rence such similes for their
associations, but a Moslem misses the point of them, just as we miss the
stately metre of the Koran in translation.

The would-be convert from Islam must, of course, learn to stifle any
fond memories of the virile, vivid creed he is invited to renounce. No
longer must he give ear to the far-flung call proclaiming from lofty
minarets the unity of God and the Prophet's mission or its cheery,
swinging reiteration as the dead are carried to the _magenna_ or "gate
of Heaven." Certainly not; the less he contemplates their fate the
better for his peace of mind, since (if the effort to convert him is
anything more than an outrageous piece of impudence) their lot in the
hereafter must be appalling and his own depends on the thoroughness with
which he steels his heart against all he ever knew and loved before he
met that pious man and his little picture pamphlets.

Do proselytising missionaries in the Islamic field ever sit down and
think what they are really trying to do? Does the social ostracism of a
human being, the damnation of his folk and the salvation of none but a
remnant of mankind mean anything to them? If so they ought to be
overcome with horror--unless it is their idea of humour, which I cannot
believe.

To pester a man into abandoning a perfectly sound and satisfying
religion for one which may not suit him so well is more reprehensible
than badgering a man to go to your doctor when his own physician
understands his case and has studied it for a long time. At least his
discarded medical adviser will not make his life a burden to him--a
burden which the proselytiser does not have to share.

On the other hand, Moslems are often glad enough to avail themselves of
such Christian works as mission education, medical treatment and
organised charity, so they should tolerate the proselytising propaganda
which seems inseparable from these enterprises.

Missionaries afield are usually justified by their works; it is the
aggressive policy blazoned abroad from mission headquarters which does
so much mischief. Islam was never intended to overthrow Christianity,
but to bring back pagan Arabs to the true worship of God. Mission policy
clamours for attack on it as if it were an invention of the devil and
then complains of Moslem fanaticism, forgetting that if it were an
artifice of Satan they cast doubts on the omnipotence, omniscience or
beneficence of God for permitting it to exist and flourish. Ot