J The Crescent
j •
lÊ «
Famous Mohammedan mosque at Kano, Africa. Photo by the author.
million dollars. The British have re sorted to all sorts of conciliatory meas ures and compromises with the Mus lims in Northern Nigeria, just as they did with the Muslim sultans of Malaya. This famous mosque is an ignominious monument to England’s policy of appeasement which has more than once, been detrimental to the cause of the Gospel. Like a white lotus emerging from its murky pond this beautiful mosque rises above the expanse of red mud huts that surround it. Its twin mina rets and blue-green dome dominate the horizon and command admiration from all who see them. However, someone has said, “The mosque does not exist to be admired, nor is it con structed to dominate the landscape. It exists as an undeniable evidence of the potency of Islam to the Muslim millions—and to all the world.” Gracefully poised at the very top of the tall minaret from which the masses are called to prayer, is the crescent of Islam—enemy of the Cross —the symbol that threatens to take Africa. Where the shadow of the cres cent falls, the most impenetrable darkness to the Light of the Gospel prevails. The Pocket T e s tam e n t League teams have had some remarkable op portunities among the Muslims of Nigeria these past few months. The friendly letter which the League re ceived from the Sarduana of Sokoto,
Islam is the fastest growing religion in Africa. There are 13’converts to the Muslim faith for every convert to Christianity — including n o m in a l Christians. These converts are not al ways from the ranks of the pagans, but many are from the congregations of Christian churches. Almost every Muslim is a self-appointed evangelist. He emphasizes that Islam is the Black Man’s religion, and that Christianity is that of the White Man. Islam adapts itself to the existing situations, often retaining many of the pagan customs, and it is made more attrac tive to many Africans because it con dones plurality of wives. Thousands of Muslim missionaries are being groomed every year. Islam is on the march with a powerful offensive. Its defenses are powerful, too. The ad herents of Islam are jealously guarded from Christian influence. Permits to build Christian schools and churches are very difficult to obtain in the Mus lim North, and in some areas Chris tian pastors have been thrown into prison for preaching that, “Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” The Muslim mosque with its slen der minarets can be found in Africa all the way from the Cape to Cairo. One of the most imposing mosques in Africa is the one in Northern Niger ia’s ancient city of Kano. It was built for the Muslims by the British gov ernment at the reputed cost of one
C h r is t ia n s and freedom-loving peo ple of the world are alarmed at the appalling advances Communism is making in Africa today. The ham mer smashed at the foundations of Truth which Christian Missions have laid at such a great cost in money and lives. The sickle slashes at the very fiber of Christian morals and ethics, repudiating the Cross and its Gospel message. Every social injustice im posed upon the African is capitalized on by the Communists to weaken re sistance to their ideology and to win the hearts of the masses. The greatest enemy of the Cross of Christ in Africa however, is not Com munism, but Islam! (Known to many as Muhammadanism) Their irrevoc able conviction is: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of God.” Some feel that the presence of Islam as one of the leading religions in the world to-day stems from the failure of the church to evangelize Arabia during the first six centuries of the Christian era. Islam is oft'en thought of as the religion of the desert, for it was bom in the heart of Arabia A.D. 610, when Muhammad began to preach his doctrines in Mecca. It spread rapidly enveloping most of North Africa, the Near East; parts of Europe, India, West China, Malaya and the East Indies. Today, ninety percent of the 70,000,000 Indonesians are Muslims.
18
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook Online document