teachings of Mohamme books of the Jews a ecognized authority o . Respected now as ed man, he proudly 1 white turban of a Is nd re ee holy ristians. In the z mion: of Mullah | se orks were Moslem community. Mohammed, heshouted, had been the last ie and al- | though Abraham and Moses and David and Jesus had also been pre of oS oe the Holy Koran contained all the ' the universe. The council o Mela b dered the Peep le not to associate with the Infidel. And the council warned that any Moslem who so much as touched one of the unclean books would know the torments of the Seventh Hell which Allah, in his wisdom, had created for the punishment of people who professed to be religious, but were not. It was a great victory for Mullah Saeed. Not content, however, the fanatical Mohamme- dan determined to drive the wretched Infidel from the village. Ruffians appeared in the bazaar. Hoots and catcalls rose above the voice of the Infidel crying his wares. The bookseller only smiled, undaunted, Now curses rang out and fists were waved threateningly. The Infidel raised his hand, too...in blessing. Con- sumed with rage, Mullah Saeed scooped a handful of stonés from the ground. He hurled them savagely at the stranger, screaming such imprecations as he had never screamed before. Pale now, as fear- ful as any man would be under the circum- stances, the resolute Infidel protected his head with his arms and prayed... prayedChristian prayers for his persecuto: fused, shaken, strangely frighter bh _ Saeed faltered, then turned and left the — bazaar. Saeed could think of little else in the days that followed. He knew that had he been in the bookseller’s place he would have re turned curse for curse and stone for stone. He certainly never would have prayed for his enemies or blessed them. Why had the conduct of the Infide , > much better than the conduct of a true believer? He couldn’t understand it, and the devout and learned Mohammedan who had spent his entire life trying to understand everythi was deeply troubled. His curiosity at last got the better of him. One dark ae he slipped out of his house and made his way to the bookseller’s room. If the lonely Infidel was frightened when he saw the stern, fanatical Moslem standing at his door, he gave no indication of it. He welcomed Saeed ‘cordially, and soon they were deep in talk. Said the Infidel quietly: “I am John, an Assyrian come from Urumiah. All that I have and all that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, who saved me from my sins. I have given my life to the telling of Christ’s salvation. These books? They are the Torah, or law of Moses. They are = ie Injil, the Gospel of oure, read them. They will help nduct in the bazaar help you in many other ways.” Eager to learn why an unbeliever could behave better than a true Mohammedan, Mullah Saeed took the unclean holy books of the Jews and ¢ ians home with him ae very night. He read curiously at first, then with a growing interest and excitement. His scholars mind mulled over the differ- ences in the teachings of Mohammed and Jesus Christ. His deeply religious nature s aroused. He went again and again to n’s room, reading the books with him and discussing the teachings that were difficult for a Mohammedan to understand. He and John became friends, fast friends, though they were never seen together in public. Gradually Mullah Saeed’s feelings about Islam underwent a change. The time . came when he saw that there was no salva-— tion in Mohammed. He saw, £96, stint he ae Ree be e Cond eee : i ly made itself at home in his heart, he found a spiritual peace he had never known before. In the villa t now began to be rumored that Mullah Saeed had become a Christian.Feelings ran high. It was unthinkable that a priest of Islam should be permitted to betray the faith he had once sworn to defend with his very life. The ruffians who had once hooted and threatened John in the bazaar now hooted and threatened Saeed. Stones and refuse were h at him, anc had certain Moslem friends is not been ‘more loyal to him personally than to their religion, he would have been killed. With their help he escaped to Hamadan, a hun- dred miles away on the other side of the mountains. There, in a Presbyterian Mission station, he found friends. And there, also, he found a new life. Kaka came to Hamadan with orders to kill him, but Kaka noted Saeed’s complete ac- ceptance of Christ and was deeply moved. Spared by his brother, who later also be- came a Christian, Saeed was baptized. He learned English, studied medicine under the missionary doctors, and finally went to Eng- land to complete his medical education. Upon his return, Saeed went to Teheran, where for many years he healed the sick and comforted the sorrowing in Christ’sMe name. Saeed was not content simply to heal the body. He was the first Moslem convert to preach in a public service in the chapel of the Presbyterian Mission in his country’s capital. No one talking to him could have guessed that the kindly Christian doctor had once been Mullah Saeed, the implacable foe of all the religions but Islam. When he visited Kurdistan years later he was hon- ored by the very men who had once wanted to kill him. When they came to his dis- pensary for physical healing, they found Saeed’s own testimony written on the wall in large Persian script. It was the age-old invitation, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you Test, NEW WORLD PUBLICATION CenrRaL Disramurinc DEPARTMENT 156 Fifth Avenue, New York 10, N. Y. FM