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THE MOHAMMEDAN CONTROVERSY
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controversy is for the present suspended,and it is perhaps well that it
should be so for a time,it must not be supposed that the native mind is
inactive, or that the attention of intelligent and thinking men is withdrawn
from the subject. The following extracts from the report of the Agra Tract
Society for 1852 will be read with interest, as giving satisfactory evidence
on this point:
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At Dehli copies of the
Scriptures, and Christian books of a controversial character, have been in
great demand in consequence of the controversy between some Hindoos and the
Cazee mentioned above. Many Mohammedans seem to have been aroused from the
slumber of their blind confidence in their Prophet and his Book by the
astounding fact now presented to them, that they are attacked not by the
Christians only, but even by the Hindoos, and that with a result not in any
way flattering to themselves. To prepare for the battle, they have betaken
themselves to reading our books, many, no doubt, with a desire to find
arguments against us. But still this excitement amongst them can only be
viewed with interest, and we cannot but hope that it will have a beneficial
result in some way or other.
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A Hindoo friend at Dehli, through
whom many Mohammedans have received tracts and books, writes on the subject:
"I beg to inform you that I have received the books you forwarded to
me. They have all been given away to learned Mussulmans, who required them
very earnestly. At their own request, I made over to them all copies of the Mîzân-ul-Haqq
I had; I have even been obliged to give them my own copy. But they require
still more copies, and, consequently, I beg that you will send me another
supply at an early opportunity."
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In another letter he remarks: "In my opinion it would be very desirable
to publish a great number of small pamphlets, containing that part of the Mîzân-ul-Haqq
which shows that Mohammed performed no miracle, and that also the Coran is no
miracle. This will bring numerous Moslem readers to one point, a point which
is quite sufficient to show that they have no firm ground to stand upon in
defending their creed. It is this point in which the Mohammedan religion is
most palpably vulnerable. The ignorance of this very subject, in my opinion,
makes the majority of the Mussulmans think that Mohammed was as good a
prophet as Moses and Christ."
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In a subsequent letter he writes: "A learned Mohammedan of Kurnaul has
written a large work, of about 960 pages, the chief object of which appears
an attempt to show that the same objections which Christians make to the
Coran, can be reverted to the Bible. He has studied, I believe, with great
care, all procurable translations of the Bible in Arabic, Persian and Urdoo,
and all controversial works, and he is very probably
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