In the various occupations he has taken up, the Moslem has not done badly. It is true that his ability has shone out more conspicuously in business capacity and in military service than in literary career. Moslem generals and Moslem soldiers have again and again distinguished themselves by brave and capable service in the cause in which their services have been enlisted. In times of crisis, instances are not wanting to prove that Westerners as well as the Chinese have profited by their brave defense.

It is perhaps worth recording that the beggar-class in China, so notorious for numbers, painful sights, and piteous appeals, does not appear to receive many recruits from Islam. During a stay of several years in a district where the Mohammedans were strong, even in the Moslem quarter, the writer never saw or heard of a Mohammedan beggar.

The Mullas, or Ah-hungs as they are called in China, command as a class our deep respect and deserve our sincere sympathy. It may be some will not be able to quite endorse this statement; however, I cannot qualify it. If we remember the atmosphere in which the Moslem priest has been brought up, the poisonous teaching he has assimilated, the life and example of his prophet, and then reflect on the "why?" and "wherefore?" of Islam, any harsh verdict we may have formed may be consider. ably altered. May I recall the words of one of the earlier veteran missionaries in India? "The Moslem power sprang from the ashes of an extinguished mission`ary fire."

In not a few cases the Chinese Mullas are on very friendly terms with the missionaries. This does not weaken their strong opposition to the Gospel; or as I should say, the Gospel as we believe it. Their inner attitude to the truth will be seen more clearly by reference

to a letter received by the writer from a Chinese Mulla in April, 1910. The letter as translated by a friend in London is too long to reproduce here; but the following extract will serve our present purpose. It was written in the ordinary classical Arabic such as is used in Egypt and the countries around for correspondence. May it lead to renewed prayer, and more loving and practical sympathy with the neglected Moslems in China.

"How can a bat in the darkness of night know the light of the sun in the day? As for Mohammed, the Chosen One, he is the light of the world, and the Koran is the candle pointing to him. After the descent of the Koran, the rest of the books are abrogated, such as the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Pentateuch. Sorcerers such as the Nazarenes, who are ignorant of the truth of the Gospel, and change the copy of the Gospel into folly and untruth and say that Jesus Christ is more excellent than Mohammed, do not know that when the sun of Mohammedanism arose upon the world, man obtained light on the straight way and returned from unbelief and error except the Nazarenes."

The powerful influence the Chinese Mullas exert needs. to be taken into account in considering the evangelization of the Moslems in this land. Their word on matters of religious belief is law to most Moslems. I draw special attention to the following: "The Chinese Mullas look upon every other form of religion, Christianity included, with the greatest contempt." And further: "The Mohammedans in China have implicit faith in their Mullas."

The number of Chinese Mullas who have been to Mecca is not large. Those who have made the pilgrimage once, twice, or as in a case known to me, three times, are held in very high respect and their interpretation of religion is to the Moslem unassailable. The heavy expense, and the harsh treatment received at the hands of

their co-religionists, is strongly spoken of by some who have returned from Arabia. It may not perhaps be generally known that the Emir, or Sherif of Mecca, a lineal descendent of the prophet, and Guardian of the Holy places, "treats the pilgrims with the greatest inhumanity, and those who take the pilgrims round and direct them in their religious ceremonies skin them to the last penny."

Some of the Mullas in China have a pretty good knowledge of Arabic and the Koran. Some of us have tested their knowledge by asking them to translate from Arabic into spoken Chinese passages familiar to us but not so to them; the sarcastic look, the indignant answer showing they had seen through the veiled insinuation, the ready and sometimes fluent response would have convinced any one present that some of our Chinese Mullas know far more Arabic than we have given them credit for perhaps. Those who should be reckoned in this class are not over numerous, but owing to the increase of schools for Arabic, the number is growing. Some of these men receive letters in Arabic from the West; so the followers of the prophet are kept in touch with Islam abroad.

A somewhat larger number of Mullas can read the Arabic Gospels, if they care to do so, which is not always the case, and get a good idea of what is contained therein. But while all Moslems, priests and people speak the Chinese language, few Mullas care to make much use of the written Chinese; they are strongly, and very naturally prejudiced in favour of their own sacred script"our peerless Arabic," as they are quick to point out.

To the Chinese Mulla, as to those in other lands, "the Koran is literally, and verbally accurate; its words being the direct, final, and complete revelation of God to man." That any one should presume to understand or

teach Divine truth without a knowledge of the Koran in the original is, to put it mildly, utterly without reason, and not to be tolerated by the Moslem.

Most mosques have scholarly Chinese to deal with Chinese subjects; education and correspondence are in their hands, but the Mullas are responsible for teaching vital religion. The importance of this question as to the use of Arabic in China cannot be exaggerated.

That Islam has influenced the Chinese for good on moral or spiritual lines, surely none would care to assert. But politically, there is no question of the power that has been and still is exerted. One who has made a lifelong study of China and her neighbours, recognized as one of the greatest living authorities on the Far East, writes as follows: "As to the Mohammedans in China, their influence is everywhere out of proportion to their numbers, showing the effect of their faith. In the northwest and southwest provinces, the Mohammedans have often made themselves felt as a serious political danger, and the government has more than once attempted to blot them out by a general massacre."

While the Chinese have in earlier years feared the growing political power of Islam, and they have had good cause to do so in the rebellions of the past, the Christian Church, alas, has very sadly neglected the millions of Moslems in China. It is only in recent years that Islam in China has been taken seriously by the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the reports of earlier missionary conferences hardly a passing reference can be found to the Mohammedans in China. But in the events of recent years, can we not see the working of our Omnipotent Leader in the clear awakening among His people, and the opening door of opportunity in nearly all Moslem lands?

Although for years not a few of God's children had

been burdened by the thought of the neglected Moslems in China, and had given this subject a special place in their intercessions, the Christian Church had not really taken it to heart. But since the "First Missionary Conference on behalf of the Mohammedan World," held at Cairo, 1906, two facts stand out plainly: (1) Growing interest and a deepened sense of responsibility in the Christian Church, concerning Islam universal; (2) great movements of incalculable portent in the Moslem world.

This manifest awakening among the Lord's children, the Spirit-directed prayer, the unprecedented situation throughout the whole Moslem world, is surely God's clear call to His Church. Has not the time fully come for the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ to enter the very strongholds of Islam? Should His Gospel not be proclaimed, and the Saviour uplifted, that multitudes of Moslems may be blessed? This brings us to a very practical question concerning Islam in China.

The conditions of Islam in China vary very greatly in the different districts; probably no two provinces would give the same report. In some districts there is great stagnation and dense ignorance in Moslem circles. In other districts an entirely different report is presented. I quote two reports; and there are all shades of activity and influence between these two reports found in the Moslem centres in China.

"The Mohammedans here have never been very flourishing since the rebellion when so many were killed, and all that were left were scattered all around the district. They are mostly very ignorant, and there are very few who know intelligently anything about their own religion. There are still some who can read Arabic, but Islam is practically at a standstill. After the rebellion, there was a good deal of intermarrying with the Chinese, and since that time Islam has never been so flourishing."