On Islam

Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology #9

by Abraham Kuyper, Jan Van Vliet (Translator), James D. Bratt (Volume Editor)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, famed theologian Abraham Kuyper toured the Mediterranean world and encountered Islam for the first time.

Part travelogue, part cultural critique, On Islam presents a European imperialist seeing firsthand the damage colonialism had caused and the value of a religion he had never truly understood. Here, Kuyper's doctrine of common grace shines as he displays a nuanced and respectful understanding of the Muslim world. Though an ardent Calvinist, Kuyper still knew that God's grace is expressed to unbelievers. Kuyper saw Islam as a culture and religion with much to offer the West, but also as a threat to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here he expresses a balanced view of early twentieth-century Islam that demands attention from the majority world today as well. Essays by prominent scholars bookend the volume, showing the relevance of these teachings in our time.

400 pages, Hardcover

Published January 17, 2018

About the author

Abraham Kuyper was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian. He founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party and was prime minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905.

Reviews

[Dr. Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful travelogue of Kuyper's year in Asia and Middle East, like a theological version of Twain's Innocents Abroad. Good insight on Islam and the church in the East.

This version is beautifully bound but some of the extra material (not from Kuyper) is a little odd especially the essay tacked on at the end arguing for extreme contextualization.

Some key quotes:

"I now understood much more strongly than before embarking on my trip that an excellent way to ward off patriotic overconfidence and smugness is to occasionally transport yourself to an entirely different world."

"Missions among the Muslims should certainly never be abandoned... it is our duty and our calling to persevere with our message among such people. Here, more than anywhere, Christianity demonstrates its invincible vitality; it will never tire of devoting to this task the most considerable sacrifices. Even when it has seemed to be nothing but plowing though rocks, the Christian mession has grown neither tired nor weary, and abandoning such work is rarely mentioned."

[sam tannehill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am (or intending to) slowly working through the new translations of Abraham Kuyper's works. I started with Pro Rege and put it down for a bit because of travel. But I bought "On Islam" for Kindle and was able to read it while travelling. This was appropriate I found out as this book is essentially a travelogue of the Mediterranean with special interest in Islamic cultures. This is a great book and is very interesting when you consider that these are the notes of the former Primer Minister of Holland and the Netherlands (who was also a Christian theologian) writing while on a vacation through predominantly or wholely Islamic countries at the turn of the 20th century. There is a lot of careful observation and study in these notes that make more clear the relationship of East and West, Christian and Muslim and secular. It's also not that long!

[Jacob London · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially a travel log of Kuyper's trip to the East from August 1905 - June 1906 along with some prudent and insightful notes on the Islamic faith.