St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-03-07
Achmet, the Apostate.

find in my portfolio Il part of Il let
nearly Il year az" While in CaiIo. As the
incident l." which il relates will hc as
ne>h now us then. will finish " hat has
been 50 long begun. 1t is to show that
the days aie not past when Il man may
Sutfrl for Chris. and at the same time to
throw Il glimpse on the genius of Islam.
As | WIS spending several days in
Cairo last spring, WAS invited 10y DR..
Lansing. one of the missionaries oi The
Unitet Presbyterian Board ul America,
TO make his house my home. A. he
put it on the ground OF Il personal favor
to himself and family, consented,
having learned that his wife WAS to he
lett alone, III his ah>eucr, ith Nomg
Arab.
II is Of ,hi> Young Arab, Achmet,
that | wish tn speak.
In the city of his fathers. | found he
WAS an exile. having committed II"
crime. lac WAS i prisoner, hiding for
lear of lti~ lite. a. member of Il wealthy
aud pow ciiul tunIlN, the son at a prom
inrml official in the GOV Nerumtut of the
khcoiVe. he had no friends bat the lit
tie circle OF American mis>iunalieS.-
and his father and brothers. having
found ont his place OF c"uccaiu.cut,
were walchiu" the house night aud day
10y spies las WIS supposedly 10 get pos
session of him.
1t Was to relieve MIS-. Lansing of
some anxiety she might have on This
account, daring her husbands absence.
that hecame member of The family
and learned the particulars of this some
what romantic story.
For several years Achmet had been
a member of the mission school in
Cairo. first as student and then us teach
el, and had been the Arabic Instructor
oi some of the missionary ladies.
His father Was Il zraiuus MusSulmau,
and bigoted hater of ChriStianty,-and
was man of considerable influence in
the city.
Achmet, who was not yet twent \ one
years of age, WAS tilSl educated in the
fanatical M1>lrm University, FL 4-hdr
Of Cairo, and was brought up 10y his
father to Il strict adherence to he forms
of his faith, though they had long
seemed to him empty and unmeaning.
His attention WAS first directed to the
truths of Christianity 10y reading book
entitled 1.-The Testimony of the Koran -
from which the fact was brought to his
notice that Mohammed emjoined the
reading of the Bible. He was thus led
to inquire into its teachings, and 10y this
means WAS brought to the truth, and
expressed wish to be baptized.
The missionaries warned him of what
it would cost that the step meant for
him the loss of father, mother, brothers
and sisters. with everything that he
held most dear,-and perhaps, death.
But he could not he moved from his
purpose, and four months before the
time of which speak he was baptized
i'll the little mission chapel, protesting
his faith in Christ.
1t was no longer safe for him to re-
main at home. His fathers bgotry
and hatred of the Christians were well
known to him,-as also the probable
fate OF renegade from the Moslem
faith IN that tanatical city. A few Mo-
hammedans in the lower walks of life
had become Christians before, but none
of his rank and position and know
ing the pressure that would he brought
to hear upon him at his fathers house,
he left letter explaining the course he
had taken. and went and placed him
self under the protection of the mis-
siOnaIies.
Here he was unmOlested for several
weeks, and quietly kept abOut his ac-
customed work iu the school. But one
night as he was going from the school
building to DR.. Lansing's after dark, he
was seized by a gang of masked men,
bound, thrown into a carriage and
driven away. Two of these men were
found to lie his brothers. For some time
the missionaries heard nothing about
him, and they were greatly alarmed
lest he had met with personal violence.