience ?
Fanaticism is the result of the bitter disappointment
which Islam has in store for the converted Animist.
The idea of God may have risen upon his soul, the true
believer certainly is more occupied with the Hereafter
than the heathen, but no union with God has been estab-
lished. The Mohammedan has not entered into blessed-
ness or peace. Nor can Islam point to any sure way to
the other world. The satisfaction which Islam has not
brought is now sought in fanaticism which flatters a
man's pride and panders to his unbridled selfishness.
Fanaticism is a sham fight to draw a veil over what
amounts to religious bankruptcy. It represents an
effort to make conversion to Islam seem great gain,
whereas it would be more honest to confess that it has
meant a distinct loss. One does come across Moham-
medans who undoubtedly see through and acknowledge
Islam's swindling ways. Only they are ashamed to say
so, because it means the confession of their own stupidity.
These very Moslems are often the worst fanatics of all.
Chapter III
THE MORAL FORCE OF ISLAM
IN Islam one meets no powers from above, only such
as spring from beneath. Islam's moral and
religious influence run parallel. Here again, as if by some
secret magnetism, the powers that draw man away from
God ally themselves with the Animistic influences al-
ready at work in the heathen soul. And this league
between forces at enmity with God destroys the last
remnant of Divine truth and moral power in Islam.
The moral ideal. — If Islam adopts such an undecided
attitude with regard to Animism, the cancer of heathen-
dom, we shall scarcely expect it to contribute nmch to
the solution of the great problem of guiding a people
whose national life is passing through a period of transi-
tion, that is to say, at a time when an uncivilized people
requires leadership.
The new age ploughs deep into the national life of a
people. It is brought out from its isolation into contact
with world commerce and world civilization. Its old
religion and old customs, together with its old moral
sanctions, such as they were, are usless for the new age.
Does Islam succeed in providing any substitute ? The
task is difficult. ' Lax as tribal custom may have been,
it did sufficiently curb heathen lust for communal life. ,
A man s propensity to steal and defraud was, to a cer-
tain extent, controlled by the fear of the ancestors, the
law of his tribe ; sexual licence was bridled by marriage
customs ; self-seeking and tyranny were, if only to a
167
168 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
certain point, kept within bounds by tribal law. ^he
new age breaks down all such restraint. A man's
inclination to fraud is fostered. The coast traders over-
reach the islanders ; immorality gains in refinement,
flattery in smooth politeness ; the native grows cunning,
that is to say, clever at turning the new age audits
blessings to his own ends.
But even if the new age is not accompanied by such
momentous changes, it is always a tremendous under-
taking to guide a people through a change of religion.
And in heathendom how closely the religious and the
general life of the people are intertwined. Heathenism
certainly is corrupt through and through, paralysed by
Animism, which is eating out its very marrow ; but
when a people gives up the customs of its forefathers, it
throws away crutches on which it could at all events
limp painfully through life. For an uncivilized people
to give up its religion means that it is left completely
without moral control. Has Islam got the power to
give a people the support it needs at that crucial mo-
ment ? The question before us is this : does Islam
exercise an educative influence upon the heathen peoples
which have adopted its religion, is it indeed in a posi-
tion to do so ?
The Animism which is taken over from heathenism
is devoid of power ; but even Islam's new contribution is
not such as to raise the moral ideal of a people. Islam is
without moral ideals. According to Islam, God Himself
is not an irreproachable personality. In so far as God is
arbitrary. He is not righteous, strenuously as every
Mohammedan will maintain that He is. If God inspires
not only man's good thoughts but his evil thoughts as
well. He is not unacquainted with evil. The conception
of God suffers most, however, from its association with
magic. Even a plotting criminal will appeal to God and
look for His aid. Nor is the moral influence of the Pro-
phet Mohammed any more elevating. It is actually the
undoing of the conception of God. What can be the
THE MORAL FORCE OF ISLAM 169
morality of a God, Who chooses such an immoral Apostle ?
The more the heathen knows about his life, the more
baneful is the influence of the Prophet. His cruelty-
rouses the brutality within him, IMohammed's sensuality,
his evil passions, his untruthfulness is a welcome cloak
for dishonesty. But, worst of all, the Prophet involves
God in his immoral life, he justifies his conduct by appeal-
ing to Divine revelation. Sexual licence is a special
dispensation from God to the Prophet, a privilege re-
served for him alone. Again, what a shadow this throws
upon the image of God. The Prophet is the mediator
between God and man. jlf God chooses a man as His
mediator who exercises so little self-control in sexual
matters, it proves that God Himself thinks but lightly
of morality. ^ And further, the more the historical figure
of the Propliet impresses itself upon the popular mind,
the more readily is his manner of life taken as the excuse
for loose living, the very contemplation of the Prophet's
holy life excites the believer's fancy and thereby under-
mines his moral character. This is what makes Mo-
hammed so popular, i The Animist welcomes a prophet
who himself is not above reproach : he will be left
unpunished and unmolested in his evil doings^
It is true that we have remarked that the Bataks,
for instance, are entirely ignorant on the subject of the
Prophet's life, nor does it interest them ; the fact, how-
ever, that Mohammed had several wives is common
knowledge. Just because the Bataks, for instance, are
so ignorant about the Prophet's life, the morality of the
Mohammedan Batak and his married life is on a higher
plane than that of other Mohammedan countries.
The followers of the Prophet, the teachers, are by no
means models for the community. We have seen how
clever they are at making capital out of the faithful, how
closely they follow the heathen sorcerers in their black
art. Therein lies the secret of their power. From day
to day they show the people to what lengths one may go
in the service of this religion. The heathen likes that.
170 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
He realizes he can be a holy man, in favour with God
and man, actually the representative of the Prophet and
yet practise all his old deceitful tricks for his own advan-
tage. The heathen did not know before that it is possi-
ble to be covetous and at the same time God's chosen
servant. He learns that for the first time in Islam.
Dr. Snouck Hurgronje's descripiton of life in Mecca
makes it only too evident that a blight spreads over
the whole Mohammedan world from the Holy City.
Doubtless there is a certain reaction at Mecca against
pederasty and temporary marriage ; but in point of
fact, yas Mecca initiates the heathen in the mysteries of
the faith of Islam, so it also introduces him to a refine-
ment of vice of which he has hitherto been ignorant.!
The terrible thing is that Mecca, where this immor-
ality prevails is the City of God, the Holy City. The
same gates which lead men into the presence of God
introduce them to the most abominable immorality.
The stronger the influence of Mecca upon a Mohamme-
dan people, the more degrading is the influence of Islam
upon its morality. In the matter of these vices in the
Mohammedan world, it is not so much a question of
remnants of heathenism as of influences from the centre
to the circumference. The captains of pilgrim boats
carry not only cholera germs to the ends of the earth ;
they have also shiploads of agents of immorality for
the heathen world already immoral to the core. And
this immorality, like everything which comes from
Mecca, has the Divine sanction, forbidden as such vices
may be by the letter of the law.
The prospect of the bliss of Paradise also excites the
sexual passions of the southerner's naturally so suscep-
tible nature. In the transcendental world which the
hope of Paradise perpetually keeps before the eyes of the
Mohammedan, there blow breezes of sultry earthly
sensuality. The Moslem's future blessedness is poten-
tial sensuality. No wonder then that the prospect of
the joys of Paradise so actively possesses the soul of the
THE MORAL FORCE OF ISLAM 171
Bataks. The promise of the houris of heaven in undis-
turbed possession, the doctrine that in Paradise the
immoral man escapes the " irksome " consequence of
sexual intercourse, namely, pregnancy and birth, is
clearly a speculation in sensual pleasure. It colours the
whole religious outlook of the Mohammedan. A young
man's questions about the Hereafter do not arise from
any desire to increase his religious knowledge. But
they are called forth by that most terrible of doctrines
that the dispenser of these joys is God. What was per-
mitted to the Prophet by the special favour of God will
one day be the privilege of all the faithful in unbounded
measure. Will the God Who holds out to His faithful
the prospect of such extensive sexual delights be really
so very angry if those same faithful indulge in excesses
here in this world ?
Thus in Islam the religious life challenges immorality.
Moral principle. — These demoralizing forces take
effect the more surely because Islam is in no way con-
cerned with the inculcation of any strong moral princi-
ples. As Christians, we are accustomed to regard
religious power as moral strength at the same time. Islam
has no such idea. One may be a very pious Mohamme-
dan and yet lead an utterly immoral life. Piety and
morality are on different planes in Islam. The great
thing is to perform one's religious duties ; moral obliga-
tions have nothing whatever to do with the complete
resignation, the " Islam " of a man ; and the impress of
its piety is evident upon its moral life. For Islam does
not merely tolerate remnants of Animism, it even fur-
bishes them up afresh ; hence the effects of Animistic
heathenism in the moral sphere.
The fact that Islam has replaced heathen piety by
fanaticism has far-reaching ethical consequences. Fana-
ticism is a really estimable quality in the believer. Once
a fanatic, one is what one ought to be. It is, therefore,
superfluous to aim at any further height of virtue. Once
a fanatic the moral goal is reached. Piety and morality
172 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
show a man's life in double entry. Errors on one page
appear also on the other.
Here is the crux of the situation. The question is
not whether Islam abolishes individual heathen vices
or is merely unable as yet to master them. Otherwise
we would be willing enough to grant Islam a certain
respite. We missionaries know full well what a gigan-
tic task is involved in the moral depravity of heathenism.
We know how difficult it is, for instance, to really incul-
cate truthfulness, so that we cannot level the reproach
against Islam that there is still much immorality and
untruthfulness within its borders. The same might
very rightly be said of us also. The question is rather,
does Islam endow the heathen with the power to become
a new man ; or if that is going too far, does its religion
lay down a working principle according to which the
heathen may order his life ? If we can discover such a
principle in Islam, we shall have the right to expect it
to be an educative force among the uncivilized races.
The dogma of the rationality of Islam probably ac-
counts for the fact that wide circles of people ascribe
moral and elevating power over heathen races to Islam.
Because Christian rationalism has without doubt been
endowed with a moral ideal they conclude that rationa-
listic Islam has also a moral value. I do not know
whether I am right in tracing the legend of the rationa-
lism of Islam to Lessing's Nathan der Weise. Let us,
however, but consider Islam's fanciful conception of
the Hereafter and the rationalist's empty hope of im-
mortality, Islam's idea of mediation and the Unitarian's
stern conception of God. Let us compare the rationalist's
ideal Man Jesus with the supernatural Jesus of
the Koran, who has even a place in eternity. How
remote from orthodox Islam it is to adduce the human
"ratio" at all as the principle of human knowledge.
No legend is too fantastic or supramundane. The more
it transcends the bounds of human thought, the more
likely it is to find credence. There is no question, there-
THE MORAL FORCE OF ISLAM 173
fore, of rationalism nor consequently of moral force
such as we should a priori associate with a rationalistic
religion.
But does not true Islam, i.e., surrender to God, neces-
sarily issue in moral regeneration ? Islam is said to
consist in resignation, absolute, submissive obedience
and the renunciation of all gainsaying or opposition
against God. But that involves no inward change of
heart on the part of the heathen. Has he ever actually
been opposed to God ? He has simply never troubled
about Him. The heathen is to resign himself to the will
of God. That,, however, entails no inward conversion,
it only means Tecognizing certain religious duties, cer-
tain ritual, as binding in principle and in performing
the same to the best of one's ability. One's moral be-
haviour suffers no change. It is not in the least affected
by the well-known Moslem divisions of human conduct ;
for the matter of that, they are not generally known in
the Dutch East Indies.
Breaches of morality are called " dosa " (literally,
"offences against the customs of the ancestors").
Christian missionaries have adopted the same word to
render the idea of sin. On the other hand, breaches of
the law about food are called " haram," a word which has
much the same force among the common people as
" accursed." This clearly shows that the common
people censure a breach of ritual more heavily than moral
transgression.
Moreover, the teachers' moral instruction is a dead
letter, however it may tickle our fancy. Their injunc-
tions are learnt off by heart mechanically. Non-essen-
tials are all mixed up with what is really important.
The Moslem Bataks are taught in relation to their
religious duties : A. Ten parts of true faith. A man
must show (1) love to God; (2) love to the angels; (3)
love to the Koran ; (4) love to the prophets ; (5) love to
the baleo (Ulia Allah) ; (C) hatred to all the enemies of
God (with the explanation that God hates all who are
174 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
not Mohammedans) ; (7) fear of the wrath of God ; (8)
belief in the mercy of God ; (9) reverence and awe for the
name of Mecca, because Mecca is a holy name ; (10) a
heart turned away from all that is contrary to God,
B. Five things well-pleasing to God : (1) To go to
the mosque and pray there in the Arabic language ;
(2) To teach the commandments of God ; (3) To devote
one's energies to making others Mohammedan ; (4) To
increase in virtue, and (5) in humility.
C. The following ten things are displeasing to God :
(1) To pray without mentioning one's father and
mother ; (2) To step over a grave without saying a
prayer ; (3) To go abroad and not worship in a mosque ;
(4) To travel with friends without asking their name
and place of origin ; (5) Not to keep an agreement ;
(6) When reading the Koran to stop short of 100 chap-
ters ; (7) To speak in the presence of a baleo ; (8) To
visit mosques without worshipping there ; (9) To give
one's companions nothing when one has plenty of food ;
(10) To revile the baleo, malim or kulipa.
D. There are ten further things which destroy true
faith : (1) To have two gods ; (2) To love evil ; (3) To
do wrong to one's fellow-believers ; (4) To quarrel with
one's fellow-believers ; (5) To think lightly of the ten
parts essential to true belief ; (6) Not to be afraid of
losing one's faith ; (7) To copy the dress of unbelievers ;
(8) Not to believe in the mercy of God ; (9) To wear the
clothes of unbelievers, i.e., a sunhat, a cravat, or trousers
of European manufacture ; (10) Not to turn towards
Mecca at prayer.
Further, eight things are to be remembered on one's
death-bed ; they must at all costs be avoided : — (1)
To destroy the religion of a fellow-believer ; (2) Not to
pray in Arabic ; (3) Not to be afraid of everlasting tor-
ment ; (4) To cling to earthly riches ; (5) Hatred ; (6)
Boasting ; (7) Lying ; (8) To revile a teacher.
This constant confusion of the most external ordinances
with commandments which in themselves are of intrin-
THE MORAL FORCE OF ISLAM 175
sic value (e.g., Not to step over a grave without saying
a prayer, and to fear the wrath of God), causes an exter-
nal construction to be put upon the whole law. The
ceremonial law, especially as regards food, is placed on
the same footing as individual moral prohibitions. The
thief commits no greater crime than the Moslem who
eats swine's flesh. Notorious cheats are utterly con-
scientious in giving alms. A favourite topic for dis-
cussion is what food is to be avoided, but a lie costs
never a thought.
This, however, means that the moral point of view is
contorted : it is a question not of disposition but of
external behaviour, not of moral conduct but of the per-
formance of a rite. -Whenever ceremonial law espouses
moral law, moral law always has to pay the cost. This
perversion of morality is Animistic. In Animism also it
was not a question of disposition, but of one's attitude
towards the fathers, the ancestors, the inherited order
of things.
The ominous consequence of the fusion of moral and
ceremonial law is not abrogated by the growing indiffer-
ence to be found in many circles even in the Near East
to the external observance of Islam, because the under-
mining of ceremonial law means danger to moral law as
well ; for both are one. i Since ceremonial law can no
longer be observed in its entirety, why should one dis-
tress oneself with strict moral laws ?
This twofold evil, the formation of religious observance
and the confusion of the external ceremonial law and
the moral law, renders Islam powerless to work a trans-
formation in the heathen. Nor indeed does the Heathen-
Mohammedan rise above the ethical depravity of
heathenism. One must not be dazzled by high-sounding
moral aphorisms. There is as little thought of working
any such transformation as of overcoming Animism.
There is no need for anything of the kind. Whatever
may be the reproaches cast at the moral shortcomings
of heathenism, the Heathen-Mohammedan does not in
176 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
the least regard his neighbours as such extremely wicked
worshippers of spirits or accursed eaters of swine's flesh.
The Heathen-Mohammedan lacks any true moral judg-
ment concerning heathenism, because he is still far too
much in its toils himself.
Hence we find no sense of sin. The Moslem has over-
come all sin. Sin, however, consists in not fasting, and,
above all, in eating swine's flesh. Islam has not been
able to give the term sin any depth of content. The
Mohammedan applies the word " dosa " as correctly to
the cat who has stolen some rice as to a man who has
committed the worst crime ; of course, every ceremonial
offence is also called " dosa." Islam knows nothing of
secret sin.
By sin the Mohammedan, like the heathen, means
simply offences against Divine ordinances. Islam, like
the Animist, lacks all understanding of the fact that sin
implies a wrong principle. He therefore has simply a
series of detached injunctions against individual sins.
His moral maxims may be excellent, but his is no ethical
religion. Even at the Last Judgment, it is not his whole
sinful behaviour which is weighed in the balance, but his
individual transgressions. He is as ignorant of any
definite moral principle, such as man's responsibility to
God or love for his neighbour, as he is of any principle
underlying sin, such as selfishness.
The subsidiary moral incentives of Islam have also
an unfavourable influence upon the heathen. Their
minds are dominated by the fear of the unapproachable
Lord of the universe. Even the heathen realizes that
such a God is not easily to be propitiated. The greater
and more real danger, however, which threatens him as
a Heathen-Mohammedan requires more tangible weapons
of defence. More than an offering and a prayer is
needed to counter-balance transgression. One must have
merit, incontestable merit, which God shall indisputably
recognize. In the ardent pursuit of merit, on the
ground of certain external acts of devotion, one's im-
THE MORAL FORCE OF ISLAM 177
mediate moral duties are completely overlooked. (Cf.
St. Mark vii. 11 ff.).
The doctrine of religious duties thus loses all value as
an incentive to righteousness. Any one who fulfils the
letter of the law can thereby atone for every moral short-
coming. Even if the one scale contains merely external
but " good works " (pahalo) and the other serious moral
transgressions, the good works will nevertheless counter-
balance the moral faults. In so far as the observance of
the " duties " is a work of merit, it does not involve moral
principle. >The Moslem fulfils the law not that he may
be good, but in order to gain merit in the sight of God.
The Mohammedan is full of zeal not for the sake of moral
perfection, but in the hope of gaining sufficient merit to
give vent to unbridled moral licence. , That correct moral
behaviour in all the circumstances of life will open the
gate of heaven is not a Moslem conception, but rather
that actual individual acts acquire so much definite
merit. Instruction in itself is of little value, but it is a
meritorious act to undergo instruction at the cost of
so much time and money. The important thing is not
that I should avoid transgression, but that I should
observe as many months and days of fasting as possible ;
not that I should conduct my money affairs honestly,
but that I should give as much alms as possible ; because
every individual almsgiving entitles me to a definite
privilege in eternity.
The very expression, " salvation by works," must,
however, be applied to Islam with caution. Moslem
ideas cannot be given too mechanical and external an
interpretation, and it is difficult, in using Christian termin-
ology, to avoid the danger of giving Islam a halo which
in reality it does not possess. The European is both in
danger of putting too external an interpretation upon
the religious ideas of Animism and of attributing to
Islam our sublime Christian conceptions.
Further, the idea that individual acts are meritorious,
when coupled with the idea of mediation, results in the
N
178 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
perfect observance of Divine law being left as far as
possible to the higher teachers. To them is relegated
all intensive study and the laborious duty of obeying
religious and moral precepts. The teacher must know
how one should behave towards God in every individual
case. The ordinary man has no inclination to observe
a multitude of minute details, and where indeed do they
have an end ? The teacher is continually laying down
new rules. So it is all left to these holy men in the secret
hope that in the Hereafter they will discover some
secret way of making up for one's shortcomings.
Moslem law thus sinks lower and lower. Instead of
bringing home to man a sense of sin, it makes him self-
righteous. Instead of making a man independent, it
more and more reduces him to unmanly dependence
upon his teacher. What the priest says and ordains is
of moment. Whether one's life is Avell pleasing to God
or not is a matter of indifference, as long as the teacher
is satisfied. With the utmost assurance, the Mohamme-
dan calculates his own merit. He is, in fact, a Moslem,
he is quite safe.
The zealous observance of religious duties is, how-
ever, not universal. The great mass of the people dis-
poses of the moral problem much more easily than that.
Why should one bother ? all happens according to the
will of God. That is popular morality. The last
spark of responsibility towards God is smothered by the
most shallow determinism.
Many take some time to reach this dead level. Once
they were more zealous ; but in the end they lose faith
in their own efforts and those of the teachers ; they
always have the consolation that after all everything
happens according to the Will of God. " Whether I am
good or bad, how can I help it ? God inspires good
thoughts, but evil ones also. Why does He not give
me good thoughts instead of evil ones ? " And so the
man sinks into crass indifference. The proud Moham-
medan has once more become the sottish heathen, onlv
THE MORAL FORCE OF ISLAM 179
everything is even more a matter of indifference than
before. We meet these sad figures by the score in every
Mohammedan district ; they are the average men of
the people, the tangible proof of the religious and moral
devastation wrought among the Indonesian peoples by
Moslem fatalism.
Chapter IV
ISLAM AND THE MORAL NEEDS OF
HEATHENDOM
HEATHEN Crime. — Islam lacks even the good will
to exercise a moral influence upon the heathen ;
it therefore does not combat heathen vice. I know
this is a keenly debated question. We are told, for
instance, that Islam's prohibition of alcohol has be-
stowed a great blessing upon the negroes. This point
in Islam's favour is all the more forcible because the
blame for the terrible consequences of the gin traffic
in Africa lies at the door of the so-called Christian powers.
We must leave those who have expert knowledge of
African conditions to determine how far-reaching these
good effects of Islam really are, which we are of course
very willing to recognize. As regards the peoples of
the Dutch East Indies however, we may take it as an
established fact that they have no taste for alcohol.
Nor do heathen peoples show any propensity to drunken-
ness. How far the Dutch Government's high import
duties have been conducive to this end I cannot defi-
nitely say. On the whole, however, with the exception
of the islands of Sangi and Talaur, the consumption of
the scarcely intoxicating native liquor, palm-wine, is
moderate. The rice rum distilled by the Chinese is
sold only here and there among the population. Never-
theless of recent years, since many of the natives began
to imitate the Europeans and to adopt the foolish
custom of handing round spirits on festive occasions,
ISO
THE MORAL NEEDS OF HEATHENDOM 181
alcohol seems unfortunately to have gained stronger
hold in Java, and we are bound to say that it is the
Mohammedans and especially the traders on the coast
and the Government officials of the interior who have
led the way in the use of spirits.
Gambling too, although strictly forbidden, is very
general in Java, as also in Sumatra ; and any credit
there may be due to the Mohammedans for prohibiting
alcohol is fully counterbalanced by the fact that the
Arabs have always carried on an active trade in opium ;
they indeed introduced the poisonous drug to Eastern
Asia. It is little wonder that opium and hemp smoking,
although forbidden by orthodox law, is very prevalent
in the Dutch East Indies, and also throughout the
Eastern World.
The Mohammedan Gajo in Sumatra also smoke
opium and often keep slaves to steal for them. In
Macassar in Celebes, opium smoking is very much the
fashion among the better class Mohammedans, and
likewise dice playing. Java reeks with opium-smoking.
Hashish is also used there. In the southern part of
the Batak country, in Mandeling, the main centre of
the Mohammedan population, the use of opium is
unknown it is true, but that is not owing to their con-
version to Islam ; the neighbouring heathen tribes do
not smoke opium either. In Eastern Sumatra, on the
other hand, one meets many Mohammedan smokers ;
opium smokers do not give up the habit when they go
over to Islam. There are opium smokers also among
the Mohammedan agitators. I have met various opium
smokers who went about the country as fencing masters
and established Islam in Bandar, giving themselves out
as teachers (malim or lobe), as also I have known at
least one man who gave up opium smoking in order to
become a lobe (teacher). Of recent years the Govern-
ment has made strict regulations in many districts with
a view to putting down the practice. These restrictions
have, however, nothing to do with Islam.
182 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Moreover, from the purely ethical standpoint, and
no matter how keenly or on what practical grounds one
may advocate abstinence movements in general, it is
little use prohibiting alcohol. Temperance, not absti-
nence, is the moral ideal. On pedagogical grounds
abstinence is often inculcated among uncivilized peoples
rather than temperance, to practise which they have
not yet sufficient force of character. But again we would
emphatically point out that the prohibition of alcohol
is no proof of a righteous ethical tendency in Islam.
The new religion not only does not denounce the
fundamental evil of heathenism, namely untruthfulness,
it actually fosters it. And little wonder, when according
to tradition God belies man in eternity, and the Prophet
deceives the angels at the Last Judgment. Hence the
lying which accompanies propaganda. The heathen
are told that gifts made to the teachers are for the poor,
whereas they line the pockets of the holy men themselves.
What lies, too, are spread among the heathen about
Christianity by Mohammedan agitators ! Here is only
one example : — a Mohammedan teacher in Poboendjoran
in Celebes told the Mohammedan children who wished
to attend a Christian school : "If you go to that school,
you will be hewn in half from your head to your feet
when you die. The one half which knows how to recite
the Koran will go to heaven, the other which has gone
to school will go to hell ! "
Officially a man is told to play the part of the abject
slave in the presence of those in authority, and one must
acknowledge that the Mohammedan is a past master
of the art. Islam ti'ains him in positively cringing
flattery. The heathen also knows the art — but he is
far from being as expert as the Moslem.
The way in which the heathen and the believer alike
are excused all kinds of offences against actual or sup-
posititious ]\Iohammedan law is also untrue. Palm-wine
is allowed if it is called " ngiro," the Batak form of the
Sanscrit word " nira " (water, sap) ; " mal-nira " or
THE MORAL NEEDS OF HEATHENDOM 183
" niro " means unfermented palm-wine, but it is forbidden
if it is called " tuak " (fermented palm-wine), the name
commonly given to it by the heathen.
The laxness of the Mohammedan in keeping an oath
is especially serious. An oath was sacred to the Animist,
because he was afraid of God's curse upon himself and
his posterity, if he forswore himself or broke his oath.
Among the Mohammedan Bataks, however, the saying
goes that an oath made to a non-Mohammedan is not
binding, nor is it obligatory to pay him one's debts.
Elsewhere, also, Islam holds that a he to an unbeliever
is excusable, it is even commended if it will stay a
quarrel. Because the Koran is such a holy book, oaths
are taken upon it, but an oath can be made invalid by
placing something between the Koran and the head of
the person taking the oath, e.g., a pig's bristle ; the
Koran being placed upon the head in taking an oath.
The Position of Women. — In the Dutch East Indies
the raising of a people morally must begin at the family,
^mong these peoples the life of the nation rests on the
cohesion of the families which have bound themselves
together in tribes on the basis of blood relationship.j
Doubtless heathen family life has great evils, doubtless
women in many districts are overburdened with work.
O&xxt throughout Indonesia heathen marriage and the
position of women do serve as starting points for moral
development. Polygamy is confined to individuals
of the better classes, adultery is often punished, divorce
is regarded as undesirable. Then, although the patri-
archal system incorporates a woman in her husband's
tribe, she still enjoys the powerful protection of her own
relations in any case of ill-treatment from her husband.
Jslam has no regard for these moral starting points.
Instead of tightening the cords of family life, it slackens
them.^ Islam has a disintegrating effect upon the life
of the heathen woman and the family. '^In Islam poly-
gamy has once and for all received Divine sanction. ) Its
almost universal practice is even represented as the
184 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Prophet's Divine reward. God rewards His Prophet
by the gift of magic and a harem ! Polygamy in every
form, even if the number of wives be Hmited to four,
is derogatory to woman. .But the status of woman
suffers more than that under the influence of Islam.
Islam facilitates divorce, and this universal Moslem
custom springs from the same turbid source, namely
the Prophet's evil example.
He once caught sight of Zainab, the wife of his slave
Zaid, unveiled. Smitten with love of her, he gave vent
to his feelings in the exclamation : " Most Merciful,
how Thou canst change the heart of man ! " Zaid
thereupon divorced Zainab, so that there might be no
hindrance in the Prophet's path. There was, however,
a further difficulty in that Zaid was the Prophet's
adopted son, and the faithful took umbrage at the
Prophet's desire to marry his adopted son's wife. Then
there came a further revelation which ordained that
it was wrong to call adopted sons sons, the Prophet was
even reproved for having been afraid of men and for
having hesitated to marry her. One must obey God
rather than men. Whereupon Mohammed married
Zaijaat.
The decisive factors in the Moslem religion actually
contribute to the degradation of woman. ' The Prophet
enters into an adulterous relationship. God gives the
Prophet full liberty as regards a married woman, and
in the Hereafter the female sex must again gratify the
unbridled sexual desires of believers. No wonder that
contempt for women has fallen to a point even below
the zero of moral esteem for woman in heathenism.
In the Dutch East Indies, there is, moreover, no hint
of prostitution being put down by Islam. Prostitution
rages on the coast, and the Mohammedans are involved
in it not only as frequenters but also as keepers of the
brothels, j Also in Java, for instance, married life in the
villages has to a large extent become such as to forfeit
the very name of marriage, it has become disguised
THE MORAL NEEDS OF HEATHENDOM 185
prostitution., The dancing girls on the island are really
nothing better than public women, and they are actually
an appointment of festivals with a religious significance !
At first sight the position of women seems higher in
the Dutch East Indies than in the Near East. Women
go about the streets everywhere unveiled, and they are
also free to converse with men other than their own
husbands. But as a matter of fact, in the pre-Islamic
period in Java, woman seems to have been in higher
repute than nowadays. \ In olden times women were
often employed as go-betweens in negotiations between
the native princes. Nowadays in Java, women are
exposed to much degradation, and married life is a very
gloomy prospect. There is universal testimony to this
view.
Undeveloped and despised, the wife is entirely at the
mercy of her husband's whim, she has scarcely any
rights and only exists for her husband. Hence her
manifold degradation and repudiation and the prevalence
of divorce. A man may actually marry for the thir-
teenth time. Especially in the towns, marriage, divorce,
unfaithfulness and illicit cohabitation, are the order of
the day. The very treatment of women leaves much
to be desired. A Java missionary called a man to book
for beating his wife every day till she screamed ; he
received this answer : " If a man may not even beat
his wife, what is he to do ? " It has been claimed and
emphasized that the wife may keep the proceeds of her
field labour to herself, that work is equally divided and
that the husband and wife consult together about the
ultimate sale of their produce ; the wife's position being
therefore by no means so degraded as is generally sup-
posed. This, however, only applies to the country
villages where more primitive pre-Islamic conditions
prevail and for the most part monogamy is practised ;
whereas Islam has degraded the position of women
wherever it has been possible to do so, notably among
the fluctuating population of manufacturing districts
186 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
and plantations. The husband can divorce his wife for
a trifle and immediately marry another. If he Hkes he
can have more than one wife, in short, he can do abso-
lutely as he likes with his wife. C. Albers writes from
West Java that women have been married five, ten,
fifteen and even twenty times. Easy divorce leads
to the destruction of all moral sense in husband and
wife, parents and society.
Islam has certainly failed to shut up the women of
the Dutch East Indies in harems, according to Moham-
medan custom. IThe native custom of letting women go
about freely in public and appear everywhere holds its
own successfully. In this connection Moslem influence
has scarcely made itself felt, but Islam has never con-
tributed to the raising of the status of women.. In
" Woelang reh," a Javanese book of Mohammedan
morals, it says that the wife was only created for her
husband by Allah. She must honour him as her lord,
and serve him. In Java the saying is that Allah cannot
bear women, it is even a question whether they have a
soul ; in any case they do not go to such a glorious
heaven as men.
Polygamy remains. The limitation of wives in the
harem to four has no significance for the Bataks, who
are mostly monogamous. Even the rich, with the
exception of a few princes, have seldom had more than
three or four wives. If princes with more than four
wives go over to Islam, they are not required to reduce
the number of their wives. " To have ten or even
thirteen wives in this world is no sin," says the wander-
ing teacher to the heathen. Hence Mohammed's ordi-
nances as to marriage are of little practical account.
Islam's encouragement of divorce has a devastating
influence. The common people justify their lax point
of view by an appeal to Mohammed ; they say : "A
man may marry the wife of another as long as he is at
one with her. Mohammed says it is no sin." This is
especially to be deplored amongst a people for whom
THE MORAL NEEDS OF HEATHENDOM 187
divorce was so absolutely taboo as the heathen Bataks.
Divorce did occur in the case of barrenness and open
adultery ; but it was rendered difficult by the fact that
divorce costs the Batak the loss of all or part of the
money he has paid for his wife, and the wife must always
give up the children, because in the patriarchal system
of the Bataks the children belong to the father's tribe.
Besides the husband was afraid of divorcing his wife
because he thereby incurred the enmity of her tribe, and
it was for the most part to the chief's advantage politi-
cally to avoid such complications with tribes in blood
relationship. The wife's tribe on the other hand was
loath to receive a wife whom her husband had divorced
out of ill will ; it was a culpable offence, the impression
being that the wife's tribe wished to rob the husband's
tribe of some of its property. Of course divorce did
occur, especially in powerful chiefs' families which had
nothing to fear ; but the lengthy and costly procedure
it always involved was a strong curb upon promiscuous
running hither and thither. Our native helpers tell us
that adultery and divorce are almost unknown in the
Pakpak tribe ; an adulterer is lain in wait for and killed.
If any one puts away his wife, his father-in-law or the
wife's nearest relation kills him wherever he finds him.
The husband pronounces the word of separation
(" divorce ") upon his wife ; he can then only take her
back after marrying her out to another man. When-
ever a married couple have a quarrel, the " tolak tiga "
may be spoken ; several times in his tirade the husband
will let fall the mention of divorce, and he actually does
divorce his wife. They must now give up conjugal in-
tercourse because the " tolak tiga " (divorce) has been
pronounced ; the marriage is annulled. If, however,
the married couple still want to live together, the man
must marry out his wife for a certain sum to another
man for three days. After three to five days this man,
who is often a teacher, must testify to the other teachers
of the place, before assembled witnesses, that the woman
188 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
has had conjugal intercourse with him during those three
days. Then only may the woman be given back to her
husband, a dowry (" alas nika ") being paid to the
hadji for her. Teachers often provoke such quarrels
to get the dowry from the husband. This custom, which
is called " djinabuto," and which is utterly repugnant
to the Bataks, is practised not only by young people,
but even by those who are already parents and grand-
parents.
Such things are unheard of in heathenism, although
temporary marriage for other purposes does occur.
Braches, one of our missionaries, tells of a certain Tuan
hadji, Tarip Kalara, who promised to heal a sick woman
by making her his wife, i.e., by admitting her into his
harem. When after eight days the woman was not
cured, he divorced her.
Such is the custom in the coast districts where Islam
has succeeded in breaking up the tribal system. The
stronger the resistance of old tribal custom to the innova-
tions of Islam, the happier is the outlook for married
life. Nevertheless, the firmer the grip of Islam upon
the mind of the people, the more does old established
custom begin to waver.
Unhappily the Heathen-Mohammedan becomes only
too quickly accustomed to the looser marriage tie.
Moreover, a wife has no redress, because it is practically
impossible for her to obtain a divorce. There is nothing
about it in the Koran. Many women in Java compel
their husbands to divorce them by becoming " rong-
geng," i.e., public dancing women, which in Java is
equivalent to prostitutes. Any one who has been a
" ronggeng " for thrice twenty-four hours is free of her
husband. The penalty upon adultery on the part of a
wife is death ; whereas the husband can always have
concubines. Cases also abound of quite children being
married against their will. Islam leaves untouched the
heathen custom of child betrothal and child marriage.
Instances are to be found in Java and Sumatra. In
THE MORAI- NEEDS OF HEATHENDOM 189
Egypt also there are wives under thirteen years of age.
This is why woman has such a despised position, she is
regarded as actually an unclean creature. The very
Koran regards man as a higher being than woman.
Islam therefore does nothing to raise woman from her
oppressed condition. Nothing is done for the educa-
tion of the female sex. ■ Where they do take part in
religious instruction, it has as little effect upon their
lives as upon that of the men.
Thus Islam completely ignores its most important
educative duty, namely that of purifying family life
among the uncivilized peoples. The possible starting
point presented by the heathen idea of marriage, Islam
simply passes by unheeded. The relatively close bond
of marriage is loosened, polygamy is encouraged. The
brutal egoism of the husband it does not combat.
Islam has not hallowed family life nor given woman her
freedom. Moreover, in so far as honour to parents is
done away with by the breaking up of the family and
jwlygamy, there is no question of the training of chil-
dren.
We despair of these conditions being but temporary
in districts which have recently gone over to Moham-
medanism. A glance at the Mohammedan world shows
that the level of morality is actually lowest in the old
Mohammedan countries.
Chapter V
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY
WHY Islam should affect the nationality of the
native is not obvious at first glance. His
nationality is based on Animistic principles, and it is
towards the Animistic conceptions of a people that Islam
is especially tolerant. The native has gone over to
Islam in order to preserve his nationality ; although
as a matter of fact all over the world we find local
colouring in Islam, it has everywhere been reluctantly
obliged to sanction ethnic characteristics.
Our reproach, however, is that Islam has not influenced
national character according to any settled pedagogical
principle. It never stops to inquire what is or is not
justified, what is God-given and therefore to be pre-
served, refined and developed, and what is to be ampu-
tated with a firm hand. ''Islam's attitude towards
nationality is arbitrary. What seems indispensable is
allowed to remain, what a people is willing to relinquish
is destroyed.; Which proves that Islam in no way
understands the claim of national characteristics ; for
all the great contrasts which differentiate mankind are
lost in Islam in the one great contrast between Moslem
and non-Moslem. ■ Here again Islam simply cuts the
gordian knot of the great problems of humanity, j^he
Heathen-Mohammedan feels he is a member of a new
world polity, chosen of God for external unityfeven here
in this present time. It is gathered out of the " massa
perditionis," the mass of the lost, eternity will reveal
190
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 191
that. He therefore looks down with contempt on those
who are still living in defilement and error. He wants
to have as little as possible to do with them, rejected
and accursed of God as they are. At Mecca, pilgrims
not only discard their nationality, they also learn to
despise it. In the same way when Heathen-Mohamme-
dans are Islamized they no longer wish to be called
members of their own nation. • The Islamized peoples
of Indonesia like to be called Malay, if they have received
Islam from Malay sources^
/Among the Bataks " to become a Mohammedan "
means " to become Malay," and "to be a Batak "
means " to be a heathen." — " He is still a Batak "
means " he is still a heathen." To call a Mohammedan
Batak a " Batak " offends him as much as it flatters
him to be called " Malaju." The novice is perfectly
right in feeling he is giving up part of his nationality
when he accepts Islam. In East Africa the negroes
do not want to be called " bushmen " (Shensi) any
longer. The object of calling oneself Malay is to rise to
a higher social position and at the same time to let it
be clearly known that one has really broken with hea-
thenism. Little do they imagine how Animistic they
still are at heart ! If a man does have any inkling of
it, he is all the more anxious to hide his secret adherence
under a very marked outward breach with heathenism.
Therefore, wherever it possibly can, Islam substitutes
Malay for the vernacular in the Dutch East Indies ;
as far as possible, and in matters of religion in particular,
they use " the language of Paradise," Arabic. The
Arabs pride themselves on talking the language of God.
The Javanese on the other hand console themselves for
not understanding that heavenly tongue by saying it
would be sacrilege for lower creatures such as they to
speak it ; it is sufficient to accentuate correctly the
words : " then we are well-pleasing to God."
Malay religious terminology is instructive in this con-
nection. The religious terms for God, prayer, teacher,
192 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
heaven, hell — all words for which one may find almost
exact equivalents in the vernacular — are taken from
the Malay-Arabic language. The Bataks use for God
" Allah " or " tuhan " (Malay) instead of the Batak " de-
bata" ; for prayer, " sombajang " (from the Malay " sem-
bahjang ") instead of the Batak " tangiang " ; for heaven,
Surgo(from the Malay sorga) instead of the Batak "ba-
nua gindjang " ; for hell, " api na roko " (from the Malay
'*naraka") instead of the Batak "banua toru." The
foreign words sound so much more refined ; foreign words
give the impression of culture. Conceit and amusing
semi-education helps Islam to suppress the old language.
The old native dress is exchanged whenever possible for
Malay dress; they adopt an Arab fez and an Arabic
name, t
Tolerant as may be the attitude of Islam towards the
inner content of Animism, it is inexorable with regard
to its outward form. Islam is intended to introduce some-
thing absolutely new. It knows nothing of the peda-
gogical law of apperception, the careful association of
new ideas to those already at work. Points of contact
are ignored even when they present themselves spon-
taneously. Islam lacks the most elementary peda-
gogical instinct. It does emphasize the fact that the
old nationality is impure and should be abolished, but
it makes no attempt to cleanse the heart of Animism.
Islam is right in so far as it recognizes that a new
religion should re-create the whole thought and feeling
of a people, but it has no idea of the problem involved
in this transformation. It sets about the task extremely
clumsily, nominally rejecting the whole national conscious-
ness hitherto at work. To-day, as ever, it is the religion
of force, although it is obliged to sheath its sword. It
does violence to nationality. This accounts for the
oftentimes rapid success of Islam. It knows nothing
of that sparing method of Evangelical Missions, which
combats most strenuously what is sinful in native custom
but, at the same time, finds something sacred in native
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 193
usage which should not be touched unless the new law
of God runs counter to it — a method which, however,
works slowly.
'Islam, in fact, lacks all love for nationality. It wants
to subdue, not to educate.. This corresponds to the
Moslem conception of God. God also desires to subju-
gate man, God demands of him blind surrender, the
outward acceptance of the articles of belief, but no glad
inward assent to them. And the Moslem treats the
convert accordingly. The gloomy conception of God
thus casts its dark shadow over the social life of the
people. Moslem dogma has destroyed its social ethics.
The result of this change of attitude towards his own
nationality, which the heathen formerly held so dear,
manifests itself in the most diverse ways in the bearing
of the Heathen-Mohammedan. Islam does not every-
where succeed in at once winning over whole peoples.
Although its converts may be numerous it often has to
be content with individuals, and we may say here that
Qslam makes individualistic men out of communistic
peoples. ( It is as much the nature of the Indonesian
peoples as it was that of our own Teutonic forefathers,
when they were Christianized, to be communistic, not
only in their political economy, but also in their whole
mode of thought. We have to deal not with indivi-
duals among them but with tribes organized on the
patriarchal system, not with single people but with
self-contained families.
In the first instance, single individuals break loose
from the tribal system and become Mohammedans who
conduct their own religious concerns. The heathen is
an Animist, not because he holds Animism to be the
true religion, but because it is the religion of his tribe.
Just as there is no private property in land, only com-
munal property belonging to the whole tribe, so also
there is no individual practice of religion and no personal
conviction. The practice of religion is the concern of
the family or tribe. A man has no opinion of his own
O
194 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
at all, no free will ; the will of the community is the will
of the individual. The moment a native breaks loose
from this system and becomes a Mohammedan, he com-
pletely loses his anchorage. Leaps and bounds in the
social development of a people are always ominous for
its national character. Otherwise from the modern
standpoint one might say that Islam was performing an
act of liberation in setting nations free from the claims
of a communism so subversive to all personal initiative ;
but heathen at the level of the uncivilized races are not
ready for such a sudden liberation. This accounts for
the many vices of the Mohammedan. The heathen
within his national system was controlled by the tradi-
tion of his forefathers ; the Mohammedan, suddenly set
loose from it, becomes arrogant. Not accustomed to
the individual's being of any account, he now realizes his
own value and becomes conceited. He thinks he alone
can accomplish what formerly only the family could do ;
this leads to presumption. Intoxicated with his great
dignity as a man, which he has suddenly acquired, he
grows fanatical towards all who have not yet become
what he is, which includes of course all Christians.
But this transformation has other very significant
consequences. Islam breaks up national systems with-
out putting anything in their place ; it gives free rein
to the native's individuality without giving it any moral
control, and we can readily see that the native, all inde-
pendent as he is, seeks some support. He finds it in
the Moslem clergy. That is why the common people
are so in bondage to the religious leaders, independent
and democratic as they may formerly have been, at all
events in the case of the Bataks.
In the old days the tribe, in the person of the head of
the tribe, the chief, offered sacrifices, now the priest
performs the religious functions. He says the prayers
for the dead in the house of mourning, he marries the
young couples, cares for the soul of the departed, he
escorts the soul of the departed through to the Judgment,
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 195
placing on his head the pilgrim's turban on the fields
of the Resurrection if he has not gone on pilgrimage in
this life. Of course all for a certain, not infrequently,
considerable sum of money. It does not disturb the
natives that the avaricious priest has much more con-
cern in the whole proceeding for his own pocket than for
the soul's well-being of him who pays. Without noticing
it, the native has passed from the hands of the old swind-
ling heathen sorcerer into the even closer grip of the
Mohammedan elder. With him he finds, not only pro-
tection from the evil of this present world, but also
eternal salvation as well. The native's proud freedom
from the bondage of the heathen sorcerer is a pure
farce. In the old days he was the slave of the sorcerer
only for this life, now he is in bondage for eternity to
the Mohammedan priest, and the new slavery is worse
than the old, for it implies an absolute tutelage spiri-
tually.
Peoples which have gone over to Islam en bloc are
treated differently, such as the Javanese and the Malays
in Sumatra. Their nationality is too strong for them
ever to be persuaded to discard it like an old garment.
Islam has here again been obliged to have recourse to
the most far-reaching connivance, and has here again
been unable to recreate the national life. Its every
concession has once more been controlled by a policy
of opportunism. It has no fixed moral standard for
dealing with the thought and feeling of a nation. On
the one hand it rejects good and bad together. On the
other it leaves loopholes for any number of animistic
errors to find their way back into the Islamized life of
the people.
On one point alone Islam is stern and inexorable, and
that is in the matter of the law which affects the every-
day life of a people most acutely, namely the laws about
food. We have already seen how incorrect it is to say that
the heathen becomes a Mohammedan because it is made
so easy for him. One must put oneself in the heathen's
196 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
place and have seen how eagerly he falls upon the dish
of meat which to him is a rarity, and especially upon
his beloved swine's flesh, to be able to realize that the
heathen is really making a great sacrifice in this respect
in becoming a Mohammedan,
Keeping the laws about food marks the Batak's con-
version to Islam. To sell one's pigs signifies conversion
to Islam. It is a sacrifice for the Batak to abstain from
swine's flesh and yet even recent converts conscientiously
do so, and before very long they actually begin to deride
their heathen fellow-countrymen for their love of swine's
fiesh.
That especially this part of Mohammedan law should
be observed, while on the whole they hold firmly by
ancient custom, is explained by the fact that any one
who transgresses the laws about food is " haram."
They have an extraordinary fear of this. " Haram "
really means " forbidden," in the sense that the trans-
gression is visited by the curse of God, e.g., any one who
fails to perform his daily worship, to pay his religious
tax, to give one of his twelve children to the service of
the mosque, to fast, is " haram." Even this does not
however explain the fact that the people will often keep
this very irksome law before they actually give their
assent to Islam. The discussion as to which kinds of
food are, or are not forbidden occupies a large place in
the ordinary conversation of the clergy. We have here
one form of asceticism.
Ascetic ideas vinderlie many old Batak customs. In
times of illness (epidemics) and during pregnancy, one
must abstain from certain acts and also from certain
kinds of food (robu, pantang). Two methods of pro-
pitiating an unfriendly power are open to the heathen :
sacrifice and abstinence.
Islam does away with sacrifice, but the sacrifice of
oneself, self-surrender, takes its place, being practised
in ascetic abstinence (the tithe, the prohibition upon
food) as well as in self-mortification (fasting, mystical
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 197
exercises). These things are thus further methods of
propitiating God, hence their power of attraction. For
the very magnitude of the self-sacrifice is an attraction.
Every day and with regard to every possible kind of
transgression there is always the consoling thought that
one may reckon upon a rich reward on the ground
of a substantial offering.
The ascetic wishes to give drastic proof before God
and all the world of how much he can take upon himself
for God's sake. They emphasize the point that Moham-
med forbade swine's flesh because it is so savoury. A
man must give up what is dearest to him for God's sake.
Asceticism has its root in the desire to be lord over nature
to the glory of God. Man thereby certainly honours
himself more than God. For in despising the highest
earthly delights, the most tasty meat, the best beverage,
alcohol, and the most enticing pleasure, opium smoking,
a man looks up to himself proudly. His asceticism fosters
his self-conceit. The law about food daily assures a
man that he is a pure being in favour with God and his
all-powerful Mohammedan teacher. His heathen neigh-
bours, who eat swine's flesh daily, show him from what
filth Islam has delivered him.
For that very reason, however, the practical value of
the observance as regards the education of the people
is simply nil ; desistance is merely required on one purely
external point. The inward man is unaffected by the
observance : he remains the same as he ever was, at best
he becomes haughty, fanatical and more indifferent to
much other evil doing which even his heathen conscience
branded as sin.
In the Eye of the Law. — That Islam re-creates the entire
life of the believer is the idea underlying Mohammedan
law. Thus Islam rightly feels that man's surrender to
God must, in point of fact, lead to an entire renewal of
human life. This is, however, brought about not by
any new principle indwelling in the believer, but rather
by a multitude of legal ordinances which rule his whole
198 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
life down to the smallest detail. Not merely married
life, affairs of state, jurisprudence, business and inter-
course in general with one's fellow-men, are determined
by law, but also the clothing of the body, its purification,
eating and drinking, and even a man's attitude during
the excretions of the human body.
Now in every country this Mohammedan law comes
into conflict with existing common law. This is at once
apparent in the administration of justice. In Java the
difficulty has been solved by the institution of spiritual
and secular courts of law. Judgment in spiritual courts
is according to Mohammedan law (Arabic, "sjariah" ;
Malay, ' ' hukum Allah ' ' ; Javanese, ' ' sarat " ). The right
of inheritance and marriage right accordingly pertain to
things spiritual. To a certain extent this, however,
gives these spiritual courts of law a secular character,
especially as the Regent for the time being presides in
the court as head of the Mohammedan religion. The
secular courts are certainly only composed of princes and
assessors, and their judgment is passed according to the
ancient common law of the country, but a Mohammedan
elder must be present to declare in case of necessity
whether the common law accords with Mohammedan law.
Thus the so-called secular court has an essentially spirit-
ual character. Nevertheless, Islam has not succeeded
in really establishing its jurisprudence in Java. Be-
cause the Colonial Government of course forbids such
Mohammedan penalties as are inadmissible according
to our idea of justice, e.g., mutilations, ^ so that common
law often prevails when it is not in* accordance with
Mohammedan law.
For instance, native law permits of a field being sold
* According to Mohammedan law the penalty for adultery
is stoning, or in the case of unmarried persons one hundred
lashes with a scourge. In Java and Sumatra adultery is
therefore punished either not at all or by a fine. Among penal
offences of a religious character apostasy from Islam stands
first; the penalty for that is death.
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 199
with the right of repurchase. As regards landed pro-
perty the old Javanese law has held its own. Nor have
the principles of Mohammedan law about slavery pre-
vailed. Also in the matter of hereditary right Batak
law holds on many points. The wife has no right of
succession, only the son. In the Batak country Islam
would like to legalize the intermarriage of members of
the same tribe ("marga") which the Bataks regard as
incest. The old Batak marriage laws have managed
to hold their own ; e.g., marriage with a bajo (the Avife
of one's brother-in-law) is not allowed even in Moham-
medan districts ; only on the coast, where tribal dis-
tinctions have been lost, are no questions asked.
It is the same elsewhere. Common law among the
Turks, Bedouins, Egyptians and Syrians differs from
that of the peoples of the Archipelago, but the relation
between the customs of all these countries and Islam,
as also the tenacious hold upon them, is the same every-
where. There is scarcely a place for law which rests
on revelation, and yet the Mohammedans maintain its
Divine origin. Islam has, therefore, adopted the same
attitude towards the law of traditional use and wont as
towards Animism. The new and old jurisprudence
have been amalgamated. For only so could the new
law be made acceptable to the common people ; they
have been as loath to give up the points especially dear
to them in their common law as they are with regard
to Animism.
It is obvious that in the course of time and as Islam
has spread over the world, it has become impossible to
control the whole of human life by detailed ordinances.
People have therefore thought that Islam could never
become a world religion, like Christianity and Buddhism.
But Islam has simply given up its original system of an
absolute theocracy. A secular state was founded. The
Caliphs became kings. Relinquishing the strict observ-
ance of the sacred law, common law was given elbow
room. Unscrupulous adaptation has made Moslem law
200 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
applicable to the whole world. Islam's conscientious-
ness is a myth.
Moreover, "when Islam has Arabicized the national
character of any people, it has at the same time robbed
it of some of its vitality : it has deprived it of native
genius, language, law and custom, substituting for them
foreign words and foreign customs which may give an
air of refinement but are not indigenous. , The body of
the people has had its limbs amputated and replaced
by artificial substitutes, and it laboriously trails about
on these artificial limbs. A wooden leg is always a sorry
sight.
Islam as a Factor of Civilization. — What has just been
said throws light upon the question so often raised as
to how far Islam is to be reckoned a factor of civilization.
Even a superficial survey of the history of Islam shows
that now and then it has succeeded, at least temporarily,
in producing a civilization. Not only natives but many
Europeans as well believe therefore that Islam is cap-
able of raising the level of civilization among the uncivi-
lized races.
We should go the wrong way to work if we proved a
priori from book Islam whether it is or is not capable of
producing civilization. Islam in practice is a different
thing from what it seems to be in theory. Let us, there-
fore, inquire what Islam's present day propaganda con-
tributes to the civilization of the Nature peoples. The
soul of the Indonesian is possessed nowadays with the
longing for modern civilization. During the Russo-
Japanese War, the peoples of Eastern Asia learnt that
Europe itself may be beaten with the help of a vigorous
civilization. Thus the soil, the soul of the heathen
peoples, is in the highest degree receptive to fertilization.
If, in spite of this fact, Islam does not succeed in raising
them, the blame is simply to be laid upon its own
incapacity.
We must be careful not to generalize from particular
cases. In Islam, as also in heathendom, there are of
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 201
course certain individuals of relatively high moral tone
and individual aspiring souls. Nor is anything to be
gained by reckoning up the individual virtues of Moham-
medan peoples ; many inherent characteristics come into
play in this domain quite apart from Islam ; e.g., the
hospitality of the Arabs, their contentment, their power
of endurance in suffering. Individual Mohammedan
tribes among the Bataks also show the same admirable
refined hospitality, e.g., in the Province of Padang
lawas ; it is, however, a custom with this people which
has been carried over from heathenism, and which is
vanishing before the advance of Islam.
Where Mohammedan peoples open up trade with the
heathen, bartering with other tribes at a higher level
of civilization is always found to give fresh impulse to
the material and intellectual progress of a community.
But here again that progress is not to be attributed to
the change of religion.
On the other hand, we must not simply lay the blame
upon Islam for the vices and crimes of a Mohammedan
people, although it is an actual fact that Islam has not
proved able really to raise the peoples of the Dutch East
Indies ; e.g., to make lazy Javanese industrious, to
build up family life, to break down superstition and to
destroy the remnants of the old religions.
, In the Dutch East Indies all that has made for civiliza-
tion and enlightenment among the people has come
through the Government and Christian Missions. It is
the same in East Africa : " Islam had done practically
nothing for the enlightenment of the country. And
Islam profits most of all by all that the industrious Ger-
mans are doing. Their roads and railways remove the
local hindrances to its expansion, Kisuaheli any linguistic
difficulties. The economic development of the country
is attracting hundreds of Moslems from India ; they
monopolize the petty trading and the negroes are becom-
ing dependants upon them financially." ^ The educated
^ Axenfeld. Berliner Missions-Berichtc, July, 1909.
202 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
natives, e.g., the Javanese doctors (doktor Djawa) have
come into contact with the fruits of Christian European
science and have been raised from the atmosphere of
Islam. They are, therefore, no proof of the civihzing
power of Islam.
Doubtless the native's tendency to attribute every-
thing to a man's religious position prevents him from
distinguishing what is the fruit of his educated fellow-
countryman's religion, and what the fruit of his Chris-
tian education in the Colonial Government school. He
attributes everjdhing to religion. Hence the heathen is
full of hope when he goes over to Islam that it will
raise him intellectually. Is he satisfied from this point
of view ?
Animism, with its conservative superstition and dead
fatalism, obviously creates no desire for enlightenment.
In so far as Islam remains animistic, it is therefore un-
fruitful from the point of view of civilization, and
intellectually impotent.
But neither does the subject matter of the new Moslem
teaching contain any seeds of cultvu-e. Mohammedan
education has a positively stupefying effect upon the
mass of the people. All power to think and desire to
learn is killed by the mechanical learning by heart of
incomprehensible formulas ; hearing, memory, and the
organs of speech alone are exercised ; the pupils learn
like parrots, without understanding. The few small
advantages which are gained do not compensate for this
evil. Islam has certainly given many peoples a
written language for the first time with its Arabic script ;
that script is, however, often very ill-adapted to their
language. The knowledge of the Malay language has
brought them into contact with Malay literature and
with the whole world of Arabian thought. The Arabic
language, however, is not the language of modern civiliza-
tion, and the Arabian world is behind the times. Nor
is Arabic learnt in the least thoroughly enough ever to be
a channel of culture.
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 203
The very disintegration of the vernacular by Arabic
phrases has retarded the natural development of the
people, rather than promoted it. The loss to their own
thoughts has not been covered by the gain in foreign
phrases.
Further, the Pan-Moslem movement in Islam encour-
ages the peoples to despise European civilization, because
the true Moslem view is that all that is worth knowing
is already contained in the Koran. The study of the
Koran language, however, and the purely formal scholas-
tic training of a few Mecca pilgrims is without significance
for the people. As long as the Christian's superior civi-
lization is regarded as an abnormal state of things to
which Allah will certainly soon put an end, so long will
ceremonial purity, which causes true believers to look
upon Europeans as unclean, be scrupulously maintained
Strict Mohammedans lay a ban, for example, upon prac-
tice as a Doktor Djawa (i.e., doctor in Colonial Govern-
ment service) because a doctor comes into contact with
what is unclean. Certainly to no purpose !
As long as the very culture of the European in this
world is believed to be the proof of his damnation in the
world to come, every incentive to advance in civiliza-
tion is nipped in the bud for the Islamized native. The
saying is " the white people may be cleverer and more
powerful in this world, but in eternity they will be fuel of
fire."
Most ominous of all, however, is the spiritual tutelage
in which the Mohammedan teachers keep believers. It
is to the advantage of these ignorant men to awaken as
little as possible the desire for education ; once awakened
they can, of course, not satisfy it.
Lastly, the over-emphasis laid upon the life Hereafter
in Islam, the blind submission which it enjoins, its secret
mystic rites, but, above all, its determinism, hamper
the progress of civilization. The Indonesian's slack
way of letting everything slide, his tendency to throw up
the game in face of difficulty, are only encouraged by
204 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Islam. At the very point the education of the uncivi-
hzed heathen should begin Islam proves not only power-
less but even a fresh hindrance. The universal desire
for culture, and for European culture in particular, which
is making itself felt all over the Dutch East Indies, is
not the fruit of Islam, but rather the outcome of the
energetic civilization of the country by the Dutch Govern-
ment and the missionaiy system of education. This is
proved by the fact that every missionary enterprise
among the heathen peoples of the Archipelago finds this
desire clearly expressing itself among even the heathen
remnants of the population. There was a craving for
enlightenment in several Mohammedan districts even
before they were Islamized.
People say, however, that the Islamizing of a country
does stem the barbarism of the heathen. Surely Islam
abolishes cannibalism, human sacrifice and gruesome
head-hunting. It is a question whether this is true of
Indonesia. We do not know enough about the peoples
which were Islamized long ago to be able to say whether
those horrors were practised by them before they became
Mohammedans ; and, in the case of the peoples which
have been recently Islamized, the Colonial Government
has had a hand in the abolishing of heathen abomina-
tions. The Colonial Government has been an important
factor in the civilization of these peoples.
We gladly acknowledge that greater cleanliness pre-
vails in the Mohammedan districts, more attention is
given to dress than in the heathen districts, although
here also the new age and the Government school have
played their part. As a matter of fact, one has only to
leave the high road and study the subject of cleanliness,
especially in isolated parts, to gain many an unpleasant
experience even nowadays. Sundry objectionable prac-
tices have been abolished by Islam, e.g., the marriage of
a stepmother and her stepson. But that is the most we
can say. It is not worth our while considering the many
moral aphorisms bandied about by Moslems.
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 205
In the Moslem Decalogue, for instance, we find the
following commandments : (1) Do not associate any-
thing with God ; (2) Honour your father and mother ;
(3) Do not kill your children for fear of poverty ; (4)
Do not kill except when justice demands it ; (6) Do not
lay hands upon the inheritance of orphans ; (7) Give
good weight and measure ; usury is also forbidden ; (8)
Do not impose more upon a slave than he can accom-
plish ; (9) In all you say have regard to equity. (With
this may be compared the methods of school instruction.)
Nor has the heathen, by any means, such a bad ethic in
his stock of moral and didactic proverbs and fables,
only it has not prevented the depravity of heathenism.
Islam is unfruitful as a civilizing agency among un-
civilized peoples because it does not engage in any more
of a struggle against the abuses of heathenism than it
combats Animism. On the one hand it accommodates
itself to heathen ideas, and on the other, the level of its
morality is even lower than the very depths of heathen-
ism. It may abolish a few heathen abominations, but
a glance at the bloodstained history of Islam shows that
a new barbarism has merely taken the place of the old.
The terrible Padri wars, the " Thirty Years' War " of
the Batak country, are one proof of this in the history of
Sumatra. That time still lingers in the memory of the
people. For a roll of tobacco, for no more than a betel
leaf, the Bataks were put to death because the fanatical
Padri forbade smoking and betel chewing. Terrible
cruelty accompanied the fall of the mountain fortresses
of the Padang bolaks. Betrayed by deserters they fell
one after another into the hands of the conquerors.
The men were thrown over the fortress walls, the women
and girls were outraged.
Doubtless such things no longer happen under the
iron hand of the Colonial Government. But the hatred
against the unbeliever is as strong as ever.
And this cruelty is all the more to be condemned in
Islam because it is committed in the name of God. The
206 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
name of God serves as a cloak for the worst possible
robbery and plunder. Heathenism was, so to speak, at
least more honest in its iniquity. Manstealing was cer-
tainly carried on from religious motives ; the idea was
to appropriate the murdered man's soul-stuff, hence the
eating of his flesh. The heathen in no way disguised his
self-seeking, whereas the superior refinement of Islam
sheds the hypocritical halo of God's good pleasure over
cruel self-seeking greed. That is why the fanatical
hatred of Islam, even although it may never find actual ex-
pression, is morally lower than the heathen's pugnacity.
For the Moslem learns what the heathen did not know,
namely, hatred in the name of God ; his hatred is
actually a merit, a good work, and receives reward.
It is the same with the slave-trade and piracy. In this
very respect the bigotted people of Achin have made a
name for themselves for all time. The depopulation of
Northern Nias and the age-long piracy on the coast of
Sumatra bear witness to it. Mohammedan peoples,
such as the robber tribe of the Gajos in Central Sumatra,
claim the right to carry on the slave-trade on the strength
of its being the prescribed form of Holy War. Non-
Moslem human life is disregarded — in Achin heathen
slaves are called swine — in the name of " the Merciful
God."
Further, man's gross selfishness remains unbroken,
as is evident from the position of women. The Dutch
East Indies have reproduced what has, so often, hap-
pened in Africa. The interest of the faith, with its
command to carry the true doctrine to the heathen, has
succumbed to the interest of commerce. For centuries
the slave market towns were left untouched by Islam
because one's fellow-believers might not be sold into
slavery. There was always the consoling thought that
it was a work of merit to subdue unbelievers. The
piracy of the Mohammedan inhabitants of Achin and of
the Malays, the plunder raids of the Gajos into the
heathen country of the Bataks, were condoned as being
ISLAM AND NATIONALITY 207
war against unbelievers. Here again, unabashed selfish-
ness hides behind the Divine decree.
The tyranny of the native rulers is not weakened ; it
serves to spread the holy religion. The Prince of Si
Antar in Sumatra simply had the swine of his immediate
subjects shot down, if they would not voluntarily sell
them. The Sultan of Siong in Borneo used to summon a
man to his presence overnight, whom he knew to be away
on a journey. Of course the man could not appear : he
was then condemned to pay a fine and on the crime
being repeated he was sold as a slave, instead of being
fined. Beautiful maidens he simply abducted and put
into his harem. The population was always decreas-
ing.
Thus Islam stands powerless before the great problem
of delivering the heathen soul from the egoism which is
at the root of all these cruelties. On the contrary, here
again, as in the case of magic, God is brought upon the
scene in the interests of man's self-seeking. This implies
but one more downward step for Islam.
Isolated touches of neighbourliness towards one's
fellow-believers do not alter the general position. The
Moslem does certainly regard a fellow-believer as an
equal towards whom he has certain duties, although this
makes him the more intolerant towards unbelievers, but
the heathen is also friendly towards his fellow-tribesman.
It is to one's advantage to support the tribe, that is, the
body of like faith with oneself.
In Islam, therefore, a man remains at the level of
heathenism. Any real advance in civilization is due to
other agencies. His selfishness is unbroken and actu-
ally manifests itself in the fanatical hatred of believers
for all those otherwise minded. Slavish bondage and
the fear of mysterious powers still sways him. The
Moslem even sinks below the level of heathenism.
Lying and untruthfulness are paradoxically bound up
with religious dogmas and ritual. Moreover, we find
arrogance, fanaticism, stupidity and an entirely mechani-
208 THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
cal and formal performance of ritual, unknown in
heathenism. Such a foundation makes it impossible
to accomplish the task, in itself so difficult, of raising
uncivilized peoples to a higher level.
PART III
The Conversion of the Mohammedan to
Christianity
Chapter I
THE NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF THE
MOHAMMEDAN
WE shall not here speak of the manifold outward
hindrances which the Mohammedan has to
face when he becomes a Christian. The persecutions
to which Mohammedan-Christians are exposed are well
known, nor is there any lack of hostility shown to them
in the Dutch East Indies. It is more important for us
to consider what are the personal difficulties to the
Moslem's acceptance of the Gospel.
He does not want to be a Christian. The heathen's
attitude to the preaching of the Gospel is also a negative
one at first. The Gospel is something quite new to him ;
because of its strangeness, he will have nothing whatever
to do with it. The Mohammedan, however, rejects
Christianity because he thinks he knows all about it.
He considers the Christian irreligious. The tendency
in Islam is to represent Christianity as an irreligious
doctrine or, if that does not find a hearing, as one, at
all events, of little religious value.
Mohammedans endeavour in their discussions to class
Christians as unbelievers. If we meet the assertion that
God's guiding hand is in Fate, by saying that surely God
209 -o
210 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
can do no evil, the Mohammedan considers we are dis-
paraging God. " God can do as He pleases, He is the
Lord, we are His servants." The very doctrines which
seem to us to attest the pre-eminence of Christianity are
in his eyes the proof of its inferiority. When we declare
that the fulness of God can only be apprehended in the
Trinity, Islam replies that the doctrine of the Trinity is
tritheism, and, therefore, polytheism. Christianity is
a relapse into heathenism. When we speak of being
children of God and call God our Father, the Mohamme-
dan tells us we have, therefore, a much lower idea of God
than he. If we rightly understood the Glory of God,
we should never predicate such an attribute of Him.
" God has no children." If we tell him of the faithful-
ness of God he shrugs his shoulders at the fools who think
they know what God will do. If we go on to speak of
communion with God, or of the indwelling of His spirit in
believers, he considers that is robbing God of His Divine
sublimity and dragging Him dowii to regions to which
the sublime God can never demean Himself without com-
promising Himself. As is well known, the Mohamme-
dan considers it terrible blasphemy when we say that
God allowed His Son to be crucified. God, in His
Omnipotence, could never have allowed such a thing to
happen.
And we meet these same ideas in the Dutch East Indies.
Christianity is certainly better known to some than to
others, but every Mohammedan, even those who have
but recently gone over to Islam, are determined oppo-
nents of Christianity. Many only know Christianity from
hearsay, but " the Christians come to destroy religion,"
they tell our native helpers. In Borneo, Mohammedans
have been kno^vn to call one of our missionaries, Braches,
" Dadjal maut " (Angel of death) and " Roh Setan "
(spirit of Satan).
They only know about the terrible " Nasrani " by
whom they swear such oaths as " May I be a Nasrani
(Nazarene) if such and such is not true ? " Many Moham-
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 211
medans do not in the least know that the white people,
with whom they come in contact, belong to these
Nazarenes. And many draw the conclusion from what
they actually experience at the hands of Europeans, that
the Christians are really as godless as their teachers say.
They observe practically no religious life among Euro-
peans, not only because many Europeans forswear their
Christianity among Mohammedans, but because Chris-
tianity is a spiritual religion. The Mohammedan has
only eyes for what appeals to the senses in religion ; he
has no understanding for its spiritual character. And
Christianity is just lacking in what appeals to the senses.
Christians are men who live for earthly things without
any thought of God. For the European never uses any
of the expressions which continually make mention of
the name of God and which are indispensable to a Moham-
medan in everyday conversation. He puts, therefore,
no trust in God, only in his owti firearms and brains ; his
aim in life is to earn money, and he does that with the
utmost success. Of course, that does not prove that
the European is as godless as the native thinks. Only
the native does not see him performing any religious acts.
A European may actually lead a Christian life, but how is
a native to know that he does ? Christianity has no
external ordinances for everyday life, such as laws about
food and fasting. Heathenism has much more the
impression of being a religion than Christianity. In
heathenism there are sacrifices and prayers and a multi-
tude of rules which must be observed in everyday life ;
a house must be built facing in a certain direction ; one
may only sleep with one's feet in a certain direction.
Superstition and its decrees indicate much more religious
life, according to Mohammedan ideas, than Christianity,
which refuses to have anything to do ^vith such things
The European is lacking in feeling for religion when
he laughs at amulets and talismans. Levity makes him
not afraid of any of the dangerous places in the forest,
nor show any fear of spirits, and makes him amused that
212 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
any one should carefully guard against the magic arts
of sorcerers and Mohammedan Sheiks. It is frivolous
to consider oneself beyond the reach of such things.
He has absolutely no idea of secret communion with
God. Silent, devotional reading of the Scriptures is
quite beyond his power of imagination. And, unfor-
tunately, there are many Europeans who take pleasure
in not concealing their irreligion from the Mohammedans.
Those, who still call themselves Christians without being
so in reality, are chiefly to blame for the Moslem idea
that Christianity and a complete lack of understanding
for things religious are identical. They know nothing
about Islam and think that a religious question of this
kind can be disposed of in a couple of sentences. Perhaps
they even air a smattering of modern criticism and tell
the native, if they have the chance, that there is no God,
that man developed from the brute beasts and so forth.
The native can find no explanation for what he says ex-
cept that with all his cleverness the Christian is simply
ignorant in religious matters.
" Unfortunately, there are fools who do not spare
their enlightenment, but tell the native that, according
to the latest discoveries of science, there is no God." So
an imam told Dr. Snouck Hurgronje a Government
official had said to him, " and," he added, " without
being drunk ! " Such a Mohammedan would have found
more in common with a fanatical Christian.
As soon as a native sees that he only makes the white
man laugh at his religious ideas, he is very careful not to
enter into such questions. His soul, as it were, curls
up like a hedgedog, and the European can get nothing out
of him at all. In fact, if the native is cunning enough,
he imitates his master and also begins to mock at religious
things ; like the European he freely uses modern catch-
words, while all the time laughing up his sleeve at the
clever European who is worse than a benighted heathen
in everything that pertains to religion.
Other Europeans are continually saying they do not
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 213
in the least care what rehgion their inferiors profess.
The native concludes from this that the European, at
all events, thinks nothing of Christianity and that Chris-
tianity is not what he understands by religion. For a
man will seek to propagate his religion, to bear testimony
to it. The European thinks he will win the native's
confidence by forswearing Christianity and praising
Islam on every possible occasion, but this positively repels
the native. Men utterly without religion are repugnant
to him and make him suspicious. Also the Moslem is too
clever not to see through any such praise. It is only in-
tended to conciliate the native. He, the Mohammedan,
does the same ; when it suits him he cannot say enough
in praise of Christianity. He hopes he will throw dust
in the eyes of the European, and often he succeeds.
This accounts for many superficial opinions heard on
the lips of Europeans. They say the Mohammedan is by
no means such a fanatic ; he can easily be made to
change his preconceived notions. He has no proper idea
of what the religion of the Prophet Mohammed is.
They say they have discussed the Koran with Mohamme-
dans and they know nothing whatever about it. As if
the native would ever reveal his Moslem convictions
willy-nilly to the stupid European ! As if the know-
ledge of the Koran were the standard of fanaticism
and the native's life of faith !
Be that as it may, intercourse with Europeans always
confirms the native in the idea that Christians are with-
out a religion, as indeed, Mohammedan priests have
always declared.
How essential it therefore is that Christianity should
be presented to the eyes of the Mohammedan world ;
only so will it realize that there is no foundation for
the statement that Christianity is irreligious.
The Christian is Unclean. — Christians actually eat
food which is ceremonially unclean and drink alcohol
which is forbidden. The Christian knows nothing of
ceremonial ablutions. The Mohammedan, therefore,
214 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
wishes to have nothing to do with Christianity. He
rejoices in being at least pure by reason of circumcision,
ritual, and, above all, the avoidance of all unclean food.
Christians are also considered dirty in their dress.
Once on a journey a Christian was greeted by some
Mohammedans in Padang Sidempuan with the words :
" You are like one of ourselves, you look so nice ! "
For this reason many missionaries in Moslem countries
recommend scrupulous attention to bodily cleanliness
and abstinence from wine and swine's flesh.
A Christian arriving at an inn on a journey will be
refused the customary use of the common pot for cook-
ing his food. One of our first native Christian preachers
was hailed by the people with the words : " You are
dirtier than the soles of our feet ! " The wandering
Moslem teacher purposely exaggerates the uncleanness
of Christians, because the heathen has by no means such
a predilection for cleanliness. He says that at baptism
the Christians receive an inordinate desire for all kinds
of unclean food. There is nothing under heaven they
would not like to eat, even the most disgusting things.
The Mohammedans in Java, for instance, say the Chris-
tians are like herons : "On the wing they are white, but
down on the ground they eat worms and frogs."
The very contact with a Christian is defilement. It is
well to avoid Christians.
Of course Christianity has itself to blame in many
cases for the erroneous ideas that are abroad among
Mohammedans. The evil living of so-called Christians
and the false doctrine which Islam has heard from the
lips of Christians in the Near East often give a semblance
of truth to its impeachment.
Christianity is out of date. If the native turns to his
teacher, he receives further information about Chris-
tianity. He is told it is out of date. The teacher makes
that clear to him by the doctrine of the various revelations
of God through the Prophets, each of which was only
intended for its own age. How happy may those count
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 215
themselves who have the last and complete revelation of
the Prophet Mohammed, so absolutely superior to all
others. Nothing is further from the Mohammedan's
mind than to become a Christian. Why it would mean a
step backwards. It would correspond to a Christian
becoming a Jew. " We Mohammedans," say the
Javanese, " are on the dry land and you Christians are
down in the ditch, do you want to drag us down also ? "
Better educated Mohammedans are wiser and say
Moses actually prophesied the coming of Mohammed,
because Mohammed was the prophet of whom he said,
" Him shall ye hear." This is the more credible because
according to the Koran Jesus was the son of Miriam, the
sister of Moses, and a remote prophecy could, therefore,
not have been meant to refer to him. Mohammed was
the first to interpret the words of Jesus aright. He is the
Comforter whom Jesus promised. Jesus' promise of the
Paraclete is applied to Mohammed, or else that particular
passage is deleted.
That the Christian religion is out of date is deduced by
the Mohammedans from the encomium passed by Euro-
peans upon Islam. This is often done with the best inten-
tion in the world, out of a feeling that the native must not
be offended. But the native pricks up his ears whenever
he hears a word in commendation of Islam on the lips of
a European. If the Christian himself says what the
Mohammedan teacher is always asserting, then surely it
must be true.
From personal experience I know how easy it is to give
a wrong impression. I once had a lengthy conversation
in Pangaloan with a Mohammedan whose knowledge of
Islam was above the average, as he was the pupil of a
Mecca pilgrim and sheik in the neighbourhood. Unfor-
tunately, there was only one other Christian present as
witness. Although the conversation really did not
entitle the man to claim a victory — he was then very
nearly a Christian — he told me sometime afterwards
that that conversation had convinced him that, in com-
216 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
parison to Islam, Christianity was an inferior and hope-
less religion. He had deduced this from the careless
way in which I had shown a conciliatory spirit towards
Islam as he talked.
If you say to a Mohammedan : "I also know the
Koran," he will conclude that the European therefore
also believes in the Koran. If we attribute a certain
aesthetic value to the Koran, because of a few poetical
passages, the native who knows nothing about aesthetics
and only appreciates things from the religious point of
view, concludes we prize the Koran more than the Scrip-
tures. If we praise the religious content of the Koran,
he takes it as a sure proof that Christians themselves see
they are outdistanced by Islam.
And in many other respects Christianity is also out of
date. It favours the vernacular, teaches the old Batak
character in its schools and even spares ancient customs.
Surely it is more refined to use as many foreign words as
possible in the lingua franca of the day, that is Malay in
the Dutch East Indies.
Christian Bataks, for instance, simply call themselves
Bataks, not Malays ; but who wants to belong to such a
low-down people as the Bataks ? Many heathen feel
so strongly that Christianity spares their nationality —
whereas Islam destroys it — that in Maliwuko in Celebes
the heathen call themselves " Sarani " (Christians) in
contradistinction to the Mohammedans.
Christianity is False Doctrine. — The chief error in Chris-
tian doctrine is that God is said to have had a son. The
otherwise not over-nice Mohammedan takes offence at
the idea that God should have had a wife called Mary.
For such is his version of the Birth of Christ ; the
fiercest opposition is aroused by the Christian doctrine of
the Trinity, which the Mohammedan wrongly under-
stands as tritheism. Jesus if possible is represented in
the purely physical sense as the Son of God, the offspring
of God and Mary (i.e., the Holy Ghost), or of Gabriel (the
Holy Ghost) and Mary. This misunderstanding on this
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 217
point can, however, be cleared up by reasonable argu-
ment.
How can any one be so blasphemous as to attribute
human passions to God ! This is the origin of the false
doctrine of three deities which, they say, Christianity has
evolved. It is a relapse into heathenism ? In the Dutch
East Indies the harshness of this judgment upon Chris-
tianity is not tempered by any reverence such as we find
paid to Jesus in the Koran, as the Prophet who was
miraculously conceived as the Word of God. It is rare
to find a Mohammedan who is willing to allow that every
true Moslem should speak respectfully of Jesus.
The Bible is only true in so far as it agrees with the
Koran ; because of course the Jews tampered with it.
The worship of images is also owing to Christianity
being out of date. The Christianity of Mohammed's
day had sunk into Mariolatry, the worship of images
and controversies about the nature of the Son of God.
Hence Christianity found no footing in Arabia.^ The
people say in Sumatra that all the Christians' pictures,
even the photographs which the missionaries have in
their houses, are part of their image worship.
One of our Christians was once laughed at on this
very account. " How can you go about the Christians,"
his neighbours said to him, " when they pray to im-
ages ? " The faithful old man defended .^himself not
unskilfully when he quietly said : " That is not true, it
is you and your teachers who are traders, who pray to
images and serve them." When they angrily asked him
what he meant, he took a dollar out of his pocket and
said, pointing to the head of the king of Spain : " This
is the image before which you all grovel in the dust.
1 A few Arabian tribes are said to have gone over to Judaism,
which is a proof of the spirit of reUgious inquiry at that period,
but they were repelled by Christianity. This is borne out by
what Eddy writes from Syria about the Mohammedan's rejec-
tion of images, pictures and crucifixes in their worship making
them receptive to Evangelical preaching.
218 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
You are the worshippers of images, not we." (The
stamp on a coin is called " image " in the vernacular.)
The so-called worship of images among Christians is
shamelessly exploited by agitators. Fuchs, a missionary
in the Pakpak country, to the north-west of the Batak
country, tells how the natives were shown a picture of
a nude female figure surrounded by male worshippers.
" That is Christian worship in Holland, they were told,
don't you become Christians ! " That no woman dare
attend service in consequence is obvious.
The Mohammedan rejects Christianity because he
is for the present satisfied with his own religion. He
possesses all that Christianity offers him : God, heaven
and hell. He also has a moral law. He has a book of
God, like the Christians. Indeed, Moslems boast of
their knowledge of the Bible. They return from Mecca,
declaring they know the " taurah " (Law) and the
" zaboor " (Psalms) and the " indjil " (Gospel). " We
have a revelation from God in Creation, in the Koran
and Mohammed." Many of these doctrines he cer-
tainly does not as yet understand. He knows but
little of the Moslem Scriptures and the Kitab. Many
questions about God and the Hereafter are still unan-
swered, but no matter. There are plenty of teachers
who are never at a loss for an answer. " I am stupid,
but our doctors can explain the smallest tittle of the
Book ! " said a Mohammedan, Chaji Salamudin by
name, to Holzapfel at Sarepta in Cape Colony. If
any one is not quite at rest in his mind, there are plenty
of opportunities for getting information.
There is one clear road to heaven ; let a man but
really fulfil all the Commandments and he is safe ; and
should he be found wanting in certain points, there is
still some way of arranging matters even after death.
The Mohammedan is sure of his ground, at least, so he
would have us believe, and needs no new doctrine.
That is his final word in every discussion. He is proud
of his Arabic, the language of heaven. His faith in
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 219
the mercy of God is undisturbed by any concern about
his own sins. " Why should I be converted ? (Hterally
" change my inner Hfe "), said a pilgrim to our native
helper, Marinus Harahap. I have not committed any
sins as far as I know." Fatalism rules out any feeling
of responsibility. God is the ultimate source of evil
as well as good ; He has predetermined that some
actions shall be called good and some evil. The Moslem
is in bondage to the priesthood which prevents him
from ever thinking for himself, and his sensibilities are
so deadened that he is quite happy it should be so.
This makes the presentation of the Gospel extra-
ordinarily difficult ; we meet passive resistance every-
where. Even a superficial acceptance of Islam makes
a man strong to oppose Christianity. The Moslem has
no spiritual needs ; Islam makes a man self-satisfied and
indifferent. He does not defend himself, he does not
contradict, he shows no hatred. He allows everything
to pass over his head. He smiles when we set before
him life or death.
Christianity does actually lack much that is found
in Islam. That Christianity has no use for Animistic
magic and scorns it is a regrettable want. Surely
Christian doctrine has not yet plumbed the deepest
depths of human wisdom and heavenly mystery. The
way in which, as we have already said, Christianity is
out of date dogmatically, is only understood by the
more educated. The " Animistic " inferiority of Chris-
tianity is daily patent to the man in the street. Chris-
tianity knows nothing of those mysterious magic charms
which the Mohammedan teacher has at his command in
such abundance. Not because it retains so many
elements of Animism does the Islam of the Dutch East
Indies show such promise as a Mission field. On the
contrary the league between old time superstition and
new-fangled magic makes our work all the more diffi-
cult. The Moslem who shows leanings towards Chris-
tianity has also to fear the vengeance of Animistic powers.
220 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Christianity lacks visible guarantees of salvation in
this world or in eternity. Islam has such in the person
of its teachers. They will see to it that one is at peace
with God. One may have to put up with a certain
amount of oppression, but it is willingly borne. How-
ever irksome such perpetual tutelage as that of the
teachers may seem to us, it is valued extremely by the
ordinary man. Even although he is sometimes swindled,
he knows he is in safe keeping. It is a comforting
thought that his salvation hereafter is in the hands of
the same people who have always cared for his temporal
welfare. Either side of the grave the chiefs are the
fathers of the people, and their allies, the teachers, like
the sorcerers used to be, are the ordinary man's coun-
sellors ; and so it has always been. In Christianity
there are none of those religious exercises which give a
man a better standing in God's sight. Christianity is
a miserable religion as compared with Islam. Chris-
tianity has nothing to take the place of the pilgrimage
to Mecca. It knows nothing of accumulated merit or
of a glorious life in Paradise. The Mohammedans ask
where are the holy graves of the Christian, adding :
" Ours are in Mandeling, a district in Sumatra, and all
over the world."
Yes, Islam encompasses the world, it forms a visible
community, " dar al islam." The earth was created
for it, the world will one day be its possession. Only a
few Europeans belong to Christianity and that only for
the time that now is. How soon their rule will cease !
Then comes the new age of which Christians know
nothing. Intellectually and morally, Islam thus con-
siders itself vastly our superior. Wrapt in his cloak
of self-righteousness, every Moslem, no matter how
illiterate he may be, firmly believes he is superior to any
Christian teacher. " The Mohammedans look down
on us with contempt, the Word of God therefore remains
a closed book to them," writes our native helper Jona-
than.
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 221
The good news of Christianity does not appeal to them.
Concubinage and polygamy, the low position of woman
and the facility for divorce make the Moslem unreceptive
to the high ethical demands of the New Testament.
They realize the contrast between it and the precepts
of the Koran. The ethics of Christianity arouse opposi-
tion ; its demands seem exaggerated. The ethical
demands of Islam are cast into the shade by ceremonial
laws. Moreover, Christianity has some very unpleasant
ordinances. Friday, the Mohammedan feast day, is
not observed : Christians work on Fridays. The Chris-
tian keeps his Sabbath, an irksome duty and yet not a
work of merit.
Monogamy is required of a Christian ; although it is
not universally enforced in the Dutch East Indies that
a man must put away his extra wives before he is bap-
tized. Christianity runs counter to every Animistic
custom, and maintains strict discipline. It is unfamiliar
and burdensome. Christian doctrine is unprofitable
from the social point of view. It does not permit the
rich to fleece the poor, but requires that the poor shall
receive his due. That does not please the avaricious
chief at all.
Christianity is only known to a minority, the native
likes to go with the crowd ; he is exposed to persecution,
that is unbearable ; he must separate himself from his
family. Even in Java it still sometimes happens that
members of a family lose their fields because they have
come over to Christianity. Worse than all are the
perils of the end of the world. A man who becomes a
Christian runs the danger of being one of the first victims
at the dawn of the Mohammedan world empire.
Christianity is too European. In becoming a Chris-
tian one becomes Dutch, i.e., European. In 1877,
when the last remaining heathen in Sipirok were con-
verted to Islam by foreign Mecca pilgrims at the com-
mand of the reigning prince, the Christians were also
hailed before the Patuan (prince). The hadji then did
222 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
their utmost to make the Christians apostatize. He told
them that Christianity was an affair of the whites, it
was pure arrogance for them to wish to adopt that
rehgion. Besides, within a few years all the Christians
would become Mohammedans. Moslems in Java have
also said : " The missionary wants to make us Dutch,
and we do not want to be Dutch."
This again has momentous eschatological conse-
quences. For who knows what will become of a Euro-
pean in the Hereafter. In Java the natives therefore
say : "If we follow the religion of the Dutch, per-
haps the God of the Dutch will not accept us, and per-
haps the God of the Mohammedans will not either, and
then we shall float about in mid-air."
It is here that Islam is most clearly opposed to Christi-
anity ; it stands out alone among the non-Christian
religions. Christian worship is not immoral, which
was the reproach levelled against the Early Church.
Nor is it treasonable, nor anti -national as here and there
in Eastern Asia, e.g., China, nor foolish because irrational
according to ancient and modern philosophers ; it is
not merely unclean, as the Hindus say, but Christianity
is the way to eternal destruction. The Mohammedan,
who wants to become a Christian, stakes everything.
It is significant that, on the one hand, the native
considers it a lack in Christianity that it practises no
magic arts and, on the other hand, he tries to explain
the power of Christianity in Animistic ways. The
Mohammedan, as well as the heathen, always thinks
the Christian is possessed of magic powers, dangerous
Satanic powers from which he must protect himself.
Baptism itself is one species of magic ; through the
still open fontanels (bones of the cranium) the minister
pours into the child's head the " Nazarene water,"
which is endowed with certain mysterious powers, and
then the minister obtains supernatural powers over
the child. He can then do as he likes with it ; the
child must obey his will. Similarly the Mohammedans
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 223
in Java say that men are bewitched by drinking banjer
sarani (Nazarene water). " I want you to help me,"
said a leper Amim to one of our native Christian helpers,
" but I beseech you, at the same time, not to give me
any Christian water. I should then have to become
a Christian and cease to belong to the great people of
the Prophet Mohammed." Indeed, every draught of
medicine is simply a magic potion, by which the Moham-
medan is bewitched into becoming a Christian. Chris-
tians dissect corpses to eat the hearts out of them ; it
gives them supernatural power. Christianity is, there-
fore, often called not " agama," religion ; but " ilmu,"
magic.
Does it not almost seem a vain effort to try and carry
Christianity to the Mohammedan ? There seems to be
no point of contact. He seems to have everything
already that we might give him.
A consciousness of victory pervades the entire Mo-
hammedan world. Islam's unfavourable position, poli-
tically, has not affected it, because the feeling has its
origin in the religious conceptions of Islam, more especi-
ally in the doctrine of the final Holy Wars, which are to
usher in the Last Day. Islam has known how to pre-
serve this halo of invincibility in the mind of the heathen,
even where it has had to bend its proud neck before a
European Colonial power. This, surely, proves the
strength of this feeling of invincibility.
Heathen, who have been but a short time in contact
with Islam, have already adopted the idea that it is
the religion of the future. How often, on the East
coast of Sumatra, when I asked heathen if they were
Mohammedans, did they answer : " Not yet ! " They
were quite convinced they would be some day.
That Christianity, in spite of its world supremacy, has
within it the seed of death, is a deeply rooted Moslem
conviction. " Why is it you Christians do not become
Mohammedans ? " a Mohammedan once said to me.
" You greatly err in thinking you do not need to be con-
224 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
verted to Islam." This is easily explained. Allah, in
His inscrutable wisdom, has thought good to give Chris-
tians a number of earthly gifts which He has denied
the Mohammedans. A testing time, they say, has cer-
tainly fallen upon Islam. Satan has equipped Chris-
tians with all kinds of arts by which they can do despite
to Islam in this present time. And yet Islam is, to-day,
a power with which the mighty white man, who is in
league with Satan, is forced to reckon. Is not that
really a proof, the Mohammedan concludes, that Islam
will, one day, drive all the powers at enmity with it
from the field ? The idea prevails all over Northern
Java, for instance, that Achin in Northern Sumatra,
which has been the bulwark of Islam in the Dutch East
Indies for fully a generation, and has been carrying on
war against the Dutch since 1875, is invincible ; if it were
conquered, they say, the end of the world would come.
This belief in the final defeat of Christianity has,
unfortunately, been strengthened by the attitude of
Colonial Governments. The principle of the Govern-
ment remaining neutral in religious movements has
already been sho^^^l to be a weak policy. The theory
of toleration towards all religions often proves, in prac-
tice, a direct advantage to Islam.
With this may be coupled the little favours shown
to Mohammedan servants, which the native is only too
quick to notice. A Mohammedan servant will be given
a large proportion of his wages in advance during the
month of fasting and is treated very leniently, while
a Christian servant is forbidden to go to Church. A
Mohammedan servant may recite his Koran aloud of
an evening in his usual howling sing-song, while the
Christian servant is forbidden to sing a Christian hymn.
It is, moreover, a pity that in the Dutch East Indies
people generally take for granted that the natives are
Mohammedans. Indeed, there is no desire that Mo-
hammedans should become Christians. " It only makes
them more insolent," people say.
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 225
All this has, certainly, been improving lately. Graaf-
land relates a typical incident of a Government official,
who was first put over a Christian district and did his
utmost to suppress Christianity and then received a
Mohammedan district and came to the conclusion that
everything possible must be done " to prevent districts
being Islamized." However, when the new mosque at
Medan (Deli, Eastern Sumatra) was consecrated, as
recently as August, 1909, a number of Europeans were
present and Government representatives among them,
and the European architect said in his speech that " the
Sultan of Deli had built the mosque as a monument
to the glory of Allah."
Even in the Dutch Colonies, which have been com-
pletely disillusioned in the last few decades as to
Islam's being won by favours, no priaji, i.e., no Govern-
ment official or regent in Java is allowed to become a
Christian — and yet Holland is the land of liberty. These
regents — officials with princely rank — have oversight
over the Mohammedan teachers. They can only exer-
cise this oversight, however, according to the regulations,
in the capacity of Mohammedans. If a regent becomes
a Christian, he must resign his position. The common
people conclude from this that the Government in no
way desires their conversion to Christianity. Because
these highest circles in Java cannot become Christian,
the Mohammedans say to the Christians : Many Moham-
medans have received blessing and honour from Allah,
which means, have risen to high positions and wealth,
and that proves they are beloved of Allah, whereas
no Christian has received such blessings. The Christians
in Java, who are for the most part humble folk, very
often say it does not seem to be God's will that the
Javanese should become Christian ; otherwise it would
surely be possible for a prince's son, or a native official,
to be a Christian. This is, of course, a hindrance to
Missions.
Especially in the Dutch East Indies the attitude of
9
226 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
the Government has doubtless greatly changed. Mis-
sions have been recognized by many in high positions,
but the mistakes of former days are still bearing fruit.
The Moslem's belief that Christianity is afraid of Islam
is being strengthened. The native is keenly alive to
the fact of a Government fearlessly taking its own way
or not. The Colonial Governments strengthen the
natives' hope of Islam's eventual triumph. As long
as these thoughts are harboured by a Mohammedan
people, the danger of rebellion is always imminent. And
yet we actually have demands of this kind for the ham-
pering of Missions, and the encouragement of Islam. A
German Colonial newspaper declared, in the nineties,
that the German Government should establish Moham-
medan teachers of religion in East Africa, and become
the protector of the Mohammedan religion in that coun-
try (Wegner). And they are a menace to missionary
work, not only because they liinder its free development,
but the religious native sees in such measures a proof
of the inferiority of the Christian doctrine ; those who
profess it are afraid, that is to say, not so sure of victory
as he is himself.
Doubtless, our belief in the power of the Gospel to
overcome the world is independent of the measures of
a Colonial Government ; but if the bearing of the
Colonial officials strengthens Islam's assurance of victory,
if the heathen get the impression that Mohammedan
agitators are right when they maintain that Christi-
anity shall, one day, bow the knee to Islam, he loses
any inclination to become a Christian. For, if Christi-
anity is only a passing phenomenon, why, in all the
world, should one concern oneself with it ? So say
both the Mohammedan and the heathen who have come
under Mohammedan influence. On the other hand,
when the Government makes a strong and fearless stand,
we can prove that the natives are always profoundly
impressed.
For example, the Government determined in East
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 227
Sumatra to go to law with a certain Mohammedan chief.,
who had undertaken, on oath, to tolerate religious free-
dom, but who was trying to force Islam upon his sub-
jects. The prince was put in prison ; the case brought
to light a number of other acts of injustice. The man
was exiled. The consequence was a marked change of
front in the heathen population, which had hitherto
been favourably disposed to Islam. They said : " Now
we see that the Europeans are stronger than the Mo-
hammedans." Others, it is true, did think the banished
prince should have telegraphed to the Sultan in Con-
stantinople, and he would certainly have restored his
liberty ; but it was clearly recognized that Islam's
confidence rested on weak foundations.
There is no desire for fusion. — The Mohammedan's
out-spoken aversion for Christianity excludes any
possibility of fusion between the two religions. Never-
theless, we constantly hear well-meaning proposals by
which Christianity might be made acceptable to the
Mohammedan. Surely, it is said, the two religions have
so much in common ! If those, who represent these
two monotheistic tendencies, could but once come to
an understanding, their union would spontaneously
follow. Their goal, their belief in the one God, surely
already unites them at heart !
Such fusion was advocated by the Rationalists.
Certain people thought they had found something-
akin to Rationalism in Islam, that it was a really rational
faith, they therefore believed the two could quite easily
be blended into one. The cause of misjudged Islam
was ardently espoused. What a wrong value had been,
hitherto, set upon it !
The Dark Middle Ages pronounced it accursed hea-
thenism. Luther called Mohammed a Satanic Seducer.
" Fie, shame upon thee, thou horrible devil, thou
accursed Mohammed ! " (Cf. Deutsch's translation
of the Conjutatio AJkoran, p. 6.) Melancthon also
declared that Mohammed was " inspired by Satan,"
228 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Dante (Canto xxviii.) relegates him to the lowest circle
of the Inferno. This was one-sided ! Lessing, in
" Nathan der Weise," restored Islam's crown of glory.
If not actually preferred to Christianity, Islam is here
at least placed on an equality with it. Indeed, Ration-
alism went so far as to call Islam a benefactor of man-
kind. Hence its ardent desire to bring about fusion
with Christianity. There is nothing against it on the
side of Christianity, they said, we have only to make
Islam realize there is nothing against it on its side
either. Weil, for instance, maintains that the ultimate
fusion of Islam and Christianity is all the more feasible,
because Christ and Mary are actually esteemed more
highly by Mohammedans than by many Protestants.
He goes on to say that, if people would only cease
" demanding belief in the dogma that Christ is the Son of
God, the wall of partition between Islam and Christianity
would be broken down." Jews, as well as Mohamme-
dans, he further maintained, were only to be converted
along rationalistic lines. Those who have a desire
for a more positive religion, on the other hand, might
adopt some supernatural faith. Just as many of the
Mohammedans believe in Ali and the Imam, so also
those of them who desire to do so might accept the
belief in a Son of God, enthroned beyond the clouds.
Instead of missions to Mohammedans he, therefore,
recommends historico-theological studies and the study
of universal history and the history of religions. The
Bible and catechism, on the other hand, must be kept
in the background as being repellent to all non-Chris-
tians. Let it be granted to the Mohammedan that
Mohammed is his greatest prophet, the man who did
for Arabia what Moses did for the people of Israel.
History, having already determined the significance
of rationalism for Islam, and shown that it had abso-
lutely no success in winning the Mohammedan world for
Christ, we might disregard the rationalistic dictum were
it not that such counsels are always finding voice. The
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 229
need of Islam, say they, is not for missions, which seek
to replace Mohammed by Jesus, but for enlightenment,
which will accord Mohammed a place side by side with
Jesus.
Thus the Frenchman, Loyson, for instance, dreams
of a renaissance of Islam under the influence of Christi-
anity. La Revue d'lslani has it as its definite aim to
break down the antagonism between Christianity and
Islam. An ofhcer, Conte de Castric by name, has written
an apology of Islam called Vlslatn, impressions et etude
(Paris, 1896). In Germany there has appeared Earth's
Tilrke, wchre dich ! (Leipzig, 1898). Von Kremer hopes
that Islam's mysticism will bridge the gulf between
Christianity and Islam. An actual expression of Divine
discontent, as Mysticism may be in wide circles of
Islam, it has pantheistic rather than theistic tenden-
cies. In Persia there certainly are groups of mystics
who are tolerant towards Christianity, always provided
Christianity relinquishes its claim that in Jesus alone
we have the incarnation of God. If Christians will
recognize other incarnations of God in the Imam, their
opposition to Christianity will cease. The mysticism
of the Dutch East Indies, in so far as it does not play
into the hands of Buddhistic thcosophy, only entangles
the natives, more and more, in the toils of magic.
Doubtless, for the Christian in particular, it is a
matter of conscience to meet even the Moslem religion
in a conciliatory spirit. Nevertheless, expunging Chris-
tian verities will not promote a conciliation. Any pro-
position of this kind shows a lack of understanding of
Islam as it is in practice, to say nothing of the disparage-
ment it casts upon Christianity. If only Mohanmied
were simply the prophet of the Mohammedans ? Weil's
argument is based upon this false assumption. Islam
is as little rationalistic as is Christianity itself. Ration-
alism wished to set aside the Divine Sonship of Jesus,
His supernatural existence, and accounted Him no
more than a sublime teacher and prophet. If this is
230 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA' '
to be the ground of our union with Islam, the most we
shall gain is that Islam will triumphantly maintain that
its doctrine was perfectly true ; for Mohammedans have
long held that the Birth of Jesus was miraculous and
that He is, therefore, one of the great prophets. Islam
will further claim to be in the right when it teaches
that Mohammed is greater than the Nazarene. For
Mohammed is supernatural : Jesus is mere man. Islam
will say, if the Christians want to unite with us, they
must become Mohammedans. Any schemes of this
kind thus inevitably lead to the Islamizing of Christi-
anity, instead of to the Christianizing of Islam.
A Christian Mission, which only has a message of the
man Jesus, has no justification for its existence, because
it can bring Islam nothing new. Missions to Islam are
only justified if they face the Mohammedans with the
definite question : Mohammed or Christ ? For the
Mohammed of the Mohammedan believer suffers a
Christ, as rival, no more than the Christ of the Christian
believer suffers a Mohammed. The effusions of zealous
Mohammedans, such as the following, will cure us of
the Utopia of fusion with Islam. Sheik Abdul, Hag
of Bagdad issued the following " last testimony " to
Christians in 1903 : " Christian peoples, the time has
come to listen to us. The hatred of Islam for Europe
is irreconcilable ! After centuries of earnest endeavour
to be kindly disposed towards you, the only result is
that we abhor you more than we did in the earlier
periods of our history. Learn to understand, ye wise
and intelligent men of Europe, that we regard a Chris-
tian, be his station what it may, entirely and solely
because he is a Christian, as blind and as having forfeited
all human respect. You Christians, who have been
trained, from your youth up, in the doctrines of your
Churches, cannot possibly imagine what horror and
disgust take possession of us at the mention of the
mere name of your Trinity. We have not yet forgotten
your crusades ; they are going on to-day under forms
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 231
a hundred-fold more accursed. Your plan is the annihil-
ation of Islam. But how can we be ever possibly dis-
turbed, even for a moment, by the thought of the
sovereignty of a crucified God ; what possible meaning
can there be for us in a God, Who should debase our
Infinite God, the Almighty ruler of the world ? Our
most ardent desire is that the day may soon dawn when
we shall wipe out the last traces of your accursed supre-
macy."
A further misunderstanding is that Islam is not
repelled by the doctrine of the Trinity, and of the Divine
Sonship in particular, so much as by the false inter-
pretation which Islam puts upon these two articles of
the Christian creed. (Cf. p. 216.) When the Moham-
medan gains clear insight into Christian dogma and
realizes that the Trinity does not attack, but rather
completes the Unity of God, that Jesus was not carnally
conceived by God, but in a manner hidden from human
knowledge, that He was from the beginning of all time,
his greatest difficulties vanish as to the doctrine of the
Trinity, although it does not yet follow that he becomes
a Christian.
For there still remains the difficulty we have already
mentioned, that all preaching of the Gospel, however
tender and conciliatory, has this inevitable issue : there
is nothing in Mohammed. That strikes at the heart of
Islam. Because Jesus drives Mohammed from the field,
coalition is impossible between Christianity and Islam.
It is no blind Christian zealotism, without understand-
ing for the bright sides of other religions, if we cannot
regard Islam as in any way preparing for the coming
of Christianity, like the Jewish theocracy which was
meant to be a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ.
That would, indeed, be a very comforting solution of
the Mohammedan problem and, without concern, we
might watch the progress of Moslem propaganda in
Africa ; we might even welcome it gladly. Where,
however, in the course of the thirteen centuries of its
232 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
history has Islam proved to be a first step towards Christi-
anity ? What we have said shows that there is not the
slightest ground for any such hope.
On the contrary, the characteristic operative truths of
Islam, i.e., the religious assets it bestows upon the
heathen, are exactly what hinder, rather than help, the
Mohammedan's acceptance of the Gospel. The Moslem
law of Islam brings God and men into a certain relation
with one another, telling of a will of God for men and,
therefore, also of sin and righteousness ; but that is not
much good.
For it is no more than apparent progress for Islam to
speak of sin against God, whereas heathenism only
recognizes offences against the traditional custom of the
fathers. Even in Islam the idea of sin is purely external.
Sin means ritual ceremonial transgressions and the
omission of religious exercises. This appeals to the
native because it does not, in any way, impeach his inner
sinful nature. " The Moslem," says the Mohammedan-
Christian, P. Awetaranian, " has no idea of the sonship
of the children of God, nor of the essence of sin over
against the holiness of God. He regards the essence
of sin as the transgression of a law external to himself."
To call a lie a sin, for instance, is a mere form of words,
because every Mohammedan teacher lies w^ith impunity.
" If thy friend has been once to Mecca," says a Nubian
proverb, " trust him not ; if twice, avoid his company ;
if thrice, fly before him as before Satan incarnate."
And, even if we do grant that Islam brands some sins
as sin, its idea of sin is always confined to particular sins.
It ignores sin, in the broad sense of the inherent selfish-
ness of man, which goes, hand in hand, with enmity
against God. Therefore, Islam, as we have already seen,
shuts its eyes to grievous crimes and exaggerates the
most trifling external offences. Jesus' word to the
Pharisees about straining out the gnat and swallowing
the camel is only too applicable to Islam. Then among
the peoples, which are under the ban of Animism, it has
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 233
made far-reaching concessions to their Animistic ways.
It has even sanctioned, in the name of God, magic
practices which are of criminal intent.
This disposes of the hope that Islam will act as a fore-
runner for law, in that it possesses a written law ; for its
law is a casuistical conglomeration of single precepts, in
which broad moral precept and ceremonial law are
found, side by side, without logical sequence. Its law
lacks any moral principle, such as that of love, which we
find even in the Old Testament.
Our idea of holiness has, doubtless, its counterpart in
Islam's endeavour after holiness in its religious exercises.
But these do not lead to the Christian endeavour after
holiness. For holiness in Islam has not a religious and
ethical goal, but only a magic and mystical one. (Cf.
the story of Simon Magus in Acts viii.) Mohammedan
law awakens no moral striving, no sense of sin, no under-
standing of the holy will of God. The much vaunted
belief of the Mohammedan in the Last Judgment is a
mere dallying with the righteousness and holiness of
God and, in no sense, qualified to inspire man with
salutary awe of eternity. God's chastisement in eter-
nity loses its terror by the fact that man only endures
hell-fire for a certain length of time. How difficult it
is so to disillusion a Mohammedan, who is possessed
with the idea of the Moslem joys of Paradise, as to give
him any relish for the Biblical hope of eternity.
Moreover, terms like the grace and mercy of God are
totally without content in Islam. The arbitrariness of
God really leaves no room for such impulses. Promises
certainly abound. In Islam God is the Giver of many
gifts, both in this world and the next, but these gifts
make God the criminal arch-magician : He promises
to gratify the fiercest sensual lust. Finally, the doctrine
of the meritorious fulfilment of external law presents
one of the chief hindrances to the acceptance of Christi-
anity as man's salvation in Christ alone, and as the
work of free grace personified in Him.
234 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
What point of contact does the Mohammedan's
behef in the inspiration of sacred scriptures give us,
when he has such a mechanical and superstitious concep-
tion of inspiration ? As long as such an incomprehen-
sible book as the Koran is sacred to him, even its very-
binding and paper, he has no regard for the Bible, which
tells the simple Bible story in the ordinary language of
the people. A man must dispense with the Koran if
he wants to become a Christian. What point of contact
does it give us that the Mohammedan, as we have seen,
should pray, when his prayer has less the nature of
prayer than that of the heathen ?
The very faith of the Mohammedan does not make
him strong to believe, in the New Testament sense.
For the Mohammedan's faith is partly subjection and
partly fatalism. Both are at the antipodes from child-
like trust in God's fatherly goodness. If we discuss this
point with a Mohammedan, he will use one of his fatalist
expressions and demonstrate to us that he has much more
of an inner faith than we. He takes his dead fatalism
for faith.
Islam, of course, sets forth a number of religious
conceptions besides the idea of God. Many of them
are not new to the heathen, that is to say they are not
peculiar to Islam, as a careful study of Animism clearly
shows. They, therefore, in no way enrich heathenism
religiously, nor do they offer any further points of con-
tact for the preaching of the Gospel. On the contrary,
the very similarity of the conceptions which Islam in-
troduces are a hindrance to the understanding of Chris-
tian truth. How easily the heathen misunderstand
us and how, even more easily, does the Mohammedan.
No wonder that the Javanese missionary is afraid lest
the Gospel should be accepted as a new kind of " ilmu "
(magic). We mention the word paradise in our preach-
ing. What pictures that word recalls to the Mohamme-
dan youth at our feet. Doubtless the heathen has not
the least idea what we mean by eternity ; the conception
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 235
of it is only formed gradually. But the Mohammedan
will always persist in putting his Mohammedan inter-
pretation upon the Christian word, he looks upon what-
ever we say to him in quite a different light. His idea
of God must be carefully erased and his heaven depopu-
lated, if Christian conceptions are to lay hold of him.
An experienced missionary to Mohammedans in the
Near East has said : " Islam makes the people familiar
with the idea of God and reveals the needs of the human
heart, but it induces men to satisfy those needs by
certain prescribed methods. The methods are national
and, therefore, popular ; oriental and, therefore, easily
assimilated ; but I doubt whether they make the
faithful willing to substitute what we preach instead
of them."
Therefore, Islam is not a first step towards Christianity.
To build on land, which has never been built upon, is
easier than first to pull down old buildings, offering
stubborn resistance to the crowbar. Individual mis-
sionaries to Mohammedans have, I know, maintained
that work among Mohammedans is more promising
than work among the heathen, because the Mohammedan
has great respect for the Gospel and for Jesus ; in the
Dutch East Indies, however, and especially in Sumatra,
where we work among Mohammedans and heathen, we
do not find anything of the kind. Even in the Near East
the Koran is always esteemed more highly than the Bible
and Mohammed than Jesus. Only read the biography
of Awetaranian : Islam meets us not as " a schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ " {-TraiS ay coy 09) but as " one who
opposeth Christ " (avriKeLfxeuog). 2 Thess. ii. 4.
The disintegration of Islam. Many people have set
their hopes for the Christianizing of the Moslem world
upon the gradual dismemberment of the Turkish State.
They regard Islam as an essentially political power, and
have not gauged its religious strength. The wide-spread
expansion, however, of Mohammedan propaganda, in
spite of the political decline of Islam, has, once and for
236 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
all, undermined any such hope. That the Mohamme-
dan religion would spontaneously crumble away with
the Ottoman state is an idle combination of ideas, in
view of the revival of the Turkish State. If, again,
there has been any expectation that the Christianizing
process would be furthered by the supremacy of Chris-
tian Colonial powers in Mohammedan countries, it must,
on the contrary, be maintained that this rule has proved
extremely favourable to Islam. The Colonial powers
cannot even be accredited with having allowed complete
liberty of action to Christian Missions.
Nevertheless, many do still hope that the Mohamme-
dan peril will gradually vanish. They say Islam is on
the eve of disintegration and support their opinion by
what Mohammedans themselves have said and by the
conferences which have been convened by Mohammedans
from time to time. But, even if Islam is actually con-
sidering its own condition with a critical eye, does that
prove it is at the point of death ?
From the reports of the Berlin Missionary Society, it
would appear that many Mohammedan circles in East
Africa seem to be somewhat tired of Islam at the present
time — but here, again, Missions are no longer an unkno\Mi
quantity.
In Mji-mwema, in East Africa, only twelve men out
of a community of a hundred attended mid-day prayer.
Only twenty-five were faithful to the mosque, and the
old men at that, the young men are lazy. The mosque
is dilapidated ; the house of the Arabian founder of
the community, a ruin. " The power of Islam is broken
in Daressalam," was the opinion of Martin Nganischo,
" we have still to fight against it, but our children and
grand-children will no longer have to carry on this
difficult warfare." Other native helpers also say the
same.
We shall, however, do well not to take these complaints
too seriously. Knowing to his shame how corrupt his
own circle is, the Mohammedan is fond of deploring the
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 237
general insubordination of the faithful. He wishes to
prove by that that the bad state of affairs is certainly
not due to the system, but merely to the insubordina-
tion of the present generation in Islam,
How chary we must, however, be of hoping that
Islam is on the decline is shown by the report, from the
same district, of the astonishing zeal of Moslems in
certain parts : " The natives of Magogoni are building
themselves a mosque out of their own resources for
some 250 rupees. They have all assessed their income,
some up to 15 rupees. It is a great sum for such people
to raise, even if the richest natives are to be found among
the coast population."
Such a time is a warning to Christian Missions. " Buy
up the opportunity ! " For the ocean of Mohammedan
ideas has its ebb and flow. Moslem history shows
this very clearly. It is, in fact, a law that in Islam a
period of flourishing propaganda will be followed by a
certain time of indifference.
Such flagging does not imply receptivity to the Gospel.
The close of that same report very rightly points out
that " Whereas it may be a cause for thankfulness, we
must not, on the other hand, shut our eyes to the fact
that what separates the native from Islam, namely,
repugnance to any kind of discipline and all moral or
religious restraint, is bound to keep them even further
away from Christianity."
Apart from the striking results of Christian missions,
of which we shall have to speak later on, we must, there-
fore, come to the conclusion that Islam is gaining ground
everywhere, and that there is no question of its dying out.
In the Batak country, as also in Java, we find an in-
crease of Moslem knowledge and in religious zeal. The
number of people who engage in Zikr exercises is
growing. The teaching profession is gaining ground.
The hadji who met the first missionaries, fifty years ago,
and the young men who, to-day, return from a period
of study at Mecca are very different men. Islam is more
238 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
and more permeating the life of the people. The number
of pilgrims has increased in Java ; in Bantam the people
are becoming more and more versed in Moslem law ;
cheap Arabic books are being circulated in increasing
numbers. The mosques are well attended and mystic
exercises are much practised. In Sumatra Islam is con-
tinually expanding, and it gains in religious power. The
Indonesians who go to Mecca want to become what the
Mecca people are : doctors who live exactly in accord-
ance with Mohammedan precepts. Hence Islam, imper-
fect as it may be at present, is brought nearer its ideal
by intercourse with Mecca.
Of course Islam has also difficulties to contend with
within its own religion. Sects and heresies are also
found in the Dutch East Indies. There is much con-
tention among the Mohammedan pilgrims, possibly
often to be traced to the rivalry between the various
mystic associations. Their very disputing drills these
Mohammedan agitators and this increases the mischief
a hundred-fold.
No matter where we may turn, we fail to lay our finger
upon any actual indications of disintegration. Some-
thing else is, however, apparent : the modern intellec-
tual flood-tide of Europe, and the swirl of Indian Bud-
dhist theosophy are eddying round the ancient, firmly
cemented bulwark of Islam. Here and there the
mortar of ancient tradition is being loosened, and now
and then a little stone falls out of the masonry of ancient
dogma. Many, therefore, have visions of the whole
Moslem structure being swept away by the surging bil-
lows of European free-thought. They hope Islam will
be westernized, transformed under the influence of
modern ideas, and they would have us note the Young
Turkish and Young Egyptian movement and, in the
Dutch East Indies, the unrest of the Young Javanese
in Java,
The Young Javanese Movement. On October 3, 1908,
a Conference of Javanese was held at Djokjakarta, in
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 239
which three hundred Javanese men and twenty Javanese
women took part. They belonged to the highest circles
of the Javanese nobility, and the educated class of
Javanese was well represented by Government officials,
doctors and teachers. Partiality was universally shown
for the Budi Utomo Society (an organization with Bud-
dhist tendencies which we might call " The beautiful
endeavour "), and the desire for more thorough and
more general education for the whole nation. The
need for better education has long been realized by the
higher class Javanese. The Regent of Karang Anjer
has himself founded a girls' school with one hundred
and twenty-one girl pupils. His own daughter and two
other young Javanese women teach them. All the
other Regents, however, have meanwhile resisted the
Government's effort to found schools for girls. All the
same the idea is simmering.
The Young Javanese Movement has gained much
notoriety since 1908. Its Buddhist character is very
evident. In the ordinary course of events. Buddhism
was forcibly suppressed by Islam, by command of the
reigning princes (even in the nineteenth century acts
of violence were committed), but it has never quite died
out. There have long been advocates of Buddhism in
Java. AJavanese satire, called Gato-lot jo, censures the
Javanese for having adopted the Arabian religion.
There is a revival of theosophy at the present time,
partly owing to the fact that Javanese go to Holland to
study and do not come into touch there with real Christi-
anity. The high-born Javanese likes to call himself
a theosophist ; Javanese and Malay theosophical writ-
ings are well laiown among the common people ; and
a theosophical monthly magazine is actually being
issued.
Pastor van Dyk also writes about a Javanese philoso-
pher, who questioned him about the origin of the Bible,
the division of its books into the Old and New Testa-
ments, the authors of the various books, the difference
240 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
between Moses and Christ. This man was a theosophist.
He distinguished a coarser and a finer spiritual being in
man. The way to blessedness consists in man's being
gradually initiated, step by step, into this higher being ;
finally, man transcends all the desires and impulses of
the ordinary mortal " so that we have no further need
of a Saviour or God."
The origin and the tendency of these movements is
not very clear. They have, however, some connection
with the awakening of the peoples of Eastern Asia since
the Russo-Japanese War. That war also made a deep
impression upon the Dutch East Indies. In a school, in
Meester-Cornelis, some boys were looking at pictures of
the Jewish wars in the Old Testament, and instinctively
exclaimed : " Russia and Japan ! " Belief in the in-
vincible power of the European has vanished, once and
for all. The rivalry between the European and Javanese
race is finding expression. The more civilized the
native becomes, the more is he oppressed by the feeling
of the gulf between white man and broA\Tn. He is still
not in a position to enter all the Government posts
which are open to the European. The object of such
societies is, evidently, to place educated Javanese and
Europeans on an equal footing. One European official,
called Eyken, puts the blame upon the attitude of the
European officials. Whether, as some think, Moslem
tendencies and nationalist ideas are at the root of the
movement, the future will show. It has been pointed
out that no loyal address to the Governor-General
was presented at the meetings. According to some
reports, the Budi Utomo Society actually includes
Moslem propaganda on its programme.
All these movements have this in common that they
are incompatible with orthodox Islam. They desire
European education and ethical influences among the
mass of the people. They do not render Christian
Missions superfluous but, rather, extremely urgent.
They have arisen in countries where Evangelical Mis-
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 241
sions are, already, being actively carried on. It is not
clear how far Evangelical missionary work in the Near
East has been the origin of the Young Turkish Move-
ment. At a ceremony in Marsowan a Turk said to the
President of the American College of Anatolia ; " You
Americans have come here to Turkey, you find us in
darkness and are showing us the way to light ! " A
Turkish official said the same in the Euphrates College.
At all events, in the Near East as well as in the Dutch
East Indies, the Mission School has played a not unim-
portant part in the awakening of the desire for education.
Nevertheless, we must not too hastily conclude
that these movements are bringing the Moslem to Christ.
In the Near East many of the exponents of liberal ideas
are, doubtless, tolerant towards Christianity. In that
sense, the movement is preparing the way for Christi-
anity and we missionaries must rejoice. But the leaders
of these movements are at least as adverse to living
Christianity as they are to the old Islam. They are
sceptics and agnostics or blase souls, adverse to any kind
of profound thinking. Such sad figures we also find in
the Dutch East Indies, among our educated young
people. Others, who have thrown off Islam, take
refuge in Buddhism.
So here, instead of our old enemy fanaticism, we have
that only too familiar opponent of modern Christianity,
the modern monist, the materialist and the theosophist.
They represent spiritual currents which do not lead to
Christianity ; they render Evangelical Missions not
superfluous but an urgent necessity. In early days,
the idea was that Moslem lands would ultimately arrive
at the standpoint of complete indifference, simply
holding fast to a general theistic principle. But, under
the influence of the new age, modern Islam is also losing ^
this theistic principle. The modern liberal movements
in Islam renounce faith and desire western civilization
in its place. Others say that the essential in all religions
is identical. This movement is especially active in the
R
242 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Egyptian press. Tradition, superstition and social
evils are being attacked. The question is being raised
as to whether Mohammed had any right to set himself
up as a lawgiver ; the worship of the saints and the
Zikr are being condemned. Some of these statements
in the press are so strong that one missionary says :
" If we had dared to make them, we should probably
have come into conflict with the Government."
But are these movements really a signal of disin-
tegration ? We always seem to have the idea that Islam
is such a rigid system, that any foreign element must
have a destructive influence upon it, and that Islam,
because of its rigid dogma, its unalterable ritual, its
one-sided theocratic system of law, is entirely unfit to
become a world religion. The history of Islam shows
that the ark of this religious community has been suc-
cessfully steered through rocks of difficult dogmatic
controversies, such as the problem of predestination
and free-will, that it has neither been wrecked by the
sun-gazing of the free-thinking Mutazilites, nor in the
mists of Sufite mysticism, and that it has even passed
the rapids of the puritanical Wahabis. Islam always
shows a wonderful capacity, which we in no sense envy,
for assimilating the various ethical and religious charac-
teristics of the nations. We find quietly side by side
Talmudic theology and Arabian heathenism, Persian
mysticism and African fetishism, Javanese Hinduism
and Indonesian Animism, even ancient Egyptian super-
stition and modern theosophical fantasies.
Of course we can always trace the pattern of the
ancient Moslem ideals of the one God, and the one
divinely appointed Prophet, running through the mani-
fold intricacies of this intcrtexture. For opportunist
reasons Islam has long ceased to be narrow-minded ;
it has, in fact, become utterly broad-minded. At most,
the sole efficacy of the one Arabic language, in which
God is magnified five times a day from Morocco to New
Guinea, in its so-called prayer, is a remnant of the old
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 243
excliisiveness. But any one, who has hoped that Islam
would run its head against its own inflexibihty, will be
very much disappointed. Nor will the sweet poison of
European civilization and culture prove fatal to it ; the
Turkish newspaper, which wrote, after the new Consti-
tution was promulgated in Turkey, that the political
dawn in Turkey meant the ])reaking of a new day
upon ancient Islam, was probably nearer the truth
than the sulky, conservative members of the Senusi
Order in the Sahara, who took serious offence at the
defilement of the old Sultan by his intercourse with the
Christian powers.
Islam, which has harnessed modern mechanical
science, and which has been enabled to win the greatest
missionary triumphs under, what we might suppose,
most unfavourable political circumstances, will know
how to accommodate itself to the modern intellectual
movement, however much it may seem to be out of
harmony with its essential nature.
Probably the great body of the Moslem peoples will
not rise to an understanding of modern ideas. But, in
the last resort, Islam will, of necessity, find a place for
this foreign guest at its hearth, on which so much foreign
fuel is already burning. It will actually profit by these
movements and fight against Christianity with new
weapons, just as other religions of Eastern Asia have
long been doing. That the triumphant progress of
the Colonial powers and Christian supremacy have
helped Islam to victory and power, that its political
decline has caused a missionary revival, is certainly
part of " the irony of Universal History," but it strength-
ens our paradoxical fear that the modern movement
within Islam will furnish the old believers with a new
ally in their warfare against Christianity.
Nor should we imagine that the old hatred against
Christianity will suddenly vanish in the new age. If
need be, the Young Turks will again appeal to the
religious instincts of their nation to protect themselves
244 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
from the greed of the Western powers, and rally the
liordes of Islam round the threatened throne of the
Caliphs. The modernizing of the nations does not put
an end to the Pan-lMoslem ideal.
Even a struggle between ancient and modern Islam
need not necessarily break up the Mohammedan religion.
On the contrary, if Islam were to be shaken out of its
lethargy by a mighty coming to terms with the modern
spirit, it would only be to its advantage. The Old Islam
would gain by the controversy. The Young Turks
level the reproach against the Old Moslem leaders that
they have given Europe the impression that Islam is
hostile to civilization. Europe, they say, has forgotten
Islam's achievements under the Caliphs. The Young
Turks have, therefore, no idea of giving up Islam ; they
wish, rather, to give it its right position in the world.
Doubtless, the Arabian spirit is being driven from the
field by European culture, but only to make room for
another anti-Christian trend of thought.
Quietly and secretly a third rival is, therefore, enter-
ing the fight for the soul of the Nature peoples : the
modern unbeliever. It is not, primarily, the European
who is imparting this anti-Christian spirit to the Nature
peoples, although he does have a share in the matter ;
it is the work of Islam. This is easily accounted for.
The Christian tendency in Islam is stronger than the
Old Moslem. The common element in the Old Islam
and the modern movement is just their hatred of Christi-
anity. It lifts them above their differences, they join
hands against Christianity. But, as we have already
seen, the Old Islam had an even earlier ally in Animism.
We thus stand arrayed against a mighty Triple Alliance
in our conflict for the Nature peoples. In outward
appearance the three allies are so unlike that one might
think it impossible they should unite, but inwardly
they are one in a great common something : their hatred
against the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The anti-Christian
spirit is the mortar which builds the most diverse
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF MOHAMMEDANS 245
material into the bulwark against the missionaiy mes-
sage.
For EvangeHcal Missions it is, therefore, a case of
videant consules. Our missionary method is prescribed
for us ; we must be armed against this threefold enemy.
Let us not be afraid. The knowledge of European
languages, for instance, also opens up Christian litera-
ture, and this is the only possible weapon against
Modernism. It is wrong to be afraid that what modern
science has discovered about nature will make men lose
their faith. It only leads them into the knowledge of
God's conformity to law. Also the want of knowledge
about Nature is a constant temptation to superstition,
to a blind belief in every possible kind of legend. The
Mohammedan's growth in scientific knowledge may,
therefore, prepare the way for Christ. Instruction in
the natural sciences is one way of demonstrating the
untenableness of Mohammedan legends, and of showing
that God is a God of order and not of arbitrary caprice.
In view of the approaching attacks of modern critical
movements, it will be well quietly to discuss questions
of Biblical criticism which may come up in our lessons ;
the more frankly this is done, the better. Exact
scientific knowledge will render the same great service
to the Christians we win abroad, as it is rendering to
the old Christianity in the home-land ; it will force the
Christian believer, as it is forcing us, to shake off all
spiritual dependence upon his fellows and oblige him
to make the great fundamental experiment, that is to
say, to learn by experience the fact of living communion
with Christ. This inward vision and growing independ-
ence in the life of faith alone equips Mohammedan and
Heathen-Christian Churches for the onslaught of inter-
national anti-Christianity.
Chapter II
THE UNDERBIINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH
THERE is no prospect of union between the Chris-
tian spirit and IMosIem conceptions. Rather,
the Mohammedan only comes to a behef in the Gospel
by completely giving up his previous way of looking at
things. This is confirmed by the experience of all
missionaries to Mohammedans. The life of faith only
begins for the IMohammedan when he has said a final
farewell to Islam. The work of Christian Missions is,
therefore, to bring a man to that point of renunciation.
The difficulty of the task is obvious.
Not one of the three powers we have spoken of has
the least idea of laying down its arms at the approach
of Christianity. Rather, the Moslem religion is an
arsenal for all three. Even Animism which, when left
to itself, always strikes sail before Christianity, becomes
by no means a despicable opponent in this triple alliance.
Islam does not cripple Animism ; as we have already
shown, it lends fresh vigour to Animistic conceptions.
It is, therefore, a mistake to suppose that it is easier
to evangelize peoples which have recently gone over to
Islam, because Animism has been already conquered
by monotheism. We find Animism re-entrenched within
Islam ; it is no longer confined to the narrow sphere
of a small national religion, but has a world standing.
Animism finds self-realization in Islam. It receives a
strongly anti-Christian bias. This feature of hostility
to Christianity is not found in the old Animism.
24ti
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 247
It is characteristic of Islam that, on the one hand, it
should be so averse to any union with Christianity and
yet, on the other hand, enter with the utmost ease into
organic relationship with Animism and inspire, with
that power which is so inherently hostile to God, such
intense hatred against Christ. Nor does this merely
apply to peoples which have just come out of Animism
into Islam. In Islam, as such, there is far more Animism
than we generally suppose, and it is this heathen element
in Islam which renders missions to Mohammedans so
difficult. The Animistic elements in Arabian or Turkish
Islam must not be regarded as imponderable because
they do not occupy the first place in the theological
discussions between our missionaries and educated
Mohammedans in the Near East. Throughout the
Mohammedan world, Animism reasserts itself as soon
as we come into contact with the common people.
Thus the problem of the conversion of the Moham-
medan at once brings up the subject of the conversion
of the Animist with renewed force, and the solution of
the problem is complicated by Islam, The Moham-
medan is Animistic, and his Animism prevents any
further feeling of misery. Islam pledges itself to banish
from the world the misery of which Animism has been
the cause, either here in this life or in Paradise. By every
means in its j^ower, Islam shuts its eyes to the fact that
it, in no way, does overcome the misery of heathenism.
Nor does it realize the actual state of the case as long
as it does not come into contact with living Christianity.
Fatalism deadens the Moslem's senses, the doctrine of
merit lulls him to sleep, his teachers' work of mediation
makes him inactive, with his prospect of a glorious Here-
after he is completely resigned under any misfortune.
If he should be visited by a sense of need, the doctrine
of magic powers offers him ample means of satisfying
it. Islam covers heathen misery with a coat of white-
wash. As, however, it is this very feeling of misery
which opens the heathen's ear to the Gospel, we have,
248 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
here again, a hindrance to missionary work. Our
preaching could find a point of contact in the heathen's
longing after God ; the Mohammedan has no such long-
ing at all. He is one of the rich who pass through the
eye of a needle more easily than they enter the Kingdom
of God. The Animism of Islam has no need of a Gospel
because its good news is the good news of Islam.
The fusion between Animism and Islam makes the
sometime heathen superficial in his religion and without
character. In going over to Islam he has come to no
really clear decision. The Animistic peoples have no
inherent heroism of conviction ; a man has gone with
the crowd in becoming a Mohammedan. Martin, a
teacher in Padang bolak, writes thus of a Mohammedan :
" Baginda acknowledged that the doctrine of Christi-
anity was clearer, but that he became a Mohammedan
because the Mohammedans were in the majority."
Martin pointed out to him that a majority is not always
best, from the fact that the wind sows weeds in abund-
ance, and yet they are no use, and rice, which is of great
use, grows but sparingly.
The Mohammedan becomes, on the whole, more and
more indifferent to the question of religion. As far
as possible he shelves every matter of personal decision.
His conscience is dead, killed by the doctrine of salva-
tion by works and fatalism, the perpetual deception of
the ministers of religion has completely obliterated truth-
fulness from his nature. Our judgment is, however,
superficial, if we think that indifferent Mohammedans
are receptive to Christianity. The very earnestness of
Christian preaching, which would bring a man to deci-
sion, avails nothing with the fathomless frivolity of
Mohammedans. They mock at the missionary who
seeks to awaken their conscience and that not merely
because of the slackness of their national character ;
the Mohammedan spirit delights in idle speculations
but shuns every appeal to the conscience.
The instruction given by the teachers stifles all inde-
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 249
pendent thought by its mechanical drill. The more
slavishly a man follows his teacher, the more meritorious
is his religious life. Many do realize their imperfection
but they are accustomed to hide their convictions ;
there is so much they do not understand in Islam. They
hope that the teachers, the representatives of the
Prophet, will eventually set everything right ; one can
help matters forward by gifts to these ministers of
religion, and even after death, if need be. Doubt,
which must trouble more earnest souls, is kept carefully
hidden ; they are afraid to express it. Besides, there
are always new ways of finding peace. What prospects
are held out in mystical exercises, for instance. Never-
theless, the meagre store of energy of these depressed
peoples is only too soon exhausted ; dull indifference
and dead resignation is ultimately the piteous reaction
of all their efforts after inward peace.
Nevertheless, the number of seekers after truth all
over the Mohammedan world is greater than may be
supposed. Paulus Tossari, a teacher in the Christian
community of Mohammedans in Java, tells us that he
was a very strict Mohammedan, but he could not find
peace in his doctrine, and travelled from one place to
another. He was told he might rob the Dutch and
Chinese and any one who ate swine's flesh. He did
all the penance that was required of him. He was told
to stand for hours out in the tropical rain, he was made
to fast, indeed, he was on the point of becoming a hermit
when a friend told him something about the Gospel.
He read the Scriptures and found peace. Missionaries
are always telling us, and it is also my own experience,
that there are many secret friends of Christian truth in
Islam. In the Near East it is well known that many
Mohammedans are reading the Bible, and that there
are a great number of secret Christians among them.
A native preacher, Pandita Markus in Padang bolak
in Sumatra, was called to the bedside of a Mohammedan
who was very ill, and asked to pray with him. The
250 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Pandita said : " How can I pray with you ? You are
a Mohammedan." Whereupon the man confessed his
sins and said : " If I am to die, I want to die as a Chris-
tian, if only God will accept of me." Then he sent for
the Mohammedan priest and said to him : " Until now
I have been your disciple : but my heart has found no
peace in Islam ; if I am to die, I want to die as a Chris-
tian. Now you know ! " Then the Pandita prayed
and some of the Christians with him, and the dying man
solemnly made his profession of faith.
From among such people we gather our converts.
This does not preclude conversions of an outward
character owing, for instance, to some quarrel with the
Mohammedan teacher or chief, or on the strength of
help which the missionary may have given at a time of
severe illness, or as the result of intermarriage with
Christians. Such external motives may, of course, be
insincere. Insincere adherents, however, for the most
part fall back into Islam. Where, on the other hand,
there is even a dim realization of the peace and power
which Islam only promises, and Christianity bestows,
such an external motive serves as the impulse to a new
life in God.
Christian and Moslem faith. Islam jDromised the
heathen much. Are its promises fulfilled ? The Hea-
then-Mohammedan asks himself this question only when
a new religion like Christianity enters the field. The
living power of Christianity shakes Islam out of its
self-satisfied lethargy. How far have all the promises,
which Islam made to the heathen, been fulfilled ? That
Islam alone makes a man rich is untrue ; Christians also
get on in the world and have children like Mohammedans,
and Mohammedans die, when they are ill, like Christians.
Elder John's little son lay dying ; the Christians sat
in silence round the weeping parents. A Mohammedan
rushed in and cried : " There, now you see what you
have gained ! " A mocking smile was on his lips. The
mother was nearly in despair. When the child had
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 251
breathed his last she said : " I can't bear it any longer,
I shall turn Mohammedan again ; my child shall be
buried with the IMohammcdans." But her brother,
who was himself still a Mohammedan, said : " Let be.
Mother, it is no use, remember two of my children also
died the other day."
They do not seem to be especially favoured by God
in every-day life. Some do succeed better than others,
they become teachers, and their cunning brings them
wealth. That does spur many on, because the teachers
perpetually assure them that they owe all their good
fortune, to Islam alone. Many, however, for whom the
expected result tarries, are disillusioned. What has
Islam brought them ? Heavy religious taxes and much
ritual ; nothing else.
That, however, influences their thoughts of God.
What were they not all to receive from God, how near
they were to be to God when they once became Moham-
medans and in reality ! Yes, and even supposing they
could join in the mystical exercises, they have not the
wherewithal. They hear a great deal about God's
almighty power, but whether it brings blessing or damna-
tion upon man, the teacher alone can know ; many
groan under the bondage of the teachers.
A Mohammedan's faith in the efhcacy of his own
religion is thoroughly shaken when, somehow or other,
European believers, or a missionary's family, or a living
Heathen-Mohammedan Christian community, brings
him into contact with living Christianity. To begin
with, he finds many points of agreement which he must
acknowledge, and which prove that Christianity is also
a religion. This point of view is widely held in Moham-
medan circles in the Mission field of Sumatra. In such
circles Christianity is called ugama, religion, a term
only applied to Islam, never to heathenism. The
Gospel has won a measure of respect which shows that
the undermining of the Mohammedan faith has begun.
For if Islam is no longer the one incomparable religion,
252 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
it has begun to lose its halo. The more a Mohammedan
comes to understand the life of faith of a living Christian,
the more his own faith will be shaken.
He sees that the Christian believer is filled with the
full assurance of hope while, at the same time, he abso-
lutely rejects Moslem practice, which helps a man to
Paradise. If the Christian merely called in question
the way which leads the Mohammedan to his goal,
without himself believing in God or having hope for the
next world, it would make no impression upon the
Mohammedan. No wonder that the Christian, like the
heathen, should reject Mohammed and the whole system
of good works. He knows nothing of the hope resting
upon them. But the Christian does believe, like himself,
in a Hereafter. That is what strikes him in the Christian
believer. The heathen, with whom he has had discus-
sion, has neither firm faith in God nor any clear idea of
the Hereafter. It is easily to be understood that he
should reject Mohammed and religious exercises. But
the Christian has both. It is remarkable that he should,
nevertheless, reject the guarantees of the Mohammedan
religion.
This has far-reaching consequences : the conception
which the Mohammedan forms of the Christian believer
is different from what his teacher has hitherto given
him. He has always called the Christian a " Kafr,"
that is an unbeliever and, therefore, he has not com-
plied with the formalities which are binding upon a be-
liever. As long as he did not come into contact with
living Christianity, his teacher seemed to be right.
Now, however, the Mohammedan believer realizes that
his teacher's assertions do not tally with the facts of
the case. He sees clearly that, even outside Islam,
there are people who believe in one God and in a Here-
after. The teacher gave him to understand that these
hopes were the prerogative of Islam.
The Mohammedan is confronted with the hope of the
Hereafter, especially in Mohammedan Christian com-
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 253
munities, because it gives the Christians their advantage
over the Mohammedan. On every possible occasion
the Mohammedan hears about it. If he attends a
Christian funeral he sees how much more living and
assured is the Christian's hope of the resurrection of the
dead than the Mohammedan's. A quiet, unaggressive
address implies that the Christian alone, and not the
Mohammedan, enters that other life. He cannot reject
this statement, especially as Christians meet death
in a peaceful spirit, utterly new to the Mohammedan.
A Christian woman, called Asnath, lay on her death-
bed. A Mohammedan relation visited her and hoped
she would get better, but Asnath said : "I have no
longer any desire to recover ; I long for heaven, for
my Lord. Death has no longer any terror for me."
The Mohammedan answered : " I do not understand
such words. We are very much afraid of death and
use every means in our power to get better and to live
a long time." For, as we have already indicated, the
Mohammedan never, all his life long, ceases to waver
between pessimistic uncertainty and extravagant rhap-
sodies about the future life.
Christians, on the other hand, place their sole trust
in Jesus. The Christian belief in a Hereafter, there-
fore, brings the Mohammedan face to face with the
question : Who is Jesus ? Their devotion to Jesus
is as intense as their rejection of Mohammed. The
Christian renounces all human mediation for the Here-
after. He expressly declares that neither his native
teacher, nor the European missionary, can admit him
to eternal life.
A Mohammedan will, sometimes, become a catechu-
men because he thinks the missionary's prayer will
prevail with God in some special way, like that of some
great Mohammedan priest. Some villagers once in-
vited us, for instance, to a sacred meal at the end of the
harvest ; they wished us " to share their joy over the
successful harvest." In reality, however, they looked
254 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
for some special blessing upon their house from the
prayer which I was in the habit of offering with any
Christians present 6n such occasions.
The missionaries and the leaders of the community
are, however, always pointing out to the inquirer that
he has as much power in prayer as they, if only he will
have faith in Jesus. This gives the Mohammedan fur-
ther food for thought. How " clever " the European
is, how many " words " he has, how he can talk and
give a reason for his faith. And yet this man absolutely
denies that he can admit anv one to Paradise. Rather,
he says he must himself be granted admission there,
and that Jesus alone admits him. Neither does the
Christian native teacher ever tell his fellow-believer
that he can do anything for him in the other world.
He also is cleverer than most of his fellow-countrymen,
indeed, than most Mohammedan teachers. He has
some of the European's education, and yet he says
Jesus alone can admit any one to heaven.
A Mohammedan does not understand this all at once.
He may take years to believe that we are not semi-
divine mediators, that we do not even think so in our
secret hearts ; but continual contact with Christianity
does convince him in the end.
And, similarly, with the ritual and ceremonies from
which the Mohammedan expects so much. The Chris-
tian rejects all these as works of merit. The Mohamme-
dan is struck at every Christian service, by the fact
that the Christian sets no store by the ceremony. He
does fold his hands at prayer, he does take off his head-
cloth before eating, he even stands during prayer in
the service, but these ceremonial usages are not works
of merit by which anything is to be gained, like Moham-
medan prayer five times a day. The Christian knows
nothing of payments, by which God's good will may be
purchased, and yet he is fully assured of acceptance
with God. He does keep Sunday, it is even an irksome
duty. He sacrifices his work and earnings for that day.
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 255
Also the Mohammedan's first thought is, naturally,
that the Christian is seeking to gain merit by it. Chris-
tians also pay a riee tax for the needs of their com-
munity. Now and then, the Mohammedan will come
across a Christian who regards that as a work of merit.
But the real Christians, who are most faithful in keeping
Sunday, will always tell him that they cannot thereby
win eternal life, nor even accumulate merit in this
present life.
The Christian also reads in his holy book, only not
in " a holy voice." He reads as he speaks. He says
this reading brings him refreshment, but never that it
gives him a claim upon God's grace. And yet the Chris-
tian does emphatically claim that grace and actually
for himself alone : and if the Mohammedan asks what
right he has to make the claim, he again receives the
same answer : " Works of merit are superfluous. Jesus'
merit is all availing." Our Christians say this with great
candour and without troubling whether Mohammedans
really understand what they mean by Jesus' merit.
Not so much a logical reason for the worthlessness of
external merit, as the simple assurance of the Christian
that he is delivered from all works of merit by Christ,
is what impresses the Mohammedan : he asks himself
who is this Jesus ?
To undermine Islam, discussion is, for the most part,
valueless. We cannot dispute like the native. The
subtlest conquers, the defeated one goes off with a
growl ; he is routed by his opponent. In the interest
of the Christian community it is sometimes necessary to
make a defence of Christian truth, but in such cases the
Mohammedans often try to expound their religion
instead of listening to us.
Thus, interest in Jesus is not created by references
to the passages in the Koran which speak of the Nabi
Isa. They contribute nothing towards making the
inquiry about Jesus of really living moment to the
Mohammedan. It is the hope in Jesus of those who
256 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
believe in Him which points the Mohammedan to " the
Lord " of the Christians.
Doubtless, many conversations about Jesus will have
to take those descriptions of Isa as their starting point ;
it would be a mistake not to take advantage of this
point of contact. But we shall only thereby arouse the
intellectual interest of the Mohammedans, who are
interested to know more of the relations between Mo-
hammed and Jesus. We find but little purely intellec-
tual interest, however, among the common people.
Moreover, the Mohammedans of the Dutch East Indies
purposely put the person of the Nabi Isa in the back-
ground. This is a help to the missionary, because it is
not easy to lead Mohammedans on from this purely
intellectual interest to a religious interest in Jesus. The
conscience is not touched by discussions of purely intel-
lectual problems.
We are now only considering the undermining of the
Mohammedan faith. Mohammedans are not forthwith
converted when they come into contact with truly
Christian experience, but it does leave a lively impression
upon many a Mohammedan soul. The result of our
mission to the Mohammedans of Angkola in Sumatra,
for instance, is not adequately represented by the mere
number of our seven thousand baptized Christians,
and one thousand catechumens. What is far more
important is the degree to which wide circles of the
Mohammedan population are wavering in their faith
in their own religion.
The fight for faith. The Christian's assurance of
faith, at all events, does not rest upon any light inter-
pretation of the law of God. As regards questions of
morality the Christian is more serious than the Moham-
medan. Gross sins, such as theft, deception, gambling,
adultery, it is true Islam also condemns, but that avails
little. In discussion with Christians, no Moslem can
deny that Islam is not consistent with regard to these
sins. Neither can they deny that the worst crimes are
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 257
committed under cover of magic. A sheik once said to
Martin : " Anyhow, we have many magic powers."
" Certainly you have," said Martin, " but we Chris-
tians do not want to kill our fellow-men." " I do not
mean that at all," replied the sheik, " but magic can
be turned to good account in bewitching hell when the
time comes." " Then you think that the wisdom and
wit of man can render God Himself powerless," an-
swered Martin. " But does not magic come from God ?
If He had not created it, it would not exist," replied
the other. " Then God has given men something by
which to fight against Himself, by which His righteous
judgment can even be averted," said Martin.
The common people are bound to acknowledge that
their leading Moslem teachers are the very worst element
in the population ; they fleece the people most. They
allow themselves the most liberty with women. Chi-is-
tian conduct may also leave much to be desired, but
those who are most unsatisfactory in their moral life
are also those who are least zealous in their Christian
religion. The more truly Christian a man becomes,
the greater is his chastity and humility. The mother
of a young Mohammedan-Christian came to a missionary
in Sumatra and said : " Do write to my son and make
him keep on being a Christian while he is abroad. Since
he has been a Christian, he has been much steadier."
The Christian community exercises Church discipline.
Gross sin is even punished by excommunication. The
elders and teachers of the community take measures
against any one who behaves in an unchristian manner.
Often to no purpose, it is true, but the Mohammedan
cannot deny that sin is taken cognizance of. This may
keep the Mohammedan from actual conversion ; he
also will come under this discipline. But strong disci-
pline makes a deep impression upon him. He is bound
to acknowledge that nothing of this kind exists in the
Moslem community. Doubtless, moral aphorisms are
on the lips of every Mohammedan and especially of their
258 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
spiritual leaders, but no one ever inflicts punishment.
Of course that is much more congenial to the Mohamme-
dan. No one likes to feel himself within bounds.
Nevertheless, he says to himself, and converts have often
told me this, the Christian takes much more trouble to
live according to his doctrine than the Moslem.
Besides which, the Christian also carries things much
further. He not only declares adultery and polygamy
to be sin, he also calls unclean speech, even secret hatred
and all unloving conduct, sin. The Mohammedan is
quite well aware of the weaknesses of the Christian com-
munity, but he cannot shake off the impression that
the state of morality among their young people, for
instance, is better than among the Mohammedans, that
the tone of their conversation is higher, and that there
is more love and less hatred and uncharitableness in
the Christian community than elsewhere.
Some people emphasize the shortcomings of our young
Christians. We missionaries would not wish to condone
them. But the Mohammedan views the state of the
case with other eyes than a European. When he meas-
ures the Christian community by the standard of the
Mohammedan community, he finds a great difference :
on the one hand, there are faithful individual Christians
who stand at a moral level, which may not strike us as
so very high, but which is never reached by a Moham-
medan within Islam. And, besides that, discipline is
exercised in the Christian community. There is thus
a power in Christianity fighting against evil, and the
Mohammedan asks : " Why is it so among you ? "
The Christians reply : " That is the law Jesus gave us.
He also gives us the power to keep His commandments."
The ground of faith : the Bible and the Koran. Where
does the Christian get to know about Christ ? The
Christian appeals to the Word of God. The Moham-
medan also has a written word, but this is as little recog-
nized by Christians as the Bible by Mohammedans.
Many evangelists, in the Near East, have taken the
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 259
Koran as their starting point, and have been successful
preachers. Among peoples, such as the Indonesians,
however, that know but little of the Koran and cannot
read it, this method is not feasible. Among them the
Christian simply goes to the Mohammedan with the
Bible in the vernacular. Arabic is thus being driven
from the field. Awetaranian's judgment is that " as
the Arabic language loses its importance, the Arabian
religion also loses its influence. The people begin to
realize that God speaks to every nation in its own
language." Every man can read the Bible, or have it
read to him, and decide for himself. Dammerboer says
many Mohammedans read the word of God in Christian
houses in Sumatra. And there are also Mohammedans
in the Dutch East Indies, Avho have come to the light
by reading the Holy Scriptures, but who will not be
baptized, for one reason or another. The Mohammedan
cannot become the apologist of Scriptures which he him-
self cannot understand. He comes to see that his
religion is really floating very much in mid-air. For a
charter which is unintelligible is, surely, worthless. He
accepted the Koran because such an attested authority
seemed an advance upon the uncertain oral tradition
of " the doctrine of the ancestors " in heathenism ;
but, in reality, he substituted a revelation written down,
it is true, but incomprehensible for unwritten but at
all events intelligible tradition. Christianity, for the
first time, presents him with a written and at the same
time intelligible charter. Eight Mohammedans began
to attend Christian worship in Madura in 1904, in order
not to be obliged blindly to follow Arabic " nonsense."
At Church they could understand the sermon and knew
what the prayers meant.
The Christian, therefore, rejects the Koran and
declares that he has the true word of God. It is, in the
first instance, a case of authority for authority, assertion
for assertion. The heathen accepts the word of God
all the more readily, because the printed word and the
260 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
book, as a whole, is something very subhme in his eyes.
He approaches the word with awe. The schools, how-
ever, have introduced many books into the country,
the Malay newspapers have robbed the printed page of
its halo. A book, as such, has lost its place of eminence,
it is no longer such an unusual thing as it was when
Moslem propaganda began. It has lost its unapproach-
ableness. Many people go to school and can read books.
The mere possession of a book no longer satisfies them,
they are beginning to ask about its contents.
Islam is now in a sorry case. It speaks of its book
with the utmost reverence, but it does not know what
it contains. Even the teachers know very little of its
contents, they are chary of entering into explanations.
They only do so for money. The sacred book of the
Christians is freely offered in the vernacular. Any one
Avho can read can test it for himself. It costs nothing
to learn to read ; the more one is willing to know, the
better.
The contents of the Scriptures are uniform, all the
teachers use the same book. The Mecca pilgrims, on
the other hand, have various books (kitab) ; the one
says his is better than another, in the hope of gathering
more pupils.
Even were the contents of the Koran so important
as Mohammedan teachers assert, the simple believer
knows nothing about them. Those contents are a sealed
book to him. All the more potent are the effects of the
Gospel. He wonders at the moral purity of the Gospel.
For that very reason he may have no inclination to
accept it. As when a Javanese village chief came to a
Christian, called Wongsa, and read his Christian scrip-
tures until he came to the seventh commandment.
There he stopped and said : " Perhaps you can follow
these stipulations : I cannot." The contents of Moham-
medan tracts are usually impure ; but, for that reason,
they are more entertaining than the Word of God and
they are not so disturbing.
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 261
The people often exclaim : " Yes, a man must be like
that, but it is impossible to keep these laws. We can-
not bear the Word of God." Schroder was reading the
Sermon on the Mount with a Mohammedan in Java,
who was teaching him the language, and when they
came to the passages about taking oaths and about
marriage, the Mohammedan said : " That is quite
different doctrine from ours." On being asked which he
thought the better of the two, he said : " The Christian,
but it is very difficult," (namely, to follow).
Many, who even get as far as this, turn back. If the
Word of God were nothing more than a high moral
standard, it might possibly interest a few Mohamme-
dans, but it would permanently arrest none ; it is its
moral content which gives food for thought to many
Mohammedans .
The Gospel works by its natural simplicity. Its
narratives are attractive from the purely human point
of view. There is none of the wondrous fantastic by-
play of Mohammedan legends. This is really the dis-
tinction between the Gospel and the old folk-lore and
native stories. No one could possibly think they were
true, the very art of the story-teller is to improvise as
many new exciting details as possible. Moslem religious
tracts, with their stories of miracles, one instinctively
classes with these legends and they arouse our suspicions
in consequence. This all falls away in the Word of God.
Its narratives are short and to the point. To make
additions, or to cut out portions, is impossible ; there
it stands written and is read aloud. This gives it the
stamp of truth in the eyes of the Mohammedan. The
Gospel does also recount miracles. These are a diffi-
culty to the Mohammedan in his reading, but not be-
cause they go against the law of Nature. He is quite
ignorant of the law of causation. In this respect he
is accustomed to altogether different things. He ap-
proaches miracles from the opposite point of view from
we Westerners. He does not consider it remarkable
262 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
that there should be descriptions of miracles, but that
there are so few of them ; and those few are so succinct,
so fully under the control of a moral principle, namely
that of love ; that is where the difificulty lies for him.
He is obliged to curb his desire for the miraculous. The
simple narrative of the New Testament seems to him
incredible, but be Mohammedan legend never so fan-
tastic, he accepts it. God alone works miracles. Only
Jesus, not we ? Jesus only works miracles to help men,
not to avenge Himself, not for the sake of notoriety.
Mohammedans had recourse to the Talmud and the
treasure-trove of Jewish-Christian legends to embellish
the Biblical miracles ; for example, the story of the
Birth of Jesus. We have already seen in the Moslem's
craving for the miraculous his delight in Mohammedan
miracles and " ilmu." They are his proof of his religion.
The more a religion enables him to circumvent Nature,
the more credible it is. Humbly to bow before Nature
is difficult to the Mohammedan-Christian ; because he
does not know that God's Fatherly hand is at the helm
of the Universe, the moral purpose and the straight-
forwardness of the New Testament miracles are a hind-
rance to his faith.
New Testament miracle is a challenge to magic. It
reveals the immoral character of magic, in that it would
force God's hand and is the instrument of man's selfish-
ness. On the one hand the miracles of the Son of God
remind man of his limitations and, on the other, lay
fresh obligations upon him : it is not his to evade the
difficulties which come in the natural course of this our
life, but rather to overcome in the conflict with the
moral order of the universe, ordained by God ; this
conflict is sin. Jesus heals men but, at the same time,
He forgives their sin and bids them " go and sin no
more." The Christian, in his turn, seeks help from God ;
not to practise magic but to conquer sin. Jesus also
promises His disciples the power to work miracles and
His disciples do actually receive that power, but He
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 263
expressly rejects those who fail to do the Father's will
in their miracles.
The Gospel thus brings home the question to the
conscience of the Mohammedan as to w'hich revelation
lays claim to credibility ; he must decide for or against
the word. This appeal to the conscience is strengthened
by the personality of those w^ho spread the word. The
Gospel has come to him by the mouth of the mission-
aries and native Christians, the Koran and the Kitab
by Mecca pilgrims. He is bound to recognize that the
messenger of the Word of God is set upon himself living
in accordance with the word he preaches, whereas the
Mecca pilgrims, for all their high-sounding words, are
far from obeying them themselves.
One might think that this very point of view would,
surely, lead many of those to Christ who have been
apprehended by the Gospel. But, again, something
quite definitely holds them back. The moral laxity
of the Mecca pilgrims may be volubly denounced, especi-
ally to the missionaries, but, in his secret soul, the native
is by no means so averse to it, because he himself is
thereby set free not to keep the commandments of his
religion either. Moral indignation at the life of the
exponents of the Koran does not lead a man into the
Kingdom of God ; it is easy to give vent to moral in-
dignation, but it is difficult to make the sacrifice de-
manded by the Word of God. Nevertheless, this does
help to undermine the Mohammedan position. The
content and the messengers of the Gospel are a powerful
witness to Christianity.
The history of Missions to Mohammedans is a proof
of the power of the Word of God. In the Near East,
the respect which is given to the Scriptures in the Koran
has been of no slight moment in preparing the way
for the Bible. According to Awetaranian the Old and
New Testaments are sacred books to Mohammedans,
as to ourselves, but they are totally unknown. Missions
have translated them into the vernacular and many an
264 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
one, who now reads them, has found, with Kamil, that
" he has drunk hke the wanderer in the desert when he
has found a crystal spring of cold water." And Mis-
sions to the Mohammedans of the Dutch East Indies
have also won their victory by the Gospel, although it
has been by the spoken rather than by the written and
read word.
The object of faith : Christ and Mohammed. Islam
does not adopt any definite attitude towards Jesus. He
is called, it is true, the Word of God, the Spirit of God ;
He is even said to have been without father ; but Mo-
hammed is always preferred to Him, Mohammed who,
of course, is the prophet of God. According to the
Koran and the tracts in circulation in the Dutch East
Indies, Jesus worked many miracles. At the Last Judg-
ment He is the friend of Mohammed. He will then
come again and overcome the power of the Antichrist,
Addadjal. They do not hesitate to assert that He Him-
self taught this, as the prophets did before Him and
Mohammed after Him. The Mohammedan's concep-
tion of Jesus is, verbally, by no means so very far re-
moved from the Christian doctrine of the Divine Son-
ship of Jesus, and yet Islam turns the full fury of its
attack against this article of the faith.
The Moslem's attitude towards Jesus shows what
Islam really is. Its knowing Him distinguishes it from
all the rest of heathenism. Its acknowledging Him
distinguishes it from Judaism, which rejects Him. But
its acknowledgment of the Person of Jesus has, for the
present, lost its significance. Jesus is supplanted :
another has stepped into His place. Hence Islam is
not so much opposed to Christ as to the Christians.
It is presumption on the part of Christians to believe
that they have the final revelation of God in Jesus, be-
cause they thereby render Mohammed superfluous. It
is arrogance on the part of Christians to claim Divine
Sonship for Jesus, because that is incomprehensible.
How much that is incomprehensible does one fondly
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 265
believe ! Not so much because the behef in the Son of
God is polytheism, for many elements of polytheism are
otherwise tolerated, but because the Divine Sonship
is derogatory to Mohammed. To acknowledge Jesus,
in any way, brings a man face to face with the alternative,
Christ or Mohammed.
The Mohammedan does not come to a decision by
comparing their respective characters, or by comparing
their respective careers.
We have already seen how little is known of the
Prophet Mohammed in the Dutch East Indies, for in-
stance. Hence it is of little use to dwell upon his life.
There are two methods of setting to work. Some people
franklv denounce Mohammed as a deceiver. Thus Ernst,
a missionary in the Cameroons, told the King of Bali,
when he asked him about Mohammed, that he considered
Mohammed a swindler, and this particular Mohammedan
prince agreed with him, because he had lost all confi-
dence in Mohammedans.
In contrast to this extreme there is another method,
Graafland writes as follows from the Dutch East Indies :
" I once won a Mohammedan by asking him questions
about Mohammed and, when he knew very little, I told
him a few facts, and creditable things at that." Then
Graafland clearly showed him how excellent Moham-
medan doctrine had been, but that it lacked something,
and that that something lacking had been revealed to
us in Jesus.
Graafland is of opinion that Jesus should always be
preached as one already kno^vn in the Koran. He
would have missionaries acknowledge that Islam does
possess and teach good and true and really religious ideas.
We should not call its doctrine blasphemous, nor say that
the doctrine has become corrupt, which was pure in
Christ and in Israel. Mohammed should not be regarded
as the false Prophet, the Koran should be recognized
as a source of the knowledge of God, and as a sign post
in religion. The missionary has simply to look for
266 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
points of contact in Islam. He must learn to appreciate
the fundamental verities set forth in the Koran.
Of course a Mohammedan must never disparage
Mohammed : it is no good to emphasize Mohammed's
shortcomings unless a missionary has the complete con-
fidence of his hearers. Thus, Van der Spiegel writes :
" A missionary must judge for himself when he can
take a bolder stand." He is, however, against the
learned confuting of Islam, even among educated Mo-
hammedans, saying that it only widens the gulf between
them and us. He upholds the simple, powerful preach-
ing of Christ, present difficulties as it may. Van der
Spiegel was invited to meet a number of Mohammedan
Government officials in Bondoworo. He said : " Mo-
hammed was a man and a sinner ; he is dead and buried.
He cannot save himself, much less others. So how can
you be saved ? " There was no answer. Then he said :
" God is holy, man is sinful. Christ forgives, man is
reconciled." There was silence. None of them had
anything more to do with him. They all hated him.
Even Bishop Jakobus van Vitry, of Akkro, writing in
Jerusalem as early as 1250, says : " The Mohammedans
listen gladly to the preaching of the monks of the
Franciscan Order when they speak to them of faith in
Christ, and as long as they restrain themselves from
railing at Mohammed. Otherwise they run the risk of
being maltreated, killed and driven away."
Nevertheless, if a Mohammedan is to become a Chris-
tian, it must be made clear to him that Mohammed is
a false Prophet. Otherwise he may perhaps praise
Christianity, without ever giving up Islam.
The aim of our preaching is to make the Mohammedan
realize who Jesus is ; then his faith in Mohammed spon-
taneously breaks down. He must become assured of a
two-fold fact : that Christians really have another Jesus
from the Jesus of Islam, and that Mohammed is not what
he himself claims to be, nor what the teachers say he is.
This knowledge of Jesus the Christian draws from the
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 267
Gospels. They give him a consistent account of Jesus.
The story of Jesus is uniform. It raises missionary
instruction above the level of the stray information
given by Mohammedan teachers about Mohammed,
which consists of single disconnected stories of the
Prophet. The Gospels give a continuous self-contained
narrative about Jesus. Every Christian knows some-
thing about it. Every Christian has a definite idea of
the career of Jesus. One never knows when the stories
about Mohammed happened. To-day, the believer
hears a story about Mohammed in dim prehistoric times,
in which Mohammed is said to have taken part in the
flood. To-morrow, he is told a story which will only
happen at the end of the world. He has no clear picture
in his mind of what Mohammed was at any particular
time. Nor is he, at first, concerned that it should be so ;
he lacks all historical intuition ; nevertheless, gradually
he notices that it is otherwise with Jesus. He sees His
life unfold from the cradle to the grave. He hears of
the works of Jesus. They also are miraculous works,
but these miracles have always a definite purpose.
They do not merely serve to magnify the power of Jesus,
nor do they merely picture all kinds of superlative
qualities beyond the actual reach of any one ; the works
of Jesus are intended to help others. We observe that
the Mohammedan, who is actually facing the question
of Mohammed or Jesus, does not make it his first con-
cern to solve the problem of the Divine Sonship. Jesus,
he thinks, is for the Christians what Mohammed is for
the Mohammedans, namely their guide to heaven.
Jesus' works show that Jesus took heartfelt interest
in man. This feature of the story of Jesus catches the
Mohammedan's attention. That Mohammed ascended
to heaven may, indeed, be a proof of his supernatural
power, but man is not benefited thereby. Whereas
Jesus not only did mighty works, but He is also helper,
protector and Saviour. The hungry multitude is fed,
the sick are healed, and He still helps men to-day.
268 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
In the story of the Temptation, He expressly declined
to work miracles to show men that He had supernatural
powers. This is the Mohammedan's answer to the
question which has arisen in his mind, as he has watched
living Christians : " Why have these men got something
to give to others ? " There is a real reflection of Jesus
in such Christian activity. Power goes forth from
Jesus upon those who ally themselves with Him.
Jesus creates new men. What does a man become
I)y the aid of Mohammed ? A man who seeks his own
glory, who fleeces his fellow-men, who turns their
weaknesses and stupidity to his own profit. For such
are all the Mohammedan priests. They deceive the
people. The people hoped their coming meant educa-
tion and progress, but the only one who gains by Islam
is the teacher. Hitherto the native has not realized this.
It was just the same when he was a heathen. Then,
too, the teacher, or rather the sorcerer, drank all the
cream. But in the light of the love of Jesus and the
readiness on the part of His believers to lend a helping
hand, he realizes his bondage and the tutelage of the
priests. If he wanted, the missionary could easily take
advantage of his social standing as a European. Does
he not possess sufficient education to make the native
his dupe ? But he does not use it in any such way.
He places his medical knowledge at the disposal of the
sick ; he freely shares his wisdom by teaching the chil-
dren ; he does not keep his culture to himself like some-
thing he has robbed.
Jesus' self-sacrifice amongst His own people met with
no response from His contemporaries ; they actually
killed Him ; and Jesus knew what was in the heart of
men. Neither does the missionary have an easy time
of it, much less the native Christian. By living so long
among the natives, the missionary knows his national
vices and yet Missions are always spreading, and it all
happens in the name of Jesus. There is power which goes
forth from Jesus and which the living Christian can claim.
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 2G9
Christian charity and the uncharitableness of Islam.
The Moslem world also speaks of charity. But we have
already seen where, for instance, alms go to. The poor
do not receive them, but the rich priests. That is
heathen. The heathen also passes the poor coldly by,
but the respected, influential sorcerers receive rich gifts.
The people thereby curry favour with them. The
selfishness of heathenism is unbroken. As a matter of
fact, Islam has not bettered the condition of the sick
and suffering one hair's -breadth.
Dr. Pruijs, of Djokjakarta in Java, writes that Euro-
peans have often asked him to send them native sick
nurses, but not Christians ; he has then asked these men
to send him Mohammedans to train. But after a few
months he has always received the same answer : " Doc-
tor, we can find plenty of people for all kinds of labour
but, no matter what we promise or offer them, we can
get no one to dedicate themselves to nursing the sick."
Dr Pruijs rightly adds : " Islam gives alms, but it
shows no compassion."
In Java, the sick are sometimes simply laid by the
roadside, in the hope that passers-by will help them. I
have never heard of heathen doing that. On the other
hand, it is a generally accepted fact that the Christians
treat the sick, the suffering, the poor, widows and or-
phans with kindness. Benevolent institutions have been
founded everywhere by Missions, with the active sup-
port of the Government. Even lepers are cared for by
the Christians. The Rhenish Mission in Sumatra alone
has a hospital with a dispensary and surgery, an orphan-
age and two leper asylums. The Mohammedan world
is as cold and loveless as its God, however zealous the
Mohammedan may be in keeping the law. Kahar of
Baringin, a hadji of Sumatra, once said he had visited
the Schwefel springs, that is the Mission leper asylum in
Si Tumba, and had seen many sick folk who were fed
and clothed there without the missionary making any
money out of it ; it was beyond his comprehension.
270 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
On religious grounds the Mohammedan has no desire
to care for the sick, because dirty wounds are also un-
clean ceremonially. Islam has thus a hypocritical
religious excuse for the native's great aversion for sick-
nursing. Heathen selfishness is covered by a Divine
command.
Christian love enters this loveless world like a sun-
beam from the compassionate heart of Jesus, seeking to
save. It cannot be denied that Christianity has the com-
passionate love which Islam so entirely lacks. The
Moslem is disappointed in his own religion.
In the light of Christian love many a Mohammedan
realizes the uncharitableness of his own religion. With-
out any doubt Christianity is often sorely defamed in
Mohammedan circles, but the Christians make as if they
did not hear, they open their hospitals to those of the
other faith without any ill-will. A sick Mohammedan
woman once said : " My own mother has cast me out,
but strangers have had pity on me and are helping me."
Night and day the missionary is ready to help in any
way he can and the Christian teachers go and look for
sick Mohammedans who have been left to die. Native
Christians nurse in our hospitals, they have even under-
taken the dangerous work of caring for their miserable
fellow-countrymen who are lepers.
Nor is it merely a case of caring for the sick. In
Simanosor (Sumatra), a catechumen relapsed into Islam
as the result of all kinds of misfortune, but he nearly
went out of his mind about it. For three days and three
nights he roamed the forest. The Mohammedans
showed no concern, but, at last, some Christians found
him and took pity on him. He was impressed and since
then has been going regularly to Church. The mission-
ary is always ready to help in whatever way he can.
How different is his attitude from that of the Mohamme-
dan teachers whose primary idea is to get rich at the
expense of their adherents. The teacher is sympathetic
when he is well paid ; otherwise he pays no attention.
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 271
The way we enter into discussions must also manifest
this same spirit of love. It demonstrates the difference
between the two religions better than propositions and
counter-propositions. The most convincing argument,
from the Christian standpoint, is certainly that which our
native preacher, Mark Siregar, used with a Mohammedan
teacher. Mark had fallen in with him at the beginning
of his missionary work in the Mohammedan district of
Padang bolak. On that occasion the malim said : " I
smell something unclean. The plates of the Christians
are dirty." Mark was silent. Several years afterwards
he met this man again ; he invited him to his house and
killed a fowl for him, an honour only done to a guest who
is one's social superior. When Christians are asked why
they do such things they say Jesus has taught them to do
so. This is an enigma to the Mohammedan. Who is
this Jesus ? What kind of power can it be which this
Jesus pours out upon the Christians ? Who is Jesus ?
Christian Education and the Illitefacy of Islam. The
heathen had aspirations after culture ; that was one of
the reasons he became a Mohammedan. When, how-
ever, he sees Christian educational institutions he is
bound to acknowledge that Islam has deceived him on
this point.
Christian Missions have given the people the simple
elementary school and a respectable class of elementary
teacher. The village school, which to our eyes may seem
but very ill equipped, with its homely and may be un-
methodical brown village schoolmaster, has destroyed
Islam's pompous boast of culture. Link, one of our
missionaries in Parsosoran, once gave a malim an easy
sum in arithmetic before some Mohammedans. He could
not do it. Then he gave it to a schoolboy he had with
him and the boy immediately did it. The bystanders
burst out laughing and the Mohammedan teacher was
very much ashamed.
Not only does the Christian teacher know more than
the Mohammedan priest, he also knows how to impart
272 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
his knowledge to children. The children learn some-
thing ; a new generation, which can read, write and
count, is growing up in the Christian community. This
is apparent to every one ; it is a severe blow to the idea
of the illiteracy and wickedness of Christians, which used
to be in vogue.
Disappointment, therefore, awaits every one who has
thought that Islam was the one and only medium of
education and culture. What has it actually done ? It
has taught a little Arabic, but that is no practical use to
any one. Here lies the great significance of the Mission
School in Mohammedan districts. When Mohammedan
children come for instruction, they are often fonder of
school and Christian stories than of Islam.
Amim, a native helper in Java, writes : " I became a
Christian firstly, because I attended the Mission School ;
secondly, because I heard the Gospel preached three
times a week ; and thirdly, owing to the missionary's
encouragement." And the same might be said of quite
a number of our native helpers in Sumatra.
Many a father soon finds that his child has no further
taste for Mohammedan learning and knows more than
he does himself. In such cases the children often attract
their parents to Christianity. We missionaries should
bear this in mind. Once Christian Missions get ahead of
Islam with their schools, the native immediately realizes
that Islam is not the only medium of education, but
that Christianity also imparts it, and indeed that Chris-
tian education is more practical than that of Islam.
The Rajah of Bolaang Itam once said to his Christian
teacher : " Every one over ten years old is a Christian
here." He had been deeply impressed by the fact that
our Mission School children politely saluted the local
representative of the Dutch Government on his official
journey. Islam teaches nothing of that sort.
The Mission School, however, has a more far-reaching
influence than this. The educational work of our Mis-
sions is a labour of love. Our efforts to raise the people
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 273
by means of schools, and also to give certain individuals
a higher education in our seminaries, is often gratefully
acknowledged by the people as a gift of love. They see
that this labour of love does not serve to enrich the
Europeans or the native Chirstians, whereas in Islam no
higher learning is imparted without payment. The
common people realize that Islam is not concerned with
their intellectual betterment ; it has good reason not to
enlighten the people too much. Christianity is interested
in the children even of the lower classes ; this makes the
ordinary man especially grateful.
The Mission School, which is open to all, shows the
Mohammedan that his prejudices with regard to it are
unfounded. For the Christian teacher does not make
the school children " his slaves " ; the missionary does
not " sell them to the Government as soldiers " ; but,
rather, the children return home after school better
mannered, more obedient and more intelligent. So, on
this point at least, the aspersions cast upon Christianity
by the Mohammedan teachers do not tally with reality.
Our schools make the Mohammedan mistrust his own
religion.
Alamsah, an influential Government secretary, who
was a native of the old Mohammedan kingdom of Men-
angkabau in Sumatra, was a Mohammedan but, in spite
of his high-sounding name (" Alamsah," Arabic for
" Lord of the World "), he was a simple soul. Some
years before I Icnew him, he had chanced to live at a
Mission station and had sometimes slipped into Church.
He had seen with his own eyes that the Christian doctrine
was by no means such a terrible thing as the Mecca pil-
grims said. Every morning he saw the children pouring
into school from the Heathen-Christian villages and it
impressed him. He had also attended Christian wor-
ship, and he had seen with his own eyes that the des-
pised Christian doctrine did make something of the
people. So this Mohammedan had himself advised his
prince to have a missionary. He was a remarkable man
T
274 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
and was for years one of my friends. He could not
break with Islam for his father would have cursed him if
he had become a Christian ; but he was always friendly
and ready to help us.
Islam, therefore, does all in its power to combat the
Christian elementary school. At first the Christian
teacher is sorely put to it by the crafty Moslem propa-
gandists. They try to expose his ignorance before the
common people by cunning questions : " Where does the
human voice come from ? If you will become a Moham-
medan I will tell you." " Why is polygamy forbidden
with you ; David and Solomon both had several wives ? "
It is no use to argue ; when they are beaten they get
angry and say to the Christians : " You say that because
the missionaries have told you so."
Things soon change, however. The Mohammedan
teachers may be feared, but they have a bad reputation
on the whole. When a poor person dies, one of the lower
teachers goes to the house, for every one knows there is
not much to be raked in there. But when a rich person
dies, they dash into yellow silk coats and swarm to the
house of mourning. Many a Mohammedan has gone
to considerable expense and had several teachers and
yet learnt little ; at every point it is a question of money.
Money is the pathway to Paradise.
The Mohammedan teaching profession is self-seeking.
The very bond between teacher and chief makes the
teaching profession hated. Schiitz, a missionary in
Sumatra, writes : " On the whole the Mohammedans are
disillusioned and many go on with Islam as if it were a
burden, like the Government statute labour to which
they are forced by some higher authority, namely, the
Mohammedan head chiefs. There are many Moham-
medans who would like to come to Church, were they
not kept back by false pride before their friends. Only
the other day the first malim in this district gave his own
niece to a Christian as wife and she was, of her own free-
will, publicly married in Church. In the meantimCj
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 275
of course, no one ventures to oppose this two-fold
lordship ; they are at its mercy."
The Mohammedan teaching profession fleeces the
people. It has learnt that at Mecca. A hadji came
back from pilgrimage to Padang in 1898, discarded his
pilgrim's dress and exposed the corruptions at Mecca in
a Malay newspaper. Such things for the most part
make but little impression upon the Mohammedan ;
they are too well accustomed to them. Where, how-
ever. Christian Missions are known, people begin to
prick up their ears.
Discord reigns in Islam. The teachers in the Dutch
East Indies have many doctrinal differences. Moham-
medan Christians, on the other hand, are always empha-
sizing the fact that Missions have brought one Gospel and
one kind of preaching. Whether one goes to Church in
the far north of the Batak country, or in the south, but
" one way to life " is preached. (What a warning to us
Christian Missions to be mightily at one !)
The lack of moral qualifications in the Moslem teacher
becomes very apparent in contrast to those of our Chris-
tian helpers. The difference strikes even the Moham-
medan : " his teachers may be clean in person but their
words are very dirty." Moreover, it is a case of vita
clerici, evangelium popiili, " the life of the priest is the
people's Gospel." The question is how do matters stand
with Islam as a whole ? Many a father complains that
the teacher has not a good influence : " The higher his
standing the more magic he knows, and that makes him
arrogant. The young men are ruined to whom they
teach these things."
Also the tutelage exercised by the teacher now bears
its penalty. In his intercourse with Christians, the
Mohammedan realizes his inability to defend his faith.
That Christians demand a long time of preparation
keeps back many Mohammedans, but in time they come
to recognize that this gives the Christians an advantage
over them. _Many Mohammedans, therefore, avoid dis-
276 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
cussions or they answer Christian questions with ridicule,
but they are bound to admit that the Christians can give
" a reason for the faith that is in them," whereas they
cannot. If a Moslem appeals to his teacher he is told
" so says the Koran," and that is the end of the matter.
If he appeals to the Christians, for example, concerning
the laws about food, he learns that God also created the
swine and that He cannot curse what He has created.
That is so simple ; it is really unanswerable. The
Mohammedan at once realizes the difference : the Chris-
tians are instructed ; he has gone on without thinking.
In the course of a conversation with the elder John,
a Mohammedan teacher asked : " Why do Christians
lay aside their head-cloth when they eat ? " John did
not very well know what to say ; he had never thought
about it before. At last he said : " The head-cloth is
the clothing of our heads. As long as men did no sin,
they required no clothing. Our clothes are to remind us
of that fact. In those days men were as innocent as
children ; only when man fell did he require clothing.
Our prayer to God is that He would forgive us our sins and
wash us thoroughly so that we may again become as inno-
cent children. We think of that when we lay aside our
head-cloth." The malim could give no reply, but he
said : " Listen, John, be sensible and become a Moham-
medan. You will at once become a great teacher, for
you know what our cleverest malim do not know, nor even
our pilgrims."
Christian Fellozvship and the Moslem Community. Two
thoughts have won the depressed races over to Islam ; the
hope of protecting their hereditary nationality from the
all-conquering European, and the expectation of forcing
an alliance with the power of that international com-
munity which dares to set the European at defiance.
The Moslem, who has not come into contact with Chris-
tianity, lives under the delusion that, from this point of
view, Islam has actually fulfilled these hopes for his
people. In reality, however, it is not Islam but Chris-
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 277
tianity which sets nationahty upon a firm basis. Islam
deals very roughly with nationahty. It has no respect
for ancestral customs. The Moslem propagandist allows
himself liberties with women which are unheard of
among the heathen. The vicious Mohammedan youth
is glad enough that the bounds set by heathen customs
are removed ; this is exactly what attracts many a
young man to Mohammedanism. Many an unhappy
husband is quite pleased that he can procure a divorce
so easily and many a voluptuary rejoices in being able
to enlarge his harem with concubines. Very differently,
however, is such licentiousness regarded by the injured
parties ; they at once realize how much better a state
of matters Christianity brings about in not allowing any
of these things. In Java many women refuse to remain
Mohammedans because they can, as Mohammedans, be
divorced at any moment and must endure the presence
of secondary wives. The Mohammedan observes that
Islam removes the control exercised by ancient custom,
without introducing anything practical in its place.
Once the prince has to pass through the experience of
the Mohammedan propagandist sidling up to even the
women of the princely clan, and once a father sees his
newly-married daughter divorced by his son-in-law for
no reason whatever, they realize how much better is the
strict discipline of the Christian community. On this
point they perceive that Christianity is certainly a better
protector of their old nationality than licentious Islam.
Islam tramples native custom ruthlessly under foot.
It seeks to enforce its ideas of law at the expense of
common use and wont. Doubtless this is sometimes
convenient and falls in with the devious ways of the
chiefs ; but once they have themselves had their rights
intrenched upon by the new customs, their desire for
the old days to return awakens. They have been de-
ceived. They wished to protect their nationality ; but
they have lost it. Small peoples are merged in the great
Malay race. Christianity preserves more of the old
278 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
order of things than Islam. The Christian eats the same
things as his fellow-countrymen ; he respects the old
common law, the tribal system. Only when truth and
righteousness are abused does the Christian feel aggrieved ;
for example, the Christian refuses to enforce the old
harsh native law which takes from the widow all that
she has. But he does not ridicule the old common
law ; he appeals to God in all seriousness.
That Christianity, which of course has been intro-
duced by Europeans, the ruling nation, should have such
regard for his old nationality makes all the deeper im-
pression upon the native, because Christianity has
always been represented to him by Mohammedans as
something foreign, European. He has been told that
it is simply a means whereby the ruling nation may hold
the people in firmer control, " We, on the other hand,
the brown people, bring the religion of the brown man,"
say they. Yet in reality this falsely maligned Christian-
ity deals more considerately with ancient custom than
Islam.
Doubtless, it deals correctively, yet its religious teach-
ing actually fosters national feeling, it does not repress
it. The very attitude of Christianity towards language
shows this. The Christian missionary translates the
Bible into the vernacular. He uses no foreign Arabic
words in preaching, but, as far as possible, only expres-
sions from the old native language. The laborious lan-
guage study of European missionaries is peculiarly fruit-
ful ; it clearly shows the native how much trouble the
European will take to learn his language. All this
convinces him that Christian teaching really wants to
preserve his national characteristics.
He is, therefore, bound to admit that Christianity does
not bear a distinctly European character. Rather, it
reconciles the coloured race and the white race ; it
bridges over the gulf between them, the bond being their
common faith, their common Bible. Europeans and the
coloured race work side by side in the Christian com-
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 279
munity. The five hundred native helpers in our Batak
Missions are an overwhelming proof to the Mohammedan
that the European has no intention of destroying old
national characteristics. Distinction between white
man and brown cannot suddenly vanish. Everywhere
in the Christian community the European still takes the
lead. Nevertheless, over and above what divides them,
they have fellowship. Christianity binds the peoples
together without obliterating their distinctive character.
Racial difference abides, but its hateful unlovely sting is
lost. They are one in Christ.
In one of his evangelistic addresses in Java, our helper
Laban said : " Christ came to make men brethren, that
is why you see us consorting with the Dutch ; it is not
because we have become kafir, unbelievers, but because
all peoples and all races of men who believe with us in
Christ are united in Him."
Just because his intercourse with the European has
made the native realize that he is his inferior, it means a
great deal to him that the superior race should seek to
raise the inferior to its level. A rise in the social scale
was what he sought in Islam ; because he wanted recog-
nition socially, he became a Mohammedan, To attain
this desire, however, meant giving up his nationality,
becoming a Malay and observing Arabian customs as far
as possible. Islam's social betterment is not to be com-
pared with that which Christianity affords.
The white Christian's attitude towards the native is
that of the affectionate teacher. He does not take ad-
vantage of his racial superiority to victimize the native,
he seeks to serve him. The superior race assumes
responsibility for the inferior. This is the Christian
solution of the racial problem.
The Fellowship of believing Chfistians. The Moham-
medan sees that foreign Europeans are behind the mis-
sionaries, making great sacrifices, year in year out, to
establish Christian fellowship with his people, entirely
foreign though it may be to those same Europeans. Our
280 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
missionary giving makes it clear to the Mohammedan
world that there really is active, devoted, persevering fel-
lowship in the Gospel. The native Christians rejoice in
the recompense for their leaving the Umat Allah (people of
God), as the Mohammedans call themselves, which they
find in the great fellowship of the disciples of Jesus Christ
in other lands. In conversation with foreigners on the
coast, such as Chinese and Indian or Japanese merchants,
the native learns that there are also missionaries in their
countries.
There is no real counterpart to this in Islam. For
what is the use of there being so many rich Mohamme-
dans in the world ? They are very good at receiving
money, as one learns at Mecca. But they have never
yet given any for the Mohammedan people here in the
Archipelago. The fellowship of Christian believers here
challenges Islam with a fact which cannot easily be set
aside. Christian worship also, with its congregational
singing and prayers, with its order and peace, shows the
Mohammedan that there is a fellowship of active members
forming a single whole. Thus Schiitz of Sumatra writes :
" Many Mohammedans are wavering here. Our village
Church is on a high-road where they pass up and down
every day. They, therefore, see many of their own
people attending our services, they hear our bells, our
cornets and our singing, their children actually attend
our school and, unconsciously, carry many a good seed
home with them. There are also many Mohammedan
families where at least one member is a Christian, as for
instance, the son of the priest in our village. Also the
funerals here are conducted with due ceremony. In the
house of mourning there is singing and an address ; and
not a few Mohammedan relations accompany their
Christian dead to Church and from there to the grave,
where they always listen to the word of God and hear the
Christians' hope."
Christian fellowship is thus rendered a visible fact by
the organized community with its institutions and
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 281
ceremonial observances, much as all these may leave to
be desired from our European point of view. Every
Christian wedding seems greatly to attract the Moham-
medans. Many friends and relations will be present on
the occasion. A Mohammedan once said to his neigh'
bour : "A Christian wedding like this is really a wed-
ding." Van Hasselt reports that in his district of
Angkola in Sumatra, Mohammedan girls are quite ready
to become Christians if they marry Christian young men.
A Mohammedan village magistrate told this same mis-
sionary that girls frequented the neighbourhood of the
Mission Station of an evening to hear the Christian young
people singing. Poensen again tells of a man who had
been seeking a religion or an " ilmu " (magic) for years,
which should give his heart more peace than his religion
hitherto had done. Father and son resolved to pursue
the search. One day this man met Poensen in a church
where he was attending a wedding, and the ceremony
made such a deep impression upon him that he determined
that very day to become a catechumen ; he attended
the usual Bible readings and spent the night with a
Christian to study the Scriptures more thoroughly. All
this binds the community into a living whole. The only
institution which really gathers the Moslem community
together is the Friday service. It excludes women and
children. The Christian community is really a family.
When a death occurs some of the elders visit the bereaved
and speak comforting words to them, the school-children
sing to them of the Resurrection hope. The Mohamme-
dan teachers' only concern is their fee and the funeral
feast.
There is a great attraction in membership in a body
for a people which has always been communistic.
Among Mohammedans one is continually confronted
with the fear that, as Christians, they will not be gathered
to their forefathers ; underlying this there is the heathen
conception that the family tie is the strongest in the
after life. In view of this, it is the duty of Christian
282 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
missionaries to strengthen the unity between members
of the same faith, so that the native's great need of
spiritual support may be satisfied. Here hes the import-
ance of the Native Christian Church. Despite some
lamentable dissensions, a spirit of peace rests upon our
congregations. The Moslem sees this. He knows the
distraught condition of the Mohammedan conmiunity
better than we do, for we have the Church of the Apostolic
age as our ideal. The sharp contrast between that ideal
and Islam binds Christian believers together in a way
which amazes Mohammedans.
I have the following from a man who was formerly a
Mohammedan : " I found no peace in Islam. I found
no love reigning there, only ill-will and jealousy. Then
I took refuge with the missionary. In the first instance
I only wished to make a trial of Christianity, but when I
became interested in Christianity my former fellow-
believers presecuted me with such hatred that I attached
myself more and more closely to the missionary."
The reality of this fellowship between Christian
believers, which bridges over racial differences, stands
out in strong contrast to the Pan-Moslem utopia, of
which many airy hopes may be entertained but which,
at the moment, serves no practical purpose. The
Mohammedan soul thus loses hold of the Pan-Moslem
idea. Contact with Christianity robs it of its indis-
tinct and, therefore, so deceptive radiance. The Chris-
tian has an equivalent for these world-embracing hopes
in the communion of saints. This is no mere chimera of
the Christian brain ; Missions bring it visibly into
action, making it apparent even to Mohammedans.
The Pan-Moslem hope shows no prospect of fulfilment ;
every year makes that more and more evident. Chris-
tian European culture, which is percolating through the
Mission School to the lower classes of the people, does its
part in more and more undermining the fantastic hopes
of the Mohammedan. They have no foundation beyond
the glowing descriptions perpetually on the lips of the
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 283
Mecca pilgrims ; these men have no doubt seen the
spiritual fellowship of Moslems at Mecca, but so far it
has borne no fruit in the Dutch East Indies.
Christian Missions, and of course not they alone, but
equally so many Government measures imbued with
the Christian spirit, drain off the waters feeding the
Pan-Moslem movement ; they show up the European
in a new light. Common hatred for their conqueror
bound the nations together in Pan-Islamism ; the love
which the European offers in his Christian missions
loosens this bond and binds the soul of a Nature people,
with fresh cords, to the foreign conqueror.
The cleansing of Mohammedan fanaticisrn. We do
not thereby imply that living Christian faith and love is
always the means of the Mohammedan's conversion.
On the other hand, contact with living Christianity is
not without its own value. The influence of the sun-
rays of Christian love and evangelical faith displays itself
among the Moslem population in the softening of its
hard judgment upon Christianity. In Sumatra one
observes the change from the fact that the Moslem recog-
nizes Christianity as also a religion.
However trivial this change of attitude towards Chris-
tianity may seem to us, it really implies success on our
part which is full of possibilities. To my mind, it
accounts for most of the conversions we have seen in the
last few years. In so far, namely, as Christianity has
lost the odium of not being a religion, the aversion of the
Mohammedan for Christianity has, to a large extent,
vanished. Arabs in Mondowoso (Java) have even said
of Von der Spiegel : " The missionary is no kafir. He
is our friend. His medicine and his prayers are potent
for our sick." A father, who does not want to refuse his
daughter in marriage to an otherwise desirable Christian
suitor, can now console himself with the thought that
Christianity is also a religion. A father, whose son has
become a Christian in our Christian school, no longer
says : "I must curse my son," for after all he also has a
284 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
religion. How often I have heard Mohammedan rela-
tions of our scholars saying such things. People are,
therefore, no longer afraid to send their children to a
Christian school. Many acknowledge that the Christian
will also go to a Paradise (" surgo "). Here we have the
distinct impress of the Christian life upon the soul of the
Mohammedan. Men like the Christians cannot possibly
be damned.
This is extraordinarily encouraging for Christian Mis-
sions. It means more than the numerical increase of
baptized converts. Our hope for the future is based on
this kind of thing, because it means that Islam is being
driven from the offensive to the defensive. It must
defend itself. It is obliged to furnish the proof of its
being the one and onlv true religion. And how is it to
do that ? It cannot fall back upon its history ; that is
unknown. It cannot appeal to the Koran for that is
unintelligible, and where it is comprehensible, it cannot
compete with the Christian Bible. Islam, on the offen-
sive, is as turbulent as it is weak on the defensive. It
lacks any firm vantage ground.
The significance of this change of attitude is more far-
reaching still. It enables us to gauge the extent to which
that characteristic feature of the Mohammedan life of
faith, fanaticism, is being cleansed by Islam's coming
into contact with living Christianity, through Christian
Missions. We must exercise due caution in handling
this subject. For Colonial Governments are continually
laying restrictions upon missions to Mohammedans lest
missions incite Mohammedan fanaticism. In missionary
circles too, people are always saying that fanaticism
renders all the success of missions to Mohammedans
illusive. Where, however, are the central proofs of it ?
Missionary experience in the Dutch East Indies shows
that, year by year, we are winning the confidence of the
Mohammedans more and more, and are gradually
overcoming their antipathy for us.
This appears not only in the friendly relations which
UNDERMINING OF MOHAMMEDAN FAITH 285
exist between individual missionaries and individual
Mohammedans ; it is also proved by the fact that over
and over again in Java, Borneo and more particularly
in Sumatra, Mohammedans have given contributions in
money or labour to Church buildings, schools and even
to missionaries' houses, where they have been built by
the Native Christian community.
The irreligion of many Europeans may have given the
impression that Christians are really hated kafirs ; but
the Christian Mission which has brought the Moham-
medan into touch with believing Christians shows how
false that prejudice is ; it compels the Mohammedan
to acknowledge that the Christian is also a man who
serves God.
In the Dutch East Indies, missions have also roused
Islam to action. Just as we speak of a reviving influ-
ence exercised by the Protestant Church upon the Roman
Catholic Church, so also Evangelical Missions can be
shown to have shaken Islam from its lethargy. One has
the impression, for instance, that Islam is more alive on
the west coast of Sumatra,where it is fighting in competi-
tion with Christian Missions, than in Eastern Sumatra,
The same is to be observed in Java. Nevertheless, in
such cases we find not so much a more intense hatred
against Christianity as more zeal in their own ceremonial
observances. Momentary ebullitions of bad feeling there
certainly are, especially when we have conversions. " If
I did not know I should myself be put to death for it,"
said a Mohammedan in Java to one of his relations, who
had been converted to Christianity, " you M^ould not
leave this house alive, you wretched dog of a Christian ! "
Yet the attitude of the people, as a whole, is milder.
We also see the effect of this in the political sphere. The
Christian communities have often been like oil upon
troubled waters when a population has been roused by
Pan-Islamism.
The Christian communities, which are the fruit of
mission work in Java, have not only caused no distur]>-
286 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
ances, but they have served as a protection against the
extravagances of Moslem fanaticism. The good influ-
ence of the Christian communities has, therefore, repeat-
edly received official recognition. On March 31, 1891,
Graf von Limburg-Stirum told a meeting of Dutch
Colonial officials that " for years the policy of the Dutch
Government in the East Indies had been influenced by
the fear that the spread of Christianity might arouse the
fanaticism of the Mohammedan and, thereby, make
difficulties for the Government, but that this short-
sighted fear is gradually vanishing in influential circles
and is being more and more replaced by the very opposite
opinon that, for purely political reasons, no obstacle
should be put in the path of missions." At the same
gathering Herr Canne, the Governor of the West coast
of Sumatra said : "I have not observed that the preach-
ing of the Gospel in those districts which have been most
fully Islamized, such as Pakanten, Angkola, Sipirok and
Siboga, has ever given rise to disturbances. Even the
nomination of a Christian as Chief Justice in Padang
Sidempuan was accepted without a murmur on the part
of the Mohammedan leaders." When a new tax was
imposed in 1908 there was a rebellion in Southern
Sumatra. In the Batak country even the Mohammedan
districts remained quiet, and officials in high position
attributed it to the influence of our Mission.
Chapter III
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL
CONVERSION.— We have every right to call the
Mohammedan's going over to Christianity " con-
version." The heathen who becomes a Mohammedan
does not experience conversion, he simply makes an
addition to his old Animistic stock of ideas, and if the
Gospel demanded no more than that of the Mohamme-
dan, conversion would be an easy matter. Assimilate
a few Christian ideas, adorn the Moslem system with a
few ethical trappings from Christianity, why not ?
Animistic heathenism has a strong tendency to syncre-
tism, Islam still more so. Christianity requires the com-
plete demolition of the old house ; it does not merely
wish to give it a new more elaborately decorated fa9ade.
All things must become new. There must be a new
birth, there must be a new man. That is our gigantic
task. This is the work of the spirit of God.
For every conversion means a miracle, a process, that
is to say, which we can only account for up to a certain
point. The Divine working is beyond our comprehen-
sion.
I am not going to enter here into a description of our
baptized Mohammedan Christians. We cannot associate
particular inward experiences with particular groups
of Christians, saying that our catechumens have reached
such and such a point, and our baptized converts such
and such another. There are Mohammedan Christians
in our congregations who have as yet no great measure
of Christian experience, they have become Christians
287
288 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
because they have been disappointed in some way in
Islam. They draw comparisons between Jesus and
Mohammed and that is their ground of faith. On the
other hand, there are some who may not have been bap-
tized and yet who know that Christ is the revelation of
God, or that He has reconciled us to God, or that He
brings man into communion with God ; one of these
truths will have come home to them, they now believe in
Jesus.
The conversion of the Mohammedan is the work of
God, no set process. He overcomes the obstacles.
Every conversion is, therefore, a victory for God. God
reveals Himself to the Mohammedan through the Son.
Only through the Son does the Mohammedan come to the
Father. The Mohammedan surrenders himself to the
Son, the Son takes possession of his soul instead of the
Prophet, He is born within him ; He leads him to the
Father ; the Lord of the Prophet yields place to the
Father of the Son. How does it come about ?
As we have seen, the Mohammedan's attention is
attracted in the first instance to those who have com-
mitted themselves to Jesus' guidance, who have been
made new men by Him, endowed with new powers, in
whom, that is to say, the Son has begun to be formed.
They point him to the Gospel, " the Word of God,"
because it is there that Jesus has revealed Himself to
them.
The Mohammedan approaches the Scriptures in the
first instance with the same premises as he does the
Koran. The Christians' book is a book of God in the
same sense that the Koran is the Moslem's book. He is
accustomed to an appeal to a book, for his Mohamme-
dan teacher was always appealing to a book. " How
do you know, teacher, what you are teaching me ? " he
asks and he receives the answer : " Out of the Koran " ;
and if he questions further, he is told that " God has
caused the Koran and the Scriptures to enlighten the
hearts of pious men." (This of course is not essentially
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 289
Moslem.) So Mohammedans are accustomed to the idea
of revelation and it no longer impresses them.
Revelation is a decolorized idea in Islam. As a matter
of fact, any one can receive a revelation ; it is merely a
mark of special favour which God now and then gives
to the believer. " Did Jesus write the New Testament
Himself ? " a Mohammedan once asked me. " No, but
His disciples wrote accounts of Him." " Oh, then, what
we know about Jesus can hardly be very accurate," said
he ; " the Koran is a book direct from the hand of God."
The New Testament, in the opinion of that Mohammedan,
was on the same level as the rest of the teachers' books.
" The Christian's book " is only of interest to Mohamme-
dans because it speaks of the power they have seen at
work in Christian believers.
Then, however, the Mohammedan has a certain experi-
ence : the story he hears gives him a coherent presenta-
tion of Jesus. In the first place, He is a man like our-
selves. His human characteristics. His tears and His
rejoicing with men. His hunger and thirst. His weariness
and sleep, every one can understand. Is it not, however,
surprising that this man Jesus should occupy the posi-
tion He does among Christians ? What is there especi-
ally about Him ? Is it His supernatural power ? Cer-
tainly every human characteristic in Jesus is marked by
something which is not of this world. His human
weakness is coupled with a Divine fulness of power ;
the Jesus, Who but a moment ago was asleep on a pillow,
commands the storm ; the Jesus Who cries : " I thirst,"
opens the gates of Paradise. The Mohammedan is not
surprised by the supernatural in Jesus. He expects the
Prophet to whom the Christians pray will be also possessed
of supernatural powers. What does overwhelm the
Mohammedan is the fact that this Jesus draws near to
him as a man. He looks into the heart of this wonderful
man. He loves this man, Who is the friend of the poor
and miserable. Jesus is born within him.
Now the objection may be raised that the ordinary
TJ
290 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Mohammedan-Christian does not understand the content
of the Scriptures, even when they are translated into the
vernacular ; and no doubt the Epistles, for instance, are
not understood at first by the Mohammedan-Christian.
This is, however, only an apparent loss. He learns to
laiow the contents of the Epistles from keynote sen-
tences, there is a gradual crystallization of his soul round
the kernel, the historical figure of Jesus Christ. The
kernal is found in every heart, the crystalline formation
varies with the individual. Little as he may understand,
it may be no more than a couple of Bible stories, how
clearly and intelligibly the word of God speaks to him,
at all events in comparison to the Koran. An image of
Jesus is impressed upon his soul which occupies his mind.
The Mohammedan does not stop there, however. As
he becomes possessed of Jesus, the Prophet Mohammed
loses interest for him. Jesus is mightier than Moham-
med, His gifts are greater than those of the Prophet.
He is a better leader, He is more than a Prophet. What
is He ? Mohammed was a mediator ; if Jesus is more than
a Divine mediator, if His works are greater than those of
Mohammed, who then is He ? The Christian answers :
" He is the Son of God, He came down from heaven.
What is wonderful in Him is the power of God, the mar-
vellous love in Him is the love of God. Possess Jesus
and 3^ou have God." Many revolve round this point.
The figure of Jesus attracts them, but they go no further.
Not because they stand before an incomprehensible
marvel, but because they know that Jesus wants them
for Himself alone. They must give up their former com-
panions ; they expose themselves to derision and mock-
ery. They may expect the Mohammedan teachers to
do them what uncanny injury they can. They must com-
pletely break with Mohammed and all the magic and
mysterious powers acquired in his service. To break
with Mohammed means a break with Animism. That
they follow Jesus only, that they give up all practice of
Animistic magicj, is asking too much,
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 291
Will Jesus really be able, unaided, to see His people
through the judgment into Paradise ? Will He be able
to really secure peace for the departed from the spirits
of the grave ? And what if He is too weak to do so,
what then ? What dreadful things might not follow !
It is a fact of which the native is well aware that he
makes a decision for time and for eternity when as a
Mohammedan he gives up Mohammed and as a Christian
he places his trust in Christ.
This dawn of faith in our hearers reminds one forcibly
of the faith of those in the New Testament who decided
to become Christ's followers. The fulness of Jesus'
personality had not yet broken upon them, but it is
surely great faith to set all doubt aside and place firm
trust in Jesus that He will help in time of need, that He
is the One with whom to pass through life. Such faith
is great because it really risks everything. There is a
Christian of Indramaju in Java, called Karta Widjaja,
who knows both the Bible and the Koran and speaks
Javanese, Malay and Soudanese, and who travels up
and down the country inviting Mohammedan teachers
to meet with him and refuting the Koran that he may
preach the Gospel of salvation from the Scriptures.
When his life was once threatened for so doing, he an-
swered : " It is a blessed thing to die for Jesus, I will
faithfully continue to witness for Him."
When the Mohammedan accepts Jesus, he accepts
Him as God. For only in that Jesus is God has He a
greater significance than Mohammed. The Gospel which
preaches Jesus as the Son of God, that is to say, the
message which repels the Moslem in the first instance,
eventually wins its way with him. Every time the
uniqueness of Jesus is disparaged, our message to the
Moslem loses its justification ; because only as the Son
of God is Jesus greater than Mohammed.
Let us now follow the ray of light cast by this new
recognition of Jesus as the Son of God. The moment
Jesus is realized to be God, the Moslem idea of God
292 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
suffers a trenchant corrective. Or rather, a new God,
the Father of Jesus Christ, Who is one with the Son,
takes the place of Allah in the sometime Moslem heart.
This recognition of Jesus is the starting-point for all
subsequent growth in the knowledge of God. The
Mohammedan's conception of God is not affected by the
life of the Prophet. He is simply a mediator of the
Divine revelation. He may be the last of a succession of
such mediators, his revelation is final and complete, but
he himself is not a Divine revelation. But Jesus is.
This gives His life an altogether new significance. The
]\Iohammedan-Christian receives no new doctrine of God
from Jesus, he learns no new attributes of God, Jesus'
words are God's words. His action is God's action : He
is the revelation of God. Islam may have an exalted
idea of the life of Jesus, but it always remains the remark-
able life of a saint, more or less like that of many other
saints who have worked miracles. This brings home the
essential difference between Islam and Christianity to
the ordinary man. The Christian idea of God is focussed
altogether and entirely by Jesus. Only in so far as we
know Jesus, do we know God. In the Son we have the
Father. The Person of Jesus is not the central point
in Islam. Jesus is not the mediator between God and
man, Jesus does not reconcile man to God, He is neither
the Saviour, nor did He die on the Cross. He neither
rose again nor does He intercede for man with the Father,
above all. He is not the image of the Father nor the
effulgence of His glory, which was before the world and
shall be to all eternity. The Mohammedan has no idea
that Jesus' power to work miracles is the power of God,
that the holiness of Jesus is the holiness of God. This
constitutes the revelation which the Mohammedan-
Christian has found in Christ.
Feature by feature Jesus unveils the new image of
God in the mind of the Mohammedan convert. He
is the Omnipotent Lord of life and death, wind and wave,
spirits and men. Jesus' very miracles make the Moham,-
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 293
medan understand for the first time what Omnipotence is.
He reahzes that the Omnipotence of God of which he
has been told by his Mohammedan teachers, is an empty
sham. For spirits, saints and angels share God's rule.
No Moslem has any idea that he may be falling away
from God in making offerings on occasion to spirits or
invoking his various saints. But Jesus has control over
spirits, before Him they lose their power. This exclusive-
ness in God is a new attribute for the Mohammedan.
The worship of spirits may seem foolishness to the en-
lightened Moslem, but he realizes now for the first time
that it is derogatory to the holiness and glory of God.
He has hitherto never thought of magic and the saints
being a reproach to Islam. Jesus shows him for the first
time that the worship of spirits, saints and prophets abro-
gates the worship of God. In Jesus he perceives the
Omnipotence of God in full fruition. He neither knew
nor imagined before that there could be a being with
such power at his command. Now he sees it in Jesus
and in union with Him he has experience of it him-
self, for by Him he is really set free from every possible
power. Faith in Jesus, therefore, banishes spirit wor-
ship ; for the Mohammedan-Christian experiences the
fact that the Saviour is as almighty and ready to save
him to-day as ever He was.
Finally, he sees in Jesus unselfish, yearning love. At
first this is an incomprehensible mystery to the Moham-
medan-Christian. It presents difficulties to him such as
the modern mind finds, for instance, in the miracles.
Miracles present but slight difficulties to him, but he
stands overcome with doubt before the great miracle of
love. Jesus being Omnipotent, as He certainly is, for
He actually makes new men of His disciples, and His
being morally perfect, as no one can deny, makes it
doubly wonderful that He should love men ; because His
love is then neither kindly weakness, which lets thing
go their own way, like the gods of the heathen, nor the
passing ill-will of the tyrant, which can always be tem-
294 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
pered by more scrupulous performances of ritual, as in
Islam ; this love of Jesus is an unwearied effort towards
a certain end. The Shepherd goes about from place to
place to seek and to save, to help and to heal, to exhort
and to admonish, to teach the way of righteousness and
raise up those that fall.
Jesus' activity is entirely determined by love. This
introduces altogether new features into the image of
God. Instead of a God, Who is autocratic arbitrari-
ness personified, there appears the God of yearning
love. This love of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, so grips
the Mohammedan-Christian that Islam's unholy concep-
tion of God completely vanishes.
The love of Jesus is so great, because He Himself is
Omnipotent. This world's mighty men, and among
them the leading Moslem teachers, use their power for
their own ends. The greater their power, the less love
do they show. In Jesus it is the other way round ;
although He is Onmipotent, He loves. His Omnipotence
is at the disposal of His love. Love rules His life. What
good is a living God to man if He is only occupied in
destroying man ? Arbitrary, capricious interference
with human life is impossible in the case of Jesus, because
His actions are controlled by love alone. God is holy
and almighty, and God is love, that is the new revelation
which conquers the Mohammedan.
It is not a mere question of correcting the IMohamme-
dan conception of God. That is a hopeless task ; the
idea is too distorted. An entirely new conception is
formed in the mind of the Mohammedan. The very
name of God scarcely remains the same. Among the
Bataks, we revert to the old vernacular name for God
and once more eliminate the Arabic Allah. The soul
fmds the living God Himself in Jesus.
This accounts for the fact that the life of faith of the
Mohammedan-Christian in Sumatra is Christo-centric.
When they dispute with their old associates, they
always hold up Jesus in contrast to Mohammed.
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 295
What is new for them in Christianity is Jesus, not God.
Doubtless the God to Whom they turn in Jesus is quite a
new God to them ; but He is new because He bears the
features of Jesus Who reveals Him.
" When I consider how these people," writes Schiitz,
a missionary in Sumatra, " were a few years ago fanatical
Mohammedans, utterly closed to the Gospel and alien-
ated from the grace of God in Christ, set upon gaining
seven beautiful women in heaven by their reading of the
Koran, prayer and fasting, and how the conviction has
gradually come home to their hearts, despite all their
prejudice, delusion and superstition, that not Mohammed,
whom they previously worshipped and vindicated, but
Christ is the way, the truth and the life, I am lost in wonder
at the grace of God." As Rajah Obadja of Simanosor, in
Sumatra, lay on his deathbed, we are told he was con-
tinually exhorting his sons who were still Moslems not
on any account to follow the malim but to follow the true
doctrine which came down from heaven. " Only the
Lord Jesus can save you and make up to you all that you
lose by my death." The word " tuhan," which he used
for " Lord," is only applied to God. For men one must
say " tuan."
Most of our Christians do not arrive at their new con-
ception of God by first having their doubts solved about
the Trinity. For these doubts are not their own, they
have learnt them from and repeat them after their
teachers. What difficulty should an old Animist, who
used to believe in a " Trimurti," find in the doctrine of
a Trinity, even in its Moslem guise ? As a matter of
fact, the Mohammedan's objection to the Trinity is not
caused by this dogma being incomprehensible to him.
How many things even less comprehensible does the
Mohammedan believe ! And least of all, does the objec-
tion really arise from any moral scruple on the part of
the Mohammedan, refuse as he ostensibly may to " allow "
God to have a wife. How many serious moral blemishes
there are in the Mohammedan conception of God, and
296 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
who objects to them ? Rather they reject the doctrine
of the Trinity because it alone can prevent Mohammed
from being outshone by Jesus. The objection to the
Christian doctrine of the Trinity, therefore, falls to the
ground the moment the work and person of Jesus gains
a hold upon the heart of the Mohammedan-Christian.
Salvation. — What strikes the Mohammedan most in
the story of Jesus, is His death. Mohammed could also
perform miracles, but his death on the Cross is unthink-
able. Mohammed's death has no significance whatever,
whereas the Gospel story really derives its peculiar
power from the Cross. The Mohammedan-Christian
challenges his old fellow-believers with the death of
Jesus : " What can you set over against that ? " So
important has this fact become to him. The Moham-
medan-Christian sees in the life of Jesus a life of self-
sacrificing love. He had the power to reign. His mir-
acles show that, but He was as a servant, His Cross
reveals that. The death of Jesus, therefore, sets the
seal upon Jesus' labour of love.
The old question, nevertheless, remains, why should
the innocent suffer this terrible death ? This has always
been a difficulty to the Moslem. For only those who
feel the burden of sin understand Jesus' death on the
Cross, and Islam has lulled all sense of sin to sleep. In
this connection, however, the influence of the story of
Jesus is making itself felt. Many Mohammedans are
impressed with the moral perfection of Jesus. His
commandments and His moral behaviour lift Him far
above humanity, even above Mohammed ; no mere man
can have given a commandment such as that which bids
us love our enemies, and the truth is beginning to dawn
upon many that Jesus does not belong to the human
sphere. His commandments run altogether counter to
man's natural inclinations. A young Afghan once asked
Akhund Sahib, a recent convert from Islam : " What
really is the teaching of your faith ? " Amongst other
things Akhund answered : " Love your enemies."
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 297
" Stop," said the Afghan, " that doctrine must be from
God ; our faith teaches us to hate those that hate us,
exactly as every man naturally does. It has never
occurred to a man before to love his enemies. Any one
who teaches that must be more than man. That is
Divine." On the other hand, this contentious people at
once understands Islam's commandment to hate those of
other faiths.
Similarly, all the rest of Jesus' commandments which
require perfect love, purity and truthfulness are taken
as proof of His heavenly origin. All Mohammed's
concessions, on the other hand, are in response to human
cravings and thereby indicate the earthly origin of his
doctrine. The moral laxity, which in the first instance
attracted the heathen to Islam, appears hateful when he
comes into contact with living Christianity.
No more can it be mere man who lives out such com-
mandments as Jesus does. Heedless of human praise,
Jesus revealed the will of God. This runs altogether
counter to the ways of men, it is the way of one abso-
lutely sure of His God. He gives His commandments
in full consciousness of His own power. His tone is not
that of a messenger, but of a King : "I say unto you."
In Jesus there is complete unity of word and deed. As
is His commandment, so is His action. He commanded
men to be meek and He Himself was meek. He was
righteous. He had no regard for what the authorities
said about His words. He not only preached forgive-
ness, He bore with a Judas, He received a Peter back
again.
The Christian community before his eyes helps the
Mohammedan-Christian to understand this height of
morality. For it acts in the same way as Jesus did ;
it exercises discipline, although discipline does not
attract the masses. In so doing, it therefore has regard
for God alone, as Jesus had. It actually has divine
power, which it receives in communion with Jesus.
Despite all the short-comings of the Church of Christ, it
298 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
cannot be denied that missionary and believer alike
strive at least to attune their word and conduct. The
Moslem teacher never has such a thought nor does the
Moslem community require it of him. His ritual is
holy, his Koran is holy, his position as mediator is holy,
but how he lives is a matter of indifference. Too little
is actually known of Mohammed to make it possible to
compare his manner of life with the life of Jesus, and that
even is superfluous. Whether he really did what he
bade others do, no one has ever inquired. Such ques-
tions are raised by those who have come into contact
with the Christian community. The native realizes in
this connection that there really is unity between Jesus
and His disciples and it makes him think.
He learns more about Jesus. He lacks it is true any
understanding for attempts to give historical proof of
the credibility of the story of Jesus. We cannot con-
vince him by historical proof of the credibility of the
story of Mohammed either ; but the story of Jesus chal-
lenges comparison with the life of Mohammed. Jesus,
Who claims pre-existence and union with God, He Who
raises others from the dead, Himself goes forth to die.
Reviled, He prays for His murderers ; He, Who was
mightier than His captors, allows Himself to be taken
captive without resistance. These striking contrasts
in the story of Jesus have overwhelming weight with the
Mohammedan. Where does Mohammed show anything
like this ?
It therefore becomes evident that Jesus is the moral
ideal which Islam lacks, which is not of this world, but
from above. The Mohammedan recognizes the reflec-
tion in Him of the Divine holiness. " He that hath seen
Me hath seen the Father." Jesus, Whom no one could
convict of sin, is the image of the pure and holy God.
Jesus is the revelation of God's holiness. Therefore,
any one who is like Jesus does the will of God. This it is
true does not forthwith deliver a man from fear ; on
the contrary, the life of Jesus in the first instance awakens
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 299
his sense of sin. The life of his Lord, however, reveals
to the Christian what living according to the will of God
means. This brings enlightenment. He is no longer
admonished to perform every possible rite and cere-
mony, to be always undertaking, as the Moslem does,
some new exercise of devotion. His aim is clearly set
before him : to become as Jesus was. He is on a plain,
clearly defined high road. He has no need to seek his
way to the right or to the left, nor to depend on guides.
The Divine life for the Christian does not consist in
keeping a multitude of detached precepts. The com-
mandment of God has been lived before his eyes ; un-
selfish love, serving the brethren, is the new moral
principle which is to control the life of the Christian.
But this is a great demand !
In endeavouring to live according to the command-
ment of Christ, Mohammedan-Christians feel the opposi-
tion of the sinful heart to God. Their soul rebels with
all its might against the unselfish love which Jesus
demands ; their carnal desire finds itself perpetually in
conflict with the purity of heart which He calls blessed.
He knows man ; the native instinctively realizes that.
Jesus calls it adultery when any one looks on his neigh-
bour's wife to lust after her. He says, " he that hateth
his brother is a murderer," even without raising a hand
against him. He therefore knows the innermost heart
of man. It is unbearable.
How easy it is in comparison to obey the Moslem
commandments. Hence the constant complaint of
those who are studying the word of God : " We cannot
bear the burden of the commandment." Many even
refuse to become Christians on this account. Some
external causes such as an illness or persecution, is all
that is needed to throw them into despair and make
them relapse into Mohammedanism.
This very emphasis upon the demand God makes
upon man convinces the Mohammedan at the same time
of the futility of his good works. Islam prescribed a
300 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
multitude of ordinances which the conscientious believer
could never perform. The frivolous could deliver them-
selves from all their sins by payment. The doctrine of
good works has made the Mohammedan self-righteous
and superficial. Luke, a Javanese evangelist, once said
in an address : " You believe that man is unclean be-
cause of sin. When you circumcise a person, you call
that cleansing him from sin, and you make an offering
of a fowl and you think that helps to purify him . Do
you really believe that a fowl, which is worth sixpence,
can take away your sins ? "
They bask in the regularity of their daily prayers ;
they set their hope upon their fasting and their holy
words. But Jesus expressly shows that the perform-
ance of Jewish ritual was of no avail for the forgiveness
of sins. The conflict which Jesus and afterwards Paul
waged against the righteousness of the Pharisees and
against the emphasis they put upon the laws about pur-
ity and food has special significance for the Mohammedan-
Christian. Doubtless many do carry their confidence in
works of merit over into Christianity. We are continu-
ally coming across the tendency in Mohammedan-Chris-
tians to regard Christian ordinances such as the Sabbath,
grace before meat, attendance at Church and especially
Holy Communion as works of merit which God is bound
to reward. And we can easily understand their point
of view. Islam has engraven deeply upon their minds
that trust in human achievement which always finds an
echo in the natural heart of man.
Awetaranian one day put on his green turban, which
is the mark of the Sejids (descendants of the Prophet).
His teacher at first reproved him, but when he heard that
Awetaranian actually was a Sejid, " he always rose at
my approach." Awetaranian was proud of his descent,
" and this my descent was the means in the hand of
Satan of keeping me away from Christ for a long time.
But blessed be the Name of the Saviour Who has set me
free ! "
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 301
The Mohammedan's faith in his own righteousness
breaks down the moment he beholds the righteousness of
Jesus. Kamil, a Turkish Christian, writes : " A deep
feehng of personal indebtedness, a conviction of sin
against a righteous and holy God reveals the worthless-
ness of external works of merit and compels the sinner
to seek a Saviour." What can ritual avail when it is a
case of a sinful heart ? Looking upon Jesus, a man's
conscience awakens. He is then a lost soul. For Islam
has no Gospel of a Saviour. The hearer's heart is open
to the Word of the Cross. The Cross is the way to life.
He begins to hate his sin ; in face of all that, all other
difficulties lose their significance, even the difficulty pre-
sented by the actual fact of the Crucifixion. The Cross
is the ground of his assurance that his sins are forgiven.
Islam set the believer's merits over against his short-
comings, subtracting the one from the other. The
result is uncertain. Who knows whether he has done
enough ? The Cross places the Mohammedan once and
for all on the firm foundation of God's supreme act of
grace.
To the " for you " is added the " freely." In Islam
payment of the tithes and taxes appointed by Moslem
law alone opened up the way to God. Do what he will
man never does enough ; here is a payment which
entirely wipes out his debt. For Jesus pays the debt
with His life ; the bond is torn up. Islam is fond of the
word " representatives." The Prophet and the teachers
are God's representatives. They can therefore receive
what really ought to be paid to God. They may take
our part, they may not. But on the Cross Jesus really
is our substitute ; man does not pay, Jesus freely sheds
His blood in our stead. " Because we have such a sub-
stitute, we are free," says the Mohammedan-Christian.
Paulana, one of our native helpers in Java, writes :
" If one asks a Chinaman how sin is forgiven, he says :
' By good works.' If one asks a Christian who forgives
§in, he says, ' The b]ood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from
302 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
all sin.' The Mohammedans, however, have a different
idea : ' It is Mohammed who forgives man's sins and in
the following cunning way : Mohammed sets his friends
Abubeker, Osman, Omar and Ali to guard the Balance,
the Gate of Heaven, the Bridge and the Door of heaven.
If any one has too many sins, Mohammed shuts the Door
of heaven and carries the dead man across the Bridge.
For God acts in accordance with the will of Mohammed.' "
Islam has offerings which wash away sin. Jesus bears
our sins on the Cross, they are therefore gone, they no
longer oppress us. Jesus' work upon the Cross is merit
in comparison to which all human merit is as nothing.
Here suffers the altogether pure and innocent Jesus,
whose life was all merit.
Whereas the Moslem teacher was quick to threaten
men with the curse that falls on every one who breaks the
law about food, for instance, here is One Who takes upon
Himself, of His own free will, not merely the curse rest-
ing upon the whole human race on account of an indi-
vidual transgression, but all sin. There is no longer any
curse upon him who seeks the shadow of the Cross.
" One thing I beg of you," said the Chief Obadja on his
deathbed, " do not mourn my death as the heathen and
the Mohammedans do. I am not afraid to die. The
Lord Jesus died for me." (" Lord," "tuhan," = God.)
The Cross utterly transforms man's attitude of self-
righteousness towards God. Now he says : " By grace, not
by right." " Talo do uhum dibaen asi ni roha ni Jesus,"
says the Batak, i.e., right has been overcome by grace.
Nevertheless, right does come to its own. These people's
keen sense of right requires atonement for every sin.
In pilgrimage and fasting Islam presented the oppor-
tunity for making atonement for oneself. Here is an
atonement which avails above all others : the shed blood
of the Son of God. Thus the Cross is the surety in
every way of the sinner's salvation.
From the shadow of the Cross the Mohammedan sees
right into the heart of God. God is love, giving Himself
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 303
up for the salvation of the world. The God of Islam has
no concern for the salvation of mankind. God is neither
wrathful against man nor does He love him. Man,
however, will not be satisfied with such an indifferent
God. The anxious soul's need of salvation breaks
the shackles of this cold idea of God. Man longs for
salvation and Islam (=" resignation ") is really a
stupendous effort on the part of man to save himself by
self-surrender. The devout Moslem strains every nerve
if so be that he may perchance succeed in pacifying his
unreconciled, angry God. But what good is it, after all,
if God has no concern for the salvation of mankind ?
In such distress as this the fact of Jesus' Death on the
Cross alone can help the Moslem. It alone can bring
about the complete transformation of the Moslem idea
of God, which is imperative at this point. The Cross
reveals a God, Who gives Himself for man, that is to say.
Who does not wait for man's self-surrender, but Who
reconciles the world unto Himself neither weighing nor
reckoning what man does to obtain reconciliation. The
Mohammedan who grasps this truth is born again,
delivered from the bondage of Islam, with its doctrine
of self-justification and self-reconciliation. A new man
is born, who has a new idea of God, because he now
knows a God by experience Who is a Saviour.
Eternity. — We have seen how much the Mohammedan
is occupied with the thought of the Hereafter. " A
Prophet, a Mecca, a way to Paradise " is the saying which
sums up the quintessence of Islam. The Mohammedan
who becomes a Christian looks out into eternity with
very different eyes. He has assurance. For the salva-
tion which is his through Jesus Christ is salvation for
time and for eternity. Thus the village chief of the
Mohammedan-Christian community at Si Manosar
declared, when the first converts were baptized, that
formerly he had been ignorant of the way of life, but
that now he was at peace and happy because he knew
that the Lord Jesus had washed away his sins in His
304 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
blood, and he besought all his friends also to become
Christians that they might win eternal life.
The Mohammedans say that Christian doctrine has
nothing to say of the life after death. The Christian
does not know, for instance, what happens to the soul in
the intermediate state ; and as a matter of fact the New
Testament seems to give very little information at all
as to what happens to a man in the intermediate state.
The Mohammedan teacher paints a vivid picture of
the terrors of the grave and shows that Islam has received
a fuller revelation from God. The Christian, however,
who has grown accustomed to the simple, natural Gospel
narrative, is no longer impressed by his phantasmagory.
On the contrary, he is attracted by the modest reserve
of the Biblical writers and their hesitation to draw aside
the veil which God has cast over eternity. The flaunt-
ing description of Paradise makes the Christian suspi-
cious. The sensual appeal, which this vision of Paradise
is intended to convey, too clearly betrays its human
origin and dispels the halo of Divine revelation surround-
ing these fantastic pictures of the future life. Whereas,
to begin with, the heathen soul was captivated by this
sensual imagery of a corrupt fancy fostered by the licen-
tious career of the Prophet, it helps the Christian to tear
away the tissue of lies with which the art of human
deception has en wreathed the Mohammedan Hereafter.
Paul, one of our Mohammedan-Christians, was taught
by the santri (teachers) in Java concerning the life after
death that it is uncertain whether God will pronounce
eternal damnation ; man does not know. " A man is
sure only when he hears the word, " Whosoever believes
is saved, because Jesus says so," is the experience of that
same convert Paul.
Such brave humble testimony, so certain of its hope,
is surely indicative of a stronger hold upon the truth
than any of Islam's dissolute descriptions. For the
eternal hope of the Christian clings to Christ. Because
He rose again, because He ascended to heaven, because
THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL 305
He lives and reigns in eternity, the Christian has hope
of a hfe to come with Him.
Soleman, a Mohammedan-Christian in Java, once said
in a sermon : " Ask a Mohammedan if Mohammed
ascended to heaven. He will say : ' Perhaps.' We know
the day of Christ's Resurrection ; for eleven, not only
three or four saw Him. Brethren, Mohammed is in
Arabia, the dead Mohammed is there. Christ, the living
Christ, is in heaven."
Because the Christian hope for the Hereafter is so
bound up with Jesus, it receives cleansing. Because
He is the giver of life, every sensual idea falls away of
its own accord. His purity also sheds undefiled glory
upon His heaven. Because further the eschatological
hope has perfect communion with Jesus as its supreme
goal, the Christian can form an actual idea of eternal life
even here in this life. There is only a gradual difference
between life in eternity and life in communion with the
Risen Lord here in this present world. The Christian
has a clearer conception of the Hereafter than the Moham-
medan, because even now in communion with his Lord
he has some experience of what eternity has in store for
him.
The way to life eternal has been clearly set before him.
His Saviour is his surety of a place in the kingdom of
heaven. The anxious question : " How shall I get to
Paradise ? " is heard no more, he knows the way. The
many ways and means of getting successfully through
the Judgment have lost all interest for him. Judgment
lies now with Jesus Christ ; his Judge yonder is his
Saviour ; close communion with Jesus is all that is
required on man's side to get through the Judgment.
He has, therefore, no further fear for the intermediate
state. It is enough for him to know that when he dies
he commits himself to Him Who has already watched
over his earthly life. The ordeals of the grave have lost
their terror. Has not his Saviour Jesus Christ vanquished
the fear of death ? This brings peace to the heart of the
X
306 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Christian believer. The Mohammedan hope of the
Hereafter brought no peace. The Mohammedan's con-
stant preoccupation with the Hereafter is not the out-
come of bright hope but rather of anxious uncertainty as
to whether he will after all find entrance there. This
so to speak artificial fear of eternity Christianity reduces
to the natural fear which every one has of the life to
come.
Finally, the Scriptures contain many passages which
shed light upon the gloom of eternity. They inspire
the Mohammedan-Christian with the certainty that his
passing into eternity means entering into the joy of his
Lord. Our elder John one day had the following con-
versation with a Mohammedan priest : " Are you a
Christian ? " " Yes." " What a pity ! " " How so ? "
" Well, because you will not go to Paradise. The Euro-
peans have their Paradise here below, but we Mohamme-
dans have still something in store for us. Are you con-
tent with this present world ? Up, seek Paradise ! "
" I certainly am preparing for Paradise, but for that very
reason I became a Christian."
The eschatological passages of the Bible, however,
lay fresh obligations upon the Christian. Above all
things, he must be a faithful, devout servant of his Lord.
This forbids all frivolous dallying with eschatological
imagery such as the Mohammedan loves. A man's
earthly existence is emptied of content by Islam's
eschatological rhapsodies. This is all changed. A man's
eternal destiny lies in Jesus' hand, his duty here below
consists in keeping fast hold of that same hand.
Chapter IV
THE NEW LIFE
THERE is no such thing as slowly gliding over from
Islam into Christianity ; Christianity means a
complete break with a man's old beliefs and principles.
In Pinang Sori, in Sumatra, two Mohammedan priests
went over to Christianity ; as a sign that they were in
earnest, they killed a pig and ate it with those who had
been baptized along with them. They could not have
chosen a more drastic way of telling their old associates
that they had broken with Islam. The more clearly
this new element finds expression in the sometime
Mohammedan's life of faith, the stronger will his faith
become ; because that new element which does not arise
within his own heart, but is given him from above, is a
daily proof to him of the power of the Gospel.
How does this new life find expression ? The new
element is trust in God. Islam had never a word to say
about that. Fear actually forbade it. Moreover, fear
does not simply vanish at the bare assertion that God
can harbour no evil design against the believer because
He is the God of love. The teaching of the Mohamme-
dan priests, whose one aim is to keep men in a condition
of fear has made much too deep an impression on the
Mohammedan mind for that. There is also the voice
of an accusing conscience quickened by an acquaint-
ance with the story of Jesus and His commandment.
The love of God becomes credible by the work of Jesus
upon the Cross. Any one who understands wherein
30?
308 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
that work consists enters into the mind of God. What
is incomprehensible to the Mohammedan there becomes
comprehensible. He simply throws aside the Moslem
conception of God. It is irreparable. He must decide
one way or another ; if the God of the Christians is the
God of grace, the true God, then the God of Islam is a
caricature. Then God is a Father, not merely in the
sense in which the heathen also calls God Father, because
it is God Who " sends men into the world," alike at the
creation and every time a new human being comes into
the world, but He is also the One Who has compassion
upon man and receives him as His child. Slavish
fear vanishes in presence of such a God as this, it gives
way to childlike trust.
The life of every true Christian gathered out of Mo-
hammedanism and heathenism is a strength to the Mo-
hammedan, because what is so new in the Christian is
this same childlike confidence in God. In the native
Christian community the Mohammedans see the proof
of the fact that God's Spirit is creating a new creation.
The native Christian community is not to be compared
with the Heathen-Mohammedan community. No child-
like trust is found there, only fatalism. The Christian
knows he is safe in God's fatherly care. This com-
pletely transforms his attitude of mind, because assured
protection means certain obligations. The Christian
is committed to God ; this does away with the frivolity
of the fatalist. Fatalism makes a man lazy, trust in
God is an incentive to action. Trust makes for freedom,
but at the same time it binds a man to that which has
won him his freedom. And the Mohammedan-Christian
grasps this difference. Paul, one of our converts in
Java from Islam, used in his Mohammedan days to go
about a district infested with tigers unarmed and without
even a stick, because he was a convinced fatalist. When
he became a Christian, he was very prudent, because
he said it was not right for a son, even when living under
his Father's protection, to be careless and foolish.
THE NEW LIFE 309
Thus, the Mohammedan-Christian really is delivered
from Animism. The heathen Bataks are afraid of the
spirit of the new-born child whose mother dies in ehild-
bed. They, therefore, bury such a child with its mother.
The Mohammedans generally leave such children to die
of starvation, because no one ventures to take compas-
sion upon them. But, placing her trust in the Lord,
a young Christian woman soon after being baptized into
my congregation at Sipiongot adopted a motherless
Mohammedan child, although all her Mohammedan
women neighbours prophesied all her own children would
die in consequence. The Christian native is really de-
livered from the fear of evil spirits.
The heathen fled for protection from God to his spirits,
because his God was powerless. The Mohammedan
sought to escape from God, because God is so little to
be counted upon. Now, however, the Cross of Jesus
and His Resurrection has clearly shown that God is not
impotent, like the God of the heathen, but Omnipotent ;
the Resurrection of Jesus Christ proves it. Yet He is
not hyperpowerful like the God of the Mohammedan.
His omnipotence is controlled by boundless compassion,
which empties itself of power for the sinner's sake at
Golgotha. So great is His omnipotence, so great is His
compassion. He is strong indeed to visit with chastise-
ment, but strong also to have mercy. Golgotha reveals
both.
God's plans no longer swing like a pendulum between
exaggerated favour and terrible judgments ; all His
Almighty working is directed to the one definite aim
of serving man. To such an unchanging fatherly God
one may commit oneself with quiet confidence.
Communion with God. — The peace which the soul
enjoys in contact with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is
personal communion with God. It excludes every other
mediator.
If Jesus is the one and only mediator, then it is all
over with Mohammed. For he was primarily of account
310 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
as a mediator. The historical figure of the Prophet
had no attraction for an Animis
not venture to approach God, because his own conscience
is not clear. He cannot bear the light of God's presence
and is continually seeking the shadow of mediators or
the twilight of all kinds of magical religious exercises.
Prayer is, therefore, the test as to whether the Chris-
tian has actually broken do\vn the unapproachableness
of God or not. In communion with God, the Christian
has experience of the fact that he really has gained access
to God. He can call upon God at all times, indeed,
God desires him to do so. He need learn no foreign
language ; every man, be his language never so imper-
fect, may draw near to God. Christian worship serves
to establish communion with God ; the clearest expres-
sion of it is found in the Sacrament. A Mohammedan
priest once said to an elder : " Have you been baptized ? "
" Yes." " No, but really, have you partaken of the
Farewell Supper (Holy Communion) ? " " Yes."
" Well, just tell me please, what does it signify ? " " It
is so to speak an oath to God, and it brings one into close
union with God ; it is something like one of our baskets
for catching fish, within which there is water, and round
about which there is water." " To be so united to God
would be truly like that," said the Mohammedan.
Obedience towards God. — Communion with God pre-
supposes obedience. Despite the Moslem law, the Mos-
lem does as he likes. He does nothing for God's sake.
God is really too far away. Compelled by dire necessity,
he performs some of the prescribed ritual observances ;
otherwise he is the same as ever. " Islam " does cer-
tainly mean " resignation," but only in the positive
sense. The Mohammedan surrenders himself blindly
into the hands of his God, " like a corpse in the hands
of the layer-out."
This entirely suits the Indonesian nature. The
more passive, the more comfortable he is. The Moslem
THE NEW LIFE 319
thus becomes more and more inactive. Passivity kills
his power to think ; he is content that the higher teachers
should possess the knowledge of God. The more passive,
the more devout he is. " If God lets me do bad things,
what can I do ? He can change my heart. To fight
oneself against evil means going against God."
This passivity is the real reason for the low level of
morality and civilization in Islam. These peoples are
a natural hot-bed for it, and yet it is by no means an
irradicable racial characteristic. Their tendency to
slackness can be overcome by the Gospel. The Moham-
medan Christian awakens from his rapturous sleep of-
indolent, pious resignation to God. The Gospel too
demands resignation, but only in the sense that the
redeemed believer must henceforth surrender himself
to his God as His redeemed child. Now really awake to
life, the Christian is the willing servant of his God, who
sets his will, but his free-will, to do the work of God. His
will is redeemed, and thus in the redeemed believer's
will-power finds its full fruition. Man's will does not
die, but unfolds to the life abundant.
The Gospel rouses a man's intellect. He must him-
self know the truth of the Gospel or he will not be able
to hold his own against his former associates ; he must
be able to answer them. He is independent of the
written word, but bound to Christ. His veiy sensibili-
ties were dead in Islam. The God of Islam is indiffer-
ent and disinterested. Hence, the Mohammedan is also
impervious to God. He takes no interest in man
or beast. The slave is not moved by the lot of his fellow-
slaves. But now his sympathy awakens, he and all
men are cradled in a Father's love. Joy in living
awakens within him, he and all men are the work of
God's hands. Pain is no longer stifled in resignation, it is
relieved by comfort. He becomes a man again and lives
for men. The Gospel faces a man with great responsi-
bilities. He spends himself for his family, his village and
his Church, as one called to action and fruitful labour.
320 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Hence, the willingness of many Christians to carry
the Gospel to Mohammedans. Soerio Asmoro, the
hoofddjaksa of Soerabaja, that is a superior officer
of justice in one of the highest positions open to the
Javanese, was a member of a Mohammedan-Christian
family. Although a thorn in the side of his Mohamme-
dan prince, he rose by sheer ability above all his contem-
poraries and conducted unaided the inquiry into the
Gedangan rebellion. He holds meetings in his house at
which he expounds the Scriptures to Mohammedans.
In 1909, Toegondo, a native Government servant (Ad-
junktjaksa), the son of a Mohammedan, went as a native
preacher from Java to New Guinea. The living centres
of Christianity in our mission field are always the fruit
of evangelistic work on the part of our native Christians.
We hear that most of the Javanese, who attend worship
at Indramaju, have been gathered by the Christian be-
liever Karta Widjaja. Individual Christians with some
measure of enlightenment endeavour, quite on their own
account, to spread the Gospel. At Sungepining for
instance, there is a man called Andrew, who often walks
four hours' distance to preach the Word of God in a
tiny village called Si Hodahoda. The Mohammedans
have asked him why he does it, saying : " You are not
paid for it." But he is impelled to take his part in
the great work.
Christianity means a new life. To the outward eye
the transition from heathenism to Islam affects the life
of the people much more deeply than Christianity. The
acceptance of Mohammedan law, for instance the laws
about food, catches the eye more than the Christian's
new life. Yet the changes brought about by the Islamiz-
ing process are only of an external value. Islam scrupu-
lously avoids tampering with the inner life of the heathen
or curbing his carnal desires. Christianity scarcely
touches a man's outward life. Even the polygamist is
only gradually induced to have but one wife. One's
food and drink are the same as before, the change
THE NEW LIFE 321
appears in the inner life of the soul. The difficult side
of the Christian life does not consist in the demand
for any sudden break but, rather, in the duty, which be-
comes clearer to the Christian from day to day, of lead-
ing a life well-pleasing to God ; he can only give up sin
and turn to God by daily becoming changed in his inner
self. Islam, so to speak, introduced certain changes for
the better in the disposition of the wives. Christianity
sets out to introduce a new current of life at the central
power station in the heart of man, which shall equip him
for his new undertaking, namely, his fight against the
sin which is contrary to God's law. This new power is
God's Holy Spirit. It does not merely change some of
men's habits, neither does it suddenly produce com-
pletely new men, the men who are inspired by the Holy
Spirit wage a conflict against sin.
It does not come within the range of my subject to
show how far individual persons are successful in the
fight. It is very easy to sit in judgment upon the Mo-
hammedan-Christian because it is difficult for us, who
have grown up within Christendom, to picture what the
fight against sin means for a Mohammedan -Christian.
Let it suffice to say that there is a real conflict against
sin. This is proved by the number of backsliders who
are much more numerous in the Mohammedan-Christian
community than among Heathen-Christians.
What kind of people do turn their back upon the
Church ? The storm only shakes down the leaves from
a tree which are drawing no more living sap from the
stem which bears them, and we only lose those who have
ceased to have communion with God. They have not
found Christianity to be untrue. The dissatisfied fall
away. People who have lost a law-suit, people who
hoped for a chieftainship and have not received one,
pupils who have failed to pass the entrance examination
to a higher school, finally people who have fallen into
despair about everything as the result of heavy trials.
They have tried Christianity, but it has not brought
322 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
them their desire and they gave it up. For such people,
even if they have unfortunately been baptized, the
Gospel was merely an experiment.
This sort of thing, however, is truly Mohammedan.
In Islam one tries this kind of magic to-day, and that
to-morrow ; if one teacher is no use, one turns to another.
If a man accepts Christianity in that spirit, he discovers
no magical effects from the Gospel. On the contrary,
because he tempts Christ, that is God, God withdraws
further and further away from him. No matter what
may be his profession of Christianity, he has never
received the Holy Spirit. " Many Javanese Christians,"
Paul Tossari, one of our teachers once wrote, " think
they are Christians when they know the creed and the
ten commandments. At first I was the same. By
reading the Holy Scriptures my heart was enlightened."
The Gospel is to some a breath of life unto life, to
others a breath of death unto death ; where the Gospel
has been able to display its living power, the believer
has been filled with new life and is slowly being led on
from victory to victory. Where, however, a man has
gone over to Christianity without being born again, the
old state of death continues, and from that death in
the soul there go forth, in their turn, the powers of death
which ultimately destroy even the semblance of life.
Nevertheless, judgment is consummated upon such
people. They think they can accept the Christian law
just as they submitted themselves to many irksome
ordinances in Islam, without breaking with their old
habits. But Avhat was possible in Islam is impossible
in Christianity. Any one who obeys the command-
ments of Jesus, as law, soon finds he has taken an unbear-
able yoke. Every life is censured, Sunday observance
is made a duty, it is not to be borne ! Even in the direct
extremity there must be no recourse to magic. This
is a bitter restriction ; in times of need pretence van-
ishes, and the hypocrite relapses into Islam.
That there is so much backsliding, that conversion
THE NEW LIFE 323
from Islam only takes place, so to speak, drop by drop
is accounted for by the fact that the living power in
the Christian community, as also in the Christian
Church, is so weighed down by remnants of heathenism,
half-heartedness and unholy living. For the most
part we may leave the European Christians in the
Colony out of account ; they contribute very little
living power and many hindrances ; there is much open
or secret sympathy expressed for anti-Christian Islam.
With all good will in the world the native can see nothing
of the new life in Christ among them.
The number of our converts from heathenism is not
always, as such, a proof of the triumph of the Gospel.
Unconquered Animism, unsatisfactory conduct, gross
sin, deceit and avarice only make the name of Christian
more despicable in the eyes of Mohammedan scoffers.
Relapses are often numerous in the very communities
which have most living power, because the educational
labours of a community filled with the spirit of Christ,
become a heavy burden to those who are merely experi-
menting with Christianity, and they eventually with-
draw. The sifting power of the Gospel manifests itself
in their conscience, in contrast to Islam, which received,
without let or hindrance, a constant stream of heathen
adherents. As they themselves confess, many of these
backsliders go through life, their conscience pricked
by the living seed which was once in them but has been
stifled by the overgrowth of death.
One of our finest Mohammedan Christians passed
through a very dark time for years. One misfortune
followed upon another, and he was exposed to constant
persecution at the hands of his Mohammedan relatives.
At last his wife also died after the birth of a child. He
could not find a Christian wife. His Mohammedan rela-
tions found him a Mohammedan woman. He could
not stand against this great temptation ; he fell away.
He of course received the wife only on condition he him-
self became a Mohammedan. He then wrote his mis-
324 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
sionary this characteristic letter : " The sorrow God
has sent upon me is too great, and the temptation too
severe, I cannot endure. I have become a Mohamme-
dan that I may again have a wife. I have received my
portion from God, hke the Prodigal Son. I will con-
sume it with riotous living. The good seed has fallen
with me among thorns and been choked by them. I
am now a lost sheep, which is lost in the wilderness.
May other Christians not imitate my conduct. I have
not become a Mohammedan because I really consider
the religion of the Mohammedan a good one. I know
that the Lord Jesus is alive and sitting at the right hand
of God in heaven. Five of my people have already
died as Christians. My purpose used to be never to be
parted from them. My prayer now is that master (the
missionary) and his wife would help me to lead my wife
over to Christianity so that I, like the Prodigal, may
return from the far country to God our Father."
Every year many find their way back into the Chris-
tian community, often after many years of backslid-
ing.
Is the Mohammedan-Christian who has passed through
the fire of Islam superior to the heathen-Christian ?
One is inclined to answer in the affirmative. In the
heathen-Christian communities of the Batak country it
is, for the most part, quite an honour to be called a
Christian and a disgrace to be still called a heathen.
Heathenism is sinking more and more to the level of
paganism. Rejoice as we may at this, it does not tend
to purify the Church. The leaders of heathen-Christian
communities sigh under a dead weight of sluggish mem-
bers, of whom they would gladly be rid. The constant
storms, on the other hand, which fall upon Mohamme-
dan-Christian communities, whirl these withered leaves
back again into Islam. Such sifting under the pressure
of Mohammedan surroundings makes for stronger Chris-
tians. Islam forces every Christian to be constantly
taking fresh grip of his personal hold upon Christian
THE NEW LIFE 325
truth. Also the piety of Mohammedan-Christians bears,
on the whole, a truer impress of faith in Christ.
The development of their Christian individuality
suffers, however, from the reflex action of the spiritual
tutelage of the Mohammedan clergy. The Mohamme-
dan-Christian is more inclined than one would wish to
lean on his teachers. It is part of his Moslem heritage.
The desire to cling to men rather than God is deeply
embedded in the Mohammedan. Thus, Christian con-
verts from Mohammedanism have also their own char-
acteristic failings.
The Mohammedan-Christian has indeed a great conflict
before him, he faces a double line of battle. He has
to fight against Animism with its reinforcements from
Islam, and against Islam with the attractive features
it has borrowed from Animism. He must strive against
his specifically Moslem characteristics. The tendency
to legalism does not vanish all at once from the heart
of new converts. They are inclined to see nothing in
the Gospel but a new law. " I have been going to
Church now for eight years," a Mohammedan catechu-
men once said to me, " and my rice-field has not yet
become more fruitful " ; or a man will say : " if God sees
that I go regularly to Church, then He is bound to help
me to get rich."
Neither does the Mohammedan-Christian lose his
slavish fear all at once. By going regularly to Church
he would fain temper God's wrath and purchase His
good will by charitable gifts. When his fear really gives
way, the Christian easily grows presumptuous. He is
inclined to think of God as a weak, kindly father who
grants everything for the asking. He comes to God
importunately with arrogant petitions, and is astonished
when God lays His hand in discipline upon his life ; he
will not admit that God's sovereignty freely entitles
Him to deny our requests. Hence the complaint that
there is but little fear of God among Mohammedan-
Christians. Such people are in great danger of falling
326 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
away. Their arrogance has quenched the Holy Spirit
and they have lost the power to resist the onslaught of
the old spirit. The grace they receive in Christ tempts
them to sin against grace.
Mohammedan-Christians are fond of citing the Prodi-
gal Son, who was eventually welcomed back again, and
on the strength of this story they will expect their every
lapse to be at once forgiven. Such superficiality of
course disturbs their communion with Christ and the
out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, of which the heathen-
Mohammedan stands in such pressing need, can find no
entrance into, nor outlet from, his soul.
For that reason the Last Judgment and Eternity are
not of the same serious moment to the Mohammedan-
Christian as to us. He finds it difficult to understand
that every promise depends upon a certain condition.
The message of the Good Shepherd, for instance, is
precious to him, but he overlooks the fact that the Shep-
herd, just because He is the Good Shepherd, separates
the sheep from the goats. In the preaching of the Bap-
tist, he passes over the word about the winnowing fan
and does not realize that the Lamb of God can only bear
away the sins of the world, because He is possessed of
divine power from on high. The call to repentance,
which accompanies the Gospel, only reaches the Mo-
hammedan heart with difficulty. Its tone is too un-
usual. The foolishness of Mohammedan preaching about
the Judgment has utterly deadened the Mohammedan
conscience to the dread seriousness of God's chastisement.
We find an avowed love of religious phraseology
which, of course, is death to all true Christian life.
Islam trains a man in hypocrisy ; the evil fruits of this
training again mean many a struggle for the Mohamme-
dan-Christian.
However, such comparisons are always rather invid-
ious. Both groups of native Christians have, respec-
tively, their bright and dark sides. At the present
time it is, at all events, a point in favour of the Moham-
THE NEW LIFE 327
medan-Christian community that it is steeling itself to
perpetual conflict against overwhelming odds. Never-
theless, as Moslem propaganda grows more and more
aggressive, the heathen-Christian community will also
have to come more and more to terms with Islam. It
will be a great gain to it spiritually, even although the
shock of the encounter with Islam may cost it some
temporary loss in numbers.
Conclusion. — In so far, however, as these heathen-
Christian Churches, in actual conflict with Islam, are
linked in the closest possible way to the Home Church
by the labours of their European leaders, the missionary
gifts of older Christendom which are poured out on their
behalf, and not least by the loving, sustaining prayers
of Christian believers, this coming to terms between
Islam and Christianity, out there on the horizon, is a
direct concern for us here at home. They are our
brothers who fight out yonder.
We must so preach Christ to the Moslem world that
it shall recognize we have in Him what they, as Moham-
medans, are seeking apart from Him. They are seeking
forgiveness of sins, we have it in virtue of His death ;
they are seeking for mediators, in the risen and living
Christ we have the true Mediator. They cry aloud for
God's representatives, in the God-Man we have Him
Who was of our flesh and blood and yet very God of very
God. He stands in our stead. They toil over a
dead obscure Book from God, we have His living Word,
the Scriptures which bring Christ home to the hearts
of men. They have much to say of the One Almighty
and yet so distant God, we have His plenitude in the
Three in One, Who has drawn near to us in Christ.
They dream of dark powers from God, in us His Spirit
is at work. They long for mystical union with God, in
the Spirit of Jesus Christ we enjoy communion with God
which recreates our life anew. They intoxicate their
senses with the joys of a future Paradise, we know a
world which is above where Christ is.
328 THE ARREST OF ISLAM IN SUMATRA
Will self-satisfied Islam believe our message ? Cer-
tainly not our words. It must see the living power of
the Gospel in us, and in the ever-growing community of
heathen-Christians. In the end it will not be a Christi-
anity which can refute the Moslem's faith in so many
words which will vanquish them, but the living native
Church which will comfort comfortless Islam with her
Saviour, love the loveless Crescent and bear with, suffer
and die, like her Master, for this religion of force. Our
real and complete surrender of ourselves to the service
of the Moslem world, in the strength of the self-surrender
of Jesus, can alone conquer this proud religion which
calls itself " resignation," self -surrender, without the
least idea of what surrender means. For only so will
the all-conquering plenitude of the power of Jesus Christ
unfold itself in us.
Printed by Butler & Tanner, Fronte and London.
University of California Library
Los Angeles
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