Mission and Revolution in Central Asia - Svenska Missionskyrkan

and not on the outside, which was the custom in their country.” 186 He tries hard, though, to
create understanding and sympathy for “the sometimes very primitive and self-contradictory
ideas of this people”. 187 He writes about the school of piety within Islam, where one tries to
accumulate merits before God by keeping the religious law, by doing good deeds and by
executing spiritual exercises. But there was also a deeper and more spiritual form of piety:
“This other form of piety, which I think most Christians will be surprised to find among the Muslims is
the kind which has its roots in a wish to serve God for His own sake, and to attain the highest aim of
blessedness - to see God face to face. In both cases we find not only an honest search for truth and peace
of mind but also hypocrisy and false piety. Here is one more thing that Christianity and Islam have in
common: the majority of their adherents lead a sham religious life without a real faith and ongoing
spiritual growth whereas the genuine believers are only in minority.” 188
The missionaries’ experiences of Islam in Eastern Turkestan were consequently quite varied.
The two missionaries last quoted, Högberg and Raquette will suffice as examples. In 1919,
when Högberg wrote his article, quoted above, he could look back on 22 years of missionary
work in Eastern Turkestan. He had often written and spoken about the many dark aspects of
Islam during those years, and when he published his book Memoirs of a Missionary in 1924,
he was equally downcast. It might have been that he never found himself at home in this new
Mission field. Already after his first term there, his going back was a matter of hesitation. 189
And what could he gain by his superficial presentation of Islam? The Mission surely did not
benefit from it. Communications were certainly poor at that time, but there was still a chance
of his views being known among Muslims in Eastern Turkestan. This is exactly what
happened in the early 1930s, when Swedish Muslims tried to exploit these statements in
various ways. This happened during the final years of the Mission era and will be treated later
in this book. As to Raquette and his balanced and positive statements, they were written as
late as 1925. By then he had been living in his home country since 1921 and the distance in
time and place probably contributed to his caution. To this should be added his vast
knowledge of Islam. To his friendly attitude towards Islam he adds an unconditional belief in
the possibilities of Christian Mission in Eastern Turkestan. 190
7. Eastern Turkestan Church History
Among the very first things known about Eastern Turkestan history of religion is the fact that
people are said to have been worshippers of fire. 191 At an early stage, Buddhism penetrated the
country. On its way to conquer China, Buddhism followed the road through Eastern
Turkestan. 192 This form of Buddhism which now gained a foothold in the country was called
Mahayana, or Northern Buddhism. However after some centuries its influence diminished.
The kind of Buddhism existing in the country during the mission era and which was mainly
the religion of the Chinese population was mixed up beyond recognition with elements from
ancient Chinese religions.
186 SMT, 1913, p. 84.
187 Raquette, 1935, p. 8.
188 Ibid., p. 146 f.
189 Ekman, 1903, p. 89.
190 Raquette, p. 8. See also Myrdal, 1977, p. 70 f.
191 Lundahl, 1917, p. 164 f.
192 Anvill, 1932, p. 124 ff.
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