Christian-Muslim Relations

A Bibliographical History

Volume 18. The Ottoman Empire (1800-1914)

Edited by
David Thomas and John Chesworth

with Lejla Demiri, Claire Norton, Douglas Pratt, Umar Ryad,

Carsten Walbiner

•
LEIDEN BOSTON
2021

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 CONTENTS

Foreword ......................................................................................................... x

List of Illustrations and Maps ................................................................... xv

Abbreviations ................................................................................................ xvii

Umar Ryad, Introduction: The Ottoman Empire in the

19th century ...................................................................................................... 1

Heleen Murre-van den Berg, Syriac literature and

Muslim-Christian relations under the Ottomans, 16th-19th centuries .... 27

Barbara Henning and Taisiya Leber, Print culture and

Muslim-Christian relations ......................................................................... 39

Florian Krobb, Framing Muslim fanaticism at the end of the

19th century. German accounts of the Mahdist uprising ....................... 63

Works on Christian-Muslim relations 1800-1914 .................................. 81

Anatolia and South Eastern Europe .......................................................... 83

Molla Mustafa Bašeskija Kerima Filan .......................... 85

Işkodravî Necmettin Kızılkaya ............ 91
Şaban Kâmî Efendi Âmidî Ayşe İçöz ................................. 95
Pertev Edhem Paşa Emine Nurefşan Dinç .......... 100
Hacı Abdi Petricî Lejla Demiri ........................... 105
Harputlu Ishak Efendi M. Sait Özervarlı ................... 110
Mustafa Şevket Ayşe İçöz ................................. 115
Ibrāhīm Faṣīḥ al-Ḥaydarī Mehmet Karabela ................. 118
Namık Kemal Michelangelo Guida ............ 122
Ahmed Şükrizâde Ali Haydar Serkan Ince ............................ 127
İbnü’r-Reşâd Ali Ferruh Serkan Ince ............................ 131
Sırrı Paşa Girîdî Ayşe İçöz ................................. 135
Ahmet Mithat Efendi Scott Rank .............................. 138
Sava Pasha Ferhat Koca ............................ 154
Lewis Wallace Amina Nawaz ........................ 163
Abdullah Edib Bayramzâde Lejla Demiri and Serkan
Ince ........................................... 176

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 vi Contents

Bosnian discussions concerning Dženita Karić ......................... 179

hijra
Halil Halid Refik Bürüngüz ..................... 186
Tevfikîzâde İsmail Tevfik Matthew Sharp ...................... 195
Ahmed Kemal İlkul Serkan Ince ............................ 201
Mahmud Esad ibn Emin Seydişehrî Serkan Ince ............................ 204
Hasan Sabri Lejla Demiri and Serkan
Ince ........................................... 225
ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd Betül Avcı ................................ 229
Celal Nuri İleri Lejla Demiri and Serkan
Ince ........................................... 237
Mehmed Esad Serkan Ince ............................ 246
Sırât-ı Müstakîm Serkan Ince ............................ 250
ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Jāwīsh Selva Yildirim ......................... 257
Turkish State Archives Serkan Ince ............................ 267
Hohannes Kara Krikorian Elif Tokay ................................ 273

Greater Syria and environs ......................................................................... 287

Būlus ibn Ilyās Sarjoun Karam ...................... 289

The ‘Incident of the martyrs’ in Feras Krimsti .......................... 295
Aleppo (1818)
Fatḥallāh al-Ṣāyigh Johann Buessow and Lisa
Wolfgarten-Kolmorgen ........ 307
Maksīmūs Maẓlūm Ronney el Gemayel .............. 321
Buṭrus Karāma and other poets of Hilary Kilpatrick ................... 330
the Khāliyya controversy
The 1850 Uprising in Aleppo Feras Krimsti .......................... 337
Aḥmad Fāris al-Shidyāq Rana Issa ................................. 351
Nuʿmān al-Alūsī Mahmoud Nagah Khalaf ..... 356 
Rizqallāh Ḥassūn Souad Abouelrousse Slim .... 360
John Wortabet Carsten Walbiner .................. 367
The massacre in Damascus, July 1860 Feras Krimsti .......................... 378
Kitāb yashtamil ʿalā ajwibat ahl Carsten Walbiner .................. 407
al-kanīsa
Nawfal Niʿmat Allāh Nawfal Caleb McCarthy .................... 411
Rushayd al-Daḥdāḥ Carsten Walbiner .................. 415
Jirjī Yannī Souad Abouelrousse Slim .... 421
Khrisṭūfūrus Jibāra Carsten Walbiner .................. 428
Christian Arab prophecies Carsten Walbiner .................. 448
on the doom of Islam,
16th-19th centuries

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 Contents vii

Bāsīliyūs Khirbāwī Carsten Walbiner .................. 456

Muḥammad Ṭāhir al-Tannīr Ahmed Ragab
Abdelhay ................................. 467
Luwīs Shaykhū Rafaël Herzstein .................... 475

Egypt, Sudan and the Arabian Peninsula ................................................ 483

Yūsāb, bishop of Jirja and Akhmīm Joseph Faragalla .................... 485

Jawād ibn Ibrāhīm Sābāṭ Nile Green .............................. 489
Al-Shawkānī Awad Al-Nahee ..................... 495
ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Shaykh Umar Ryad and Mohammed
 Ḥamad ibn Nāṣir Ᾱl Muʿammar Gamal Abdelnour ................. 500
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Jabartī Ibrahim Gemeah .................. 505
Rifāʿa Rāfiʿ al-Ṭahṭāwī ̄ Daniel L. Newman ................ 512
Muḥammad ʻAyyād al-Ṭanṭāwi Mohammed Sayed ............... 522
Muḥammad al-Ṭayyibī Mohamed A. Moustafa ........ 528
Muḥammad ibn ʿIllīsh Muhammad al-Marakeby ... 535
Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī Ahab Bdaiwi .......................... 540
Muḥammad al-Mahdī Ömer Koçyiğit ....................... 548
ʿAlī l-Baḥrānī Umar Ryad .............................. 555
Muḥammad Zakī l-Dīn Sanad Elsayed Z. Abuamer ............. 559
Buṭrus Dinyāsiyūs Joseph Faragalla .................... 563
Aḥmad Shafīq Pasha Elmozfar Kotoz Ahmed ...... 566
Comboni Fathers and Comboni Jaco Beyers ............................. 571
Missionary Sisters
Hasan Hüsnü Toyrânî Lejla Demiri ........................... 580
Muḥammad Ḥasan Faraḥāt Umar Ryad .............................. 585
Muḥammad Ḥabīb Wael Hegazy .......................... 587
Al-Tamīmī l-Darī Simon A. Wood and Abla
Hasan ....................................... 590
Yūsif ʿAṭiyya Deanna Ferree Womack ..... 597
Yaʿqūb Nakhla Hiroko Miyokawa ................. 604
Aḥmad Zakī Pasha Elmozfar Kotoz Ahmed ...... 613
Ḥannā Maqār Joseph Faragalla .................... 618
Muḥammad Bakhīt al-Muṭīʿī Junaid Quadri ........................ 622
Ṣubḥī Qūnyāwī Ossama A.S. Abdelgawwad
and Mohamed A.
Moustafa ................................. 628
Nīqūlā Ghabriyāl Simon A. Wood and Abla
Hasan ....................................... 636
Mikhāʾīl ʿAbd al-Sayyid Michael Ghattas .................... 645
Muḥammad ʿAbduh Ammeke Kateman ............... 651

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 viii Contents

Faraḥ Anṭūn Marco Demichelis ................ 664

Yūsuf ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Yūsuf Amal Ghazal .......................... 670
al-Nabhānī
ʿAlī Aḥmad al-Jirjāwī Ines Soussou .......................... 675
Muṣṭafā l-Ghalāyīnī Ali Mohamed ......................... 680
Iskandar Effendi ʿAbd al-Masīḥ Umar Ryad .............................. 685
al-Bājūrī
Nūr al-Dīn al-Sālimī Valerie J. Hoffman ................ 692
Temple Gairdner Michael T. Shelley ................. 702
ʿAbdallāh al-Ḥusaynī Carsten Walbiner .................. 734
Arthur Thomas Upson Serkan Ince ............................ 745
Cairo Study Centre Michael T. Shelley ................. 760
Yūsuf al-Dijwī Mahmoud Ali Gomaa
Afifi ........................................... 768
Muḥammad Tawfīq Ṣidqī Umar Ryad .............................. 783
Nile Mission Press Michael T. Shelley and
John Chesworth .................... 795
Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā Umar Ryad .............................. 801
Aḥmad ʿAlī l-Malījī l-Kutubī Mariam M. Shehata and Umar
Ryad ......................................... 825
Muḥammad ʿAlī Mohamed A. Moustafa ....... 832

Maghreb .......................................................................................................... 837

al-Ghazzāl Nabil Matar ............................ 839

Muḥammad ibn ʿUthmān al-Miknāsī Nabil Matar ............................ 844
Abū l-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī l-Tusūlī Mahammed Bouabdallah .... 853
Ferdinand Christian Ewald Carsten Walbiner .................. 858
Emir Abdel Kader Tim Winter ............................. 867
Sulaymān al-Ḥarāʾirī Muhammad al-Marakeby ... 875
Muḥammad al-Ḥashāyishī Elmozfar Kotoz Ahmed ...... 880
Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf Aṭfiyyash Valerie J. Hoffman ................ 884
Ismaÿl Urbain Roland Laffitte and Naïma
Lefkir-Laffitte ......................... 901
Māʾ al-ʿAynayn Arjan Post ............................... 913
Jaʿfar ibn Idrīs al-Kattānī Mahammed Bouabdallah .... 919
Muḥammad Bayram V Abdullah Ibrahim Omran .... 925
Charles Lavigerie Diego Sarrió Cucarella ........ 934
French officials in Algeria Kamel Chachoua, Alain
Messaoudi and John
Chesworth .............................. 959

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 Contents ix

Isabelle Eberhardt Renée Champion .................. 978

Charles de Foucauld Barbara Bürkert-Engel ......... 997

Contributors .................................................................................................. 1003

Index of Names ............................................................................................. 1015

Index of Titles ................................................................................................ 1031

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 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd
David Benjamin Keldani

Date of Birth 1867
Place of Birth Urmia, Iran
Date of Death 6 July 1950
Place of Death New York

Biography
Originally named David Benjamin Keldani, this convert to Islam was a for-
mer Roman Catholic priest of the Uniate-Chaldean Church. When he con-
verted he adopted the name ʿAbd al-Aḥad (Servant of the One). According
to a short biography that appeared in the Islamic Review in 1929, David
Benjamin was born in 1867 in Urmia, Iran. He received his early educa-
tion in his home town. Between 1886 and 1889, he served among the
teaching staff of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s mission to the Assyrian
(Nestorian) Christians in Urmia. In 1892, he was sent to Rome by Cardinal
Vaughan for further training in philosophy and theology at the Pontificio
Collegio Urbano and was ordained priest in 1895. The same year, he joined
the French Lazarist Mission at Urmia (Anonymous, ‘Short biographical
sketch’, p. 76). In a letter dated 14 February 1900, signed as David Benjamin,
Archpriest of Urmia, he asks for money for a chapel to be built in Digala,
followed by a thank-you letter dated 2 July 1900 for the money raised. The
letters were published in The Tablet in March and July 1900. However, as
reported in his biography, he left the priesthood in 1900 and served in the
Persian Service of Posts and Customs, and later as teacher and translator
for Crown Prince Muhammad Ali Mirza.
He joined the Unitarian community in England in 1903, and in 1904
he was sent by the British and Foreign Unitarian Association to serve as
a teacher in his home country. On his way to Urmia, he visited Istanbul,
where he met Şeyhülislam Mehmed Cemaleddin Efendi and some other
scholars, and embraced Islam (Anonymous, ‘Short biographical sketch’,
p. 78).
On his conversion to Islam in 1904, David acquired Ottoman citizen-
ship. Between 1905 and 1906, he served as a teacher and administrator at
Darüşşafaka School in Istanbul, which provided primary and secondary

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 230 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd

education for Muslim orphans. He also worked for the Encümen-i Teftiş
ve Muayene (Committee of Inspection and Examination), a branch of the
Ministry of Education. In 1914, he began working at Mektûbî-i Fetvahâne
(Fatwa Department) and later for the journal Cerîde-i İlmiyye. However, he
had to resign from both posts after less than a year.
He knew English, French, Italian, Latin and Persian (Anonymous,
‘Abdülehad Davud Efendi’). He reportedly migrated to the USA, and died
in a care home in New York on 6 July 1950. His death certificate identifies
him as widowed, a professor by occupation and a US citizen (Bakır, ‘Yeni
belgeler ışığında Abdulahad Davud’un hayatı ve fikirleri’, pp. 9, 89-90).
A. Zapsu, who was personally acquainted with ʿAbd al-Aḥad, reports
that, in addition to the languages mentioned above, he knew Turkish,
Kurdish, Greek and Hebrew, and that he took the name ʿAbd al-Aḥad as a
‘protest against the Trinity’ (Zapsu, Büyük İslâm târihi, p. 114). Şerefeddîn,
dersiam (religious teacher) at the Bayazid Mosque, reports that ʿAbd
al-Aḥad knew Ahmed Midhat Efendi in person (Şerafeddîn, Review of ‘İncîl
ve Salîb’, p. 296).
As a Muslim, he authored numerous works. In addition to his two
books, İncîl ve Salîb and Esrâr-ı Îseviyye, he published articles in journals
such as Beyânü’l-Hakk Gazetesi, Sebîlürreşâd [Sırât-ı Müstakîm] and The
Islamic Review, in which he often discusses matters related to Islam,
Christianity and Christian-Muslim relations. His last article is reported to
have appeared in The Islamic Review in August 1931.
A series of articles by him entitled ‘Assyria, Rome, and Canterbury’ in
ten parts was published in The Tablet in 1892-3. In these he describes the
past and present state of the Chaldaeo-Assyrian Christians.
While still a Catholic, he published two articles in The Irish Ecclesiastical
Record, ‘The authenticity of the Pentateuch, Part I’ (August 1894) 682-93,
and ‘The authenticity of the Pentateuch, Part II’ (September 1894) 769-87.
After his conversion, he authored 20 essays in Ottoman Turkish
which were published in Beyânü’l-Hak: ‘Hindistân İğtişâşları’, 1/11 (1
December 1324) 240-2; ‘Pânislâmizm. Cemiyyet-i Umûme-i İslâmiyye’, 1/13
(15 December 1324) 284-6; ‘Âlem-i İslâmiyyet. Câvâ yâhut Yirmi Sekiz
Milyon Müslümanı Hâvî Bir Cezîre’, 1/22 (16 February 1324) 514-19; ‘Ȃlem-i
İslâmiyyet. Câvâ’, 1/23 (23 February 1324) 540-1; ‘Ȃlem-i İslâmiyyet.
Sumatra Müslümanları’, 1/26 (16 March 1325) 615-17; ‘Âlem-i İslâmiyyet.
Çin Müslümanları-1’, 2/58 (26 April 1326) 1206-7; ‘Âlem-i İslâmiyyet. Çin
Müslümanları-2’, 3/60 (6 May 1326) 1218-19; ‘İran’ın Vaziyet-i Hâzırası’, 3/60
(6 May 1326) 1219-21; ‘Âlem-i İslâmiyyet. Çin Müslümanları-3’, 3/61 (10 May

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 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd 231

1326) 1236-8; ‘İran’ın Vaziyet-i Hâzırası-2’, 3/61 (10 May 1326) 1238-40; ‘Çin
Müslümanları-4’, 3/63 (24 May 1326) 1271-2; ‘İran’ın Vaziyet-i Hâzırası-3’,
3/64 (31 May 1326) 1281-3; ‘İran’ın Vaziyet-i Hâzırası-4’, 3/65 (7 June 1326)
1296-9; ‘Girit Meselesi ve İngiliz Siyaseti’, 3/66 (14 June 1326) 1314-17; ‘Çin
Müslümanları-5. Konfuçizm Din ve Felsefesi’, 3/66 (14 June 1326) 1317-20;
‘İran’ın Vaziyet-i Hâzırası-5’, 3/68 (28 June 1326) 1348-51; ‘İran’ın Vaziyet-i
Hâzırası-6’, 3/69 (5 July 1326) 1365; ‘Âlem-i İslamiyyet. Çin Müslümanları,
Din ve Felsefe-6’, 3/70 (12 July 1326) 1375-8; ‘Türkiye İttifak Etmeli mi?’, 3/74
(9 August 1326) 1445-7; ‘Türkiye İttifak Etmeli mi?-2’, 3/75 (16 August 1326)
1463-4.
He also wrote nine essays which were published in Sebîlürreşâd [Sırât-ı
Müstakîm]: ‘Kırk İki Bin Katolik Misyoner Cemiyeti’, 12/292 (3 April 1330)
103-5; ‘İngiliz Müslümanları. İngiltere’de Dîn-i İslâm’ın İntişârı’, 12/305 (3
July 1330) 334-5; ‘İngiltere’de İntişâr-ı Dîn-i İslâm-2’, 12/306 (10 July 1330)
355-6; ‘Kiliseler İttihâdı Mümkün müdür?’, 16/398-9 (20 March 1335) 88-90;
‘Hıristiyanlık, Filistin’de Bir Yahudi Hükümetinin Teşekkülüne Müsait
midir?’, 16/400-1 (27 March 1335) 103-5; ‘Katolik ile Ortodoks Kiliseleri’nin
İttihâdı Mümkün müdür?’, 16/404-5 (10 April 1335) 133-5; ‘Mühim Bir
Eser-i Dînî Hakkında’, 16/406-7 (17 April 1335) 155-8; ‘Anglikan ile Ortodoks
Kiliseler’inin İttihâdı Mümkün müdür?’, 16/408-9 (17 April 1335) 171-3;
‘Kiliseleri’nin Tevhîdine Neden Lüzûm Görülüyor?’, 16/411-12 [412-13] (8
May 1335) 208-11.
He further published 22 essays in The Islamic Review: ‘Why the Devil is
called “Iblis” in the Qur’ān’, 14/10 (October 1926) 391-5; ‘Aḥmed in the Old
Testament’, 15/10 (October 1927) 354-8; ‘Muhammad in the Old Testament.
II. The question of the birthright and the covenant’, 16/7 (July 1928) 235-42;
‘Muhammad in the Old Testament. III. The mystery of the “mispa”’, 16/8
(August 1928) 275-84; ‘Muhammad in the Old Testament. IV. Muhammad
is the “Shiloh”’, 16/9 (September 1928) 313-21; ‘Muhammad in the Old
Testament. V. Muhammad and Constantine the Great’, 16/11 (November
1928) 394-403; ‘Muhammad in the Old Testament. VI. Muhammad is
the Son of Man’, 16/12 (December 1928) 439-48; ‘Muhammad in the Old
Testament. VII. King David calls him: “My Lord”’, 17/1 (January 1929)
14-23; ‘Muhammad in the Old Testament. VIII. “The Lord and the Apostle
of the Covenant”’, 17/2 (February 1929) 56-64; ‘Muhammad in the Old
Testament. IX. Genuine prophets preach only Islam’, 17/3 (March 1929)
92-101; ‘Muhammad in the Old Testament. X. Islam is the Kingdom of God
on earth’, 17/7 (July 1929) 225-37; ‘Muhammad in the New Testament. I.
Islam and Ahmadiyāt announced by angels’, 17/11 (November 1929) 385-
95; ‘Muhammad in the New Testament. II. “Eudokia” means “Ahmadiyeh”’,

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 232 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd

18/1 (January 1930) 4-14; ‘Muhammad in the New Testament. III. John the
Baptist announces a powerful prophet’, 18/3-4 (March-April 1930) 114-
24; ‘Muhammad in the New Testament. IV. The prophet foretold by the
Baptist was certainly Muhammad’, 18/5 (May 1930) 156-64; ‘Muhammad
in the New Testament. V. The baptism of John and Jesus only a type of the
“Sibghatu’l-Lāh”’, 18/9 (September 1930) 313-22; ‘Muhammad in the New
Testament. VI. The “Sibghatu’l-Lāh”, or the baptism with the Holy Spirit and
with fire’, 18/10 (October 1930) 353-63; ‘Muhammad in the New Testament.
VII. The “Paraclete” is not the Holy Spirit’, 18/11 (November 1930) 400-11;
‘Muhammad in the New Testament. VIII. “Periqlytos” means “Ahmad”,
19/1 (January 1931) 10-20; ‘Muhammad in the New Testament. IX. “The Son
of Man”, who is he?’, 19/2 (February 1931) 60-70; ‘Muhammad in the New
Testament. X. By the apocalyptical “Son of Man”, Muhammad is intended’,
19/3-4 (March-April 1931) 112-24; ‘Muhammad in the New Testament. XI.
The Son of Man according to the Jewish apocalypses’, 19/8 (August 1931)
282-92. These essays were collected in a book entitled Mohammad in the
Bible published in Doha in 1980.
The Islamic Review (February 1929, p. 76) reports that, during his stay
in Istanbul in 1895, ʿAbd al-Aḥad wrote a series of articles in English and
French on the ‘Eastern Churches’, which were then published in The
Levant Herald. In addition, he published translations of the Ave Maria in
the Illustrated Catholic Missions. It also states that he published a Syriac
periodical Qala d-šrara (‘The voice of truth’) in the same year in Urmia.

MAIN SOURCES OF INFORMATION

M.S. Sefiloğlu, ‘Son dönem Osmanlısında bir mühtedi. Abdülehad Davud’,
Istanbul, 2020 (MA Diss. İbn Haldun Üniversitesi)
S. Bakır, ‘Yeni belgeler ışığında Abdulahad Davud’un hayatı ve fikirleri’, Istanbul,
2019 (MA Diss. Marmara Üniversitesi)
H. Darcan, ‘Bir Osmanlı mühtedisi olarak Abdülahad Davud’, Sakarya, 2008 (MA
Diss. Sakarya Üniversitesi)
Anonymous, art. ‘Abdülehad Davud Efendi’, in İstanbul Müftülüğü Arşivi, Sicil
Defterleri, vol. 4, Istanbul, [n.d.], 233
Ömer Faruk Harman, art. ‘Abdülahad Dâvûd’, in DİA
A. Zapsu, Büyük İslâm târihi, Istanbul, 1976, p. 114
ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd, Muhammad in the Bible, Kuala Lumpur, 19693 (includes ‘A
short biographical sketch of Professor ‘Abdu ’l-Ahad Dáwúd’, B.D., pp. 7-10,
and articles originally published in The Islamic Review; also available in
Arabic, Persian and German trans.)

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 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd 233

Anonymous, ‘A short biographical sketch of Professor ‘Abdu ’l-Ahad Dáwúd,

B.D.’, The Islamic Review 17 (February 1929) 76-8
Şerefeddîn, ‘İncîl ve Salîb’ [book review], Sebîlürreşâd [Sırât-ı Müstakîm] 11/279
(15 January 1914) 296-7
All ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd’s Ottoman Turkish essays published in Beyânü’l-Hak can
be downloaded in pdf format at http://ktp.isam.org.tr/
All his essays published in Sebîlürreşâd [Sırât-ı Müstakîm] are in downloadable
pdf format at http://ktp.isam.org.tr/

Works on Christian-Muslim Relations

İncîl ve Salîb
‘The Gospel and the Cross’
Date 1913
Original Language Ottoman Turkish
Description
İncîl ve Salîb is a refutation of Christianity in 239 pages, consisting of ten
chapters (bâb) divided into 41 sections. It was published in Istanbul in
1913 by Mahmud Bey Matbaası. Towards the end, the author writes that
this is the first volume of İncîl ve Salîb specifically entitled ‘What is the
Gospel?’, and that it would serve as an introduction to the nine volumes
that were to follow (pp. 152, 195, 238). He further notes that in the second
volume his intention will be to prove that the ‘books of the Gospels’ are
not the product of vahiy (revelation; p. 238). However, there is no trace of
the other nine volumes. The book is dedicated to Seyyid Abdülkadir, son
of a Naqshbandi shaykh and a member of the Ottoman Senate.
In the introduction, ʿAbd al-Aḥad criticises the Christian doctrine of the
Trinity and argues that Jesus was not crucified. In his opinion, the account
of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is just a ‘tale’ (p. 12). He
also states that the four Gospels were authored many years after Jesus and
that they were altered before reaching us. He thus considers that it is a
duty to declare the prophethood of Muḥammad.
The book begins with introductory information about the 27 books of
the New Testament, and their canonisation and reception in the Catholic
Church. ʿAbd al-Aḥad argues that the real objective of the Gospel was to
announce the good news of ‘Ahmed’ and ‘Islam’, and further states that
there is no book called ‘Gospel’ authored and confirmed by Jesus Christ.
Likewise, the Apostles and early Church did not have a book called

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 234 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd

‘Gospel’. The gospel existed in oral form and was all about giving the good
tidings of the melekûtullâh (kingdom of God; or melekût, which he uses
interchangeably), which in his view is ‘Islam’ and the Prophet of Islam,
‘Ahmed’. Jesus received ‘revelations’ (vahiyler) ‘inspirations’ (ilhamlar)
and ‘verses’ (âyetler) from God, though these were never ‘written down’
but only transmitted to the Apostles ‘orally’ (pp. 102-3, 195). Twenty-seven
books of the New Testament are not the same as the Glorious Gospel (İncîl-i
Şerîf) (p. 197) and are not the product of divine revelation (p. 227).
ʿAbd al-Aḥad goes on to say that the four canonical Gospels were
authored many years after the time of Jesus. Focusing on the song of the
angels in Luke 2:14 (‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth
peace among those whom He favours, eirene en anthrōpois eudokias’),
he argues that this verse was wrongly translated and has been misun-
derstood ever since: the term eirene means ‘Islam’ and eudokia denotes
‘Ahmed’. Throughout the book, ʿAbd al-Aḥad argues that ‘Jesus Christ
was appointed by God especially to reform the Sons of Israel, clarifying
“the Law of Moses” anew’ (p. 70). Jesus did not try to establish a new faith
or church, but sought to prepare the Jews for the advent of melekûtul-
lâh, namely Islam (p. 112). Although ʿAbd al-Aḥad shows respect for ‘the
Apostle’ Paul (p. 178), he criticises both Paul and the Church’s understand-
ing of the term melekût. He concludes that the Gospel is not a written
book but an ‘oral statement’ that gives good tidings of the Qur’an and a
‘divine command’ for the Jews in preparation for the advent of melekûtul-
lâh, i.e. Islam (p. 195).
ʿAbd al-Aḥad expresses opposition to the translation of works that
are hostile to the Bible from English or French into Turkish. Although he
regards them as distorted, such sacred texts contain divine and authentic
parts and so deserve respect. In his opinion, a Muslim should approach
the Bible with the intention of uncovering any hidden truths therein
(pp. 69-70). He holds a progressivist view of the various nations with
regard to beliefs. For him, each religion and nation has to go through three
stages of development. He considers Christianity to be in the second stage,
Judaism in the first and Islam in the third and final. Islam is the unique
universal faith that gathers up all of humanity (pp. 70-3).
Looking at the disagreements between the Christian churches, ʿAbd
al-Aḥad concludes that there is neither ‘spiritual fraternity’ nor ‘physical
unity’ among Christians, particularly in Europe (pp. 147-8), which he finds
to be in contrast to ‘a globally united Muslim nation’ (pp. 149-52). He fur-
ther comments that the Jews can easily establish an agreement with and
live peacefully among Muslims because of the closeness of their faith to

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 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd 235

Islam (p. 158), and they can ‘establish a local government’ of their own
(p. 161, also see p. 168).
Significance
ʿAbd al-Aḥad wrote İncîl ve Salîb in order to repudiate the Christian belief
in the crucifixion of Christ. It is significant that, contrary to the main-
stream Muslim view, he insists throughout the book that the Gospel is
only ‘oral preaching’ and that Jesus never had a written book (e.g. p. 239).
Although this is a work of refutation focused mainly on Christian the-
ology and the Bible, it is interspersed with the author’s views on current
world politics. He praises the ethical and cultural state of Muslim soci-
ety and in contrast he considers the socio-cultural and religious state of
Christian Europe as mediocre. He also discusses Jews and Zionists, and
suggests that Jews are in agreement with Muslims and the Ottoman State
(pp. 167-8).
Ohannes Kirkoryan penned a refutation of İncîl ve Salîb entitled Îzâh-ı
hakîkat. İncîl ve Salîb nâm esere cevâb as soon as it appeared. In the intro-
duction to this book he accuses ʿAbd al-Aḥad of employing derogatory
language against Christians. Şerefeddîn, a dersiam (religious teacher) at
the Bayazid Mosque, in his review of İncîl ve Salîb expresses the view that
it contains more information than Raḥmat Allāh al-Kayrānawī’s Iẓhār
al-ḥaqq (1864), which was highly regarded in the Islamic world (Şerefeddîn,
Review of ‘İncîl ve Salîb’, p. 297).
Publications
ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd, İncîl ve Salîb, Istanbul, 1913
Abdulehad Dâvûd, İncîl ve Salîb, ed. Kudret Büyükcoşkun, İstanbul,
1999, repr. 2007 (annotated edition in modern Turkish)
Studies
K. Büyükcoşkun, Review of İncîl ve Salîb, Kitap Dergisi 63-5 (1992) 40-6
Zapsu, Büyük İslâm târihi, pp. 114-24
Ö.F. Harman, art. ‘Abdülahad Dâvûd’, in DİA
O. Kirkoryan, Îzâh-ı hakîkat. İncîl ve Salîb nâm esere cevâb, Istanbul, 1914
Şerefeddîn, Review of ‘İncîl ve Salîb’
Anonymous, Review of İncîl ve Salîb, Sebîlürreşâd [Sırât-ı Müstakîm]
11/271 (20 November 1913) 167-8

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 236 ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd

Esrâr-ı Îseviyye. Allah Bir midir Üç müdür?

‘The secrets of Christianity. Is God one or three?’
Date 1916
Original Language Ottoman Turkish
Description
This is a polemical work against Christianity and Christian missionary
activity, written in the form of a fictional biography of a former Christian
missionary. A good portion of the work consists of dialogue. Covering 159
pages in the 2003 edition, the book aims to critique and refute Christianity
and British Christian missionary activity, and to warn Muslims against
them. The plot revolves around Fano, a young Nigerian who becomes a
Protestant missionary through the Church Missionary Society of Great
Britain. While on mission, Fano meets Hajj Abdullah, a Berber Muslim,
with whom he discusses various issues related to Christianity and Islam.
The author criticises not only Christian missionary activity, but more
specifically British missionaries for their Eurocentrism and nationalist and
racist tendencies. His criticism of priests and missionaries also extends
to social welfare, arguing that there is a huge gap between them and the
local inhabitants. Either through the voice of Hajj Abdullah, or in his own
words, ʿAbd al-Aḥad criticises certain elements of the Christian faith, such
as original sin, the crucifixion of Christ, the Trinity, the authenticity of the
Gospels, priests and priesthood.
Hajj Abdullah challenges Fano on various aspects of his Christian faith
and invites him to embrace Islam. After clarifying certain issues such as
the question of intercession and the multiple marriages of the Prophet
Muḥammad, Fano becomes a Muslim.
Esrâr-ı Îseviyye does not appear to have been referred to by later
authors. Its continuing value is that through the main persona of Fano,
‘Abd al-Aḥad Dāwūd seems to be sharing his own experience and feelings
as a former missionary and the reasons why he converted to Islam.
Publications
ʿAbd al-Aḥad Dāwūd, Esrâr-ı Îseviyye. Allah Bir midir Üç müdür?
İstanbul, 1916
Abdülehad Davud, Müslüman Olan Papaz. Esrar-ı İseviyye – Allah Bir
midir, Üç müdür? İstanbul, 2003 (in modern Turkish)

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