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HE study of comparative religion is not one half as popular in Great Britain or America as it is in Egypt and the to-day. According to an old tradition which many ascribe to Mohammed himself and most to Imam Esh-Shafi': "Knowledge is twofold, that of material bodies and that of religions." I have often quoted this striking proverb to Moslems in presenting the claims of Christianity. Thousands of Moslems are to-day studying the New Testament and are eager to compare its teaching with that of the Koran. Tens of thousands are compelled by the impact of Western ideas and Christian ethical standards, for example, regarding slavery and the

position of woman, to compare Mohammed with Christ.

It is the missionary's privilege to help them in this study and by tongue and pen to conduct these classes in comparative religion to positive religion and conclusive thinking until they accept Jesus Christ. The printed page is a quiet, forceful, pervasive method in this direction as we may see from the examination of a few leaflets used for this purpose. All of them were prepared last winter and printed at the Nile Mission Press, Cairo. Some have already had a large sale; others are gladly accepted as a gift; and one or two Moslems have taken pains to make elaborate replies-demonstrating to the teacher that the class was paying close attention!

The leaflets on the upper right-hand corner of the accompanying illustration is entitled, "The Beautiful Names of God," and gives under the picture of the Moslem rosary with its 99 beads the Koran passage commending those who meditate on God's attributes. The booklet after a brief friendly introduction gives all these 99 names as Moslems know them, but adds in each case a text from the Old or the New Testament where the same name occurs. Needless to say these passages of glorious revelation can not be matched in the Moslem Bible. There is neither note nor comment to this tract and the inference is left to the reader. A companion leaflet, the one with the rosary arranged in triangular form, takes up the argument for Christ's deity from the same angle. Its title is borrowed and adapted from a celebrated essay by El Shazzali: "The Supreme Aim, the explanation of the beautiful names of the Messiah found in the Koran." After giving these ten names, which all Moslems know but whose significance they do not always realize, the leaflet gives 99 of the names and titles of our Savior with proof texts. The names given in the Koran are as follows: Isa; Son of Mary; Messiah; Illustrations in two worlds; Word of God; Spirit from God; Apostle of God; Servant of God; Prophet of God; Word of Truth. It is easy to see how a Moslem student will be led from these to consider the more definite offices, glorious titles, attributes and Divine character of Jesus Christ in the Gospels and in Old Testament Prophecy. It was not difficult to find more than 99 but we cease with that number as

it has special signification for Moslems in their rosary.

The same attempt to call attention to the heart of our message is made in the leaflet on the right with its question-title, "What think ye of the Christ?" It is for free distribution and contains only Koran texts and three verses from the Gospel.

The picture-leaflet at the top appeared at the psychological moment to secure a wide sale. It is the story of Joseph as found in Genesis and in Surah Jusef of the Koran printed in paragraphs for comparison. If you would see what this means read that chapter in Sale's or Rodwell's Koran and then go back to the simple beauty of the chaste and touching Bible story. This leaflet has a short introduction inviting to an honest comparison of the two narratives in style, content and historicity. It appeared from our press just as the Sunday-school lessons began in Joseph's history and, therefore, Christians as well as Moslems in Egypt entered our extensioncourse in comparative religion and religious documents.

The other picture-leaflet is entitled, "Three Blind Men." After a brief statement that sight is the most valuable sense, that the blind always deserve our pity and that Jesus Christ in the testimony of the Koran and the Gospels opened the eyes of the blind, the three stories follow. The first blind man was called Abdullah bin Um Maktoom and of them the Koran says (surah Lxxx): "He frowned (ie. Mohammed) and turned his back because the blind man (i.e. Abdullah) came to him. But what assured thee that he would not be cleansed by the faith or be warned and the warning profit him? As to

him who was wealthy, to him thou wast all attention: yet is it not thy concern if he be not cleansed. But as to him who cometh to thee in earnest and full of fears, him thou dost neglect."

I then quote Moslem commentators who try to explain this damaging incident in the life of the Prophet and tell how he was sorry for his carelessness and afterward made the blind man governor of Medina. The story of the second blind man is that of Bartimaeus with its striking context and contrast to Mohammed's conduct (Mark 10:42-62). The third story The third story is that of the man born blind, taken as it occurs in the ninth chapter of John's Gospel. Read it once again and imagine yourself a Moslem in Cairo-how it lives and appeals to the reader! The last leaflet of which I give the summary is the one with the Hebrew text of the Decalog on its cover. It attracts attention of Jew and Christian and Moslem alike by its title: "Is there Progress in the Moral Law?" The introduction quotes a tradition regarding Mohammed of whom it is related that Waraka heard him repeat his revelations and said to Khadijah, "This is the law of Moses that I hear." The same Waraka used to read the Gospel in Hebrew." The leaflet calls attention to the fact that Christ and Paul confirmed the law of Moses and that the Koran testifies to the Old and New Testament revelation. Then the reader is asked to compare in four

columns of text; the Ten Commandments; the teaching of Christ interpreting each of these commandments, especially in the Sermon on on the Mount, the Koran texts that relate to these ten moral commandments; and finally the teaching of Moslem tradition regarding the Moral Law. The third commandment, the fourth and the seventh, not to mention others, are striking illustrations in this comparative study how Islam has lowered the moral standard. Not a word is added and no explanation is needed to drive home the lesson of this moral collapse to the attentive reader. Chapter and verse is given for every tradition quoted, so the Moslem must face stubborn facts and draw his own conclusions. If Paul's great statement has not lost its power then we may still expect that by preaching God's holy law we will bring conviction to the Moslem heart, for "through the law is the knowledge of sin."

One of the proofs that there is a new spirit and a new attitude among Moslems toward the message of the missionary is the fact that tracts and booklets such as these are read and even welcomed by Moslems. It is a day for scattering the seed everywhere. God will give the harvest in His own time; already we have the first fruits as promise. Will you pray definitely for the Christian Press in Moslem Lands?*

*Samples of these leaflets will be sent on request addrest to Mr. A. T. Upson, of the Nile Mission Press, Bulac, Cairo.

race, probably of the Quarish tribe. I followed them out of curiosity to the American mission, where they met the missionary, who exchanged salutations with the travelers and then remarked to the sheikh, “I received a letter last night from Dr. H., telling me of your journey from Beirut with your son, and I have been expecting your arrival."

My curiosity was aroused, so that the next morning, when I found the sheikh and his boy going down one of the Cairo streets, I followed them to a certain café. There they met a young man of about 30 years, who saluted the sheikh and his son in a friendly manner. When they had conversed a while, the young man, whose name was Salim, asked the sheikh if he would tell him his story, and how he happened to be in Egypt. The sheikh then thus began his narration:

Early Life

My name is Gharib ibn 'Agib ("Strange, the Son of Wonder"-a nom-de-plume). I was born in a small island off the Phoenician Coast, which is mentioned in ancient history as Aradus. When I was six years of age my father obtained for me a private teacher from another part of Syria, making the condition that I should be taught the principles of reading, writing and other things on my father's own plan of teaching. He was very independent in thought and had a great hatred of social tradition in any earthly work, so much so that his friends blamed him strongly for his hatred of conventionality. To this he would reply "God had given to every man the light of reason by which he should receive guidance on his way. Therefore no man is justi

fied in confounding his own natural reason which was given divinely to him, and following the example of So and So." In spite of all, however, he was entirely a traditionalist in matters of religion, for on that subject he gave a blind submission.

My father soon discovered that I was more like him in the first respect than the second, for I was born with a very strong hatred of this blind. submission in religious matters, even more than in matters of business. When my father found this out he forbade me to read the books of any of those opposed to the Sunna, especially the reviews of religious philosophers and such books as "Al-Milal wan-Nihal."

Salim: Was he able to convince. you that he was right in this?

Sheikh Doubtless, for seeing how much he hated tradition and conventionality he did not allow me to imitate him in any judgment without argument and reason, altho, as a matter of fact, his excuse for pro-. hibiting my reading was exactly the very mistake that he wished not to fall into. For blind submission to one who is not preserved from error is itself an error.

For instance he would say, "We Sunnites are naturally followers of the four Imâms, for their texts are with us, and the Sunnites from the fourth century (A.H.-year of the Hejira) onward not being able to discover any new schemes by which to extract religious judgments from the origins, namely the Koran and the Hadith, we are obliged to follow the four Imâms (or rather, one of the four) as they prohibited the reading of books opposed to their views for fear of heterodoxy.