r by their own native Christian chiefs. In this manner
these communities can gradually become "a salt" and "a light" for their
Mohammedan environment.

Of very much importance in this connection is the action taken by Her
Majesty, our beloved Queen Wilhelmina, who--at the request of our former
Minister of Colonies, the Honorable Mr. Van Idenburg, at present
Governor of Paramaribo, in South America--commissioned the
States-General of the Netherlands to describe and protect the legal
status of the native Christians.

By reason of this our Christian converts can now claim at least the
right of existence, and even the native Christian woman can obtain that
justice before the law to which she is entitled.

XXIV

THE MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN OF MALAYSIA

Malaysia comprises the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. The latter
includes the great islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes, and
innumerable smaller ones. The one island of Java contains about
three-fourths of the entire population of Malaysia, which is probably
about forty millions. The vast majority of the population are
Mohammedans, but the hill-tribes of the Peninsula and of the larger
islands are still heathen, the Dyaks of Borneo and the Battas of Sumatra
being the most numerous of the non-Mohammedan races. There are also many
hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia, of whom only
one here and there have become Mohammedan.

The principal Mohammedan races are: (1) the Malays proper, who inhabit
the Peninsula, the east coast of Sumatra, and the neighboring islands,
and are scattered to some extent amongst all the seaport towns of the
Archipelago; (2) in Sumatra, the Achinese in the north, and the Rejans
and Lampongs in the south; (3) in Java, the Sundanese in the west, the
Javanese in the centre and east, and the Madurese in the extreme east;
and (4) the Bugis in Celebes.

The greatest success in the conversion of Mohammedans to Christianity
has been achieved by the German (Barmen) Mission in Sumatra, and chiefly
among the Battas, a very numerous heathen race, who have been gradually
won in small numbers to the faith of Islam, probably for centuries.
About fifty thousand of the Battas are now Christians, and many of these
were at one time Mohammedans.

In Java the Dutch have made considerable efforts to convert the natives
to Christianity for three hundred years past, and as the result of this
early work there are considerable Christian co