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About Bulletin (Monroe, Ga.) 1958-1962 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1959)
1 d AS FINE ARTS GROUP CONVENES Nearly 100 representatives from colleges in the eastern area attended the fourth annual meeting of the Catholic Fine Arts Society, at Marymount College, Tarrytown, N. Y. With Brother Denne- hy as a model, sculptor Pietro Montana demonstrates clay modeling techniques, as min teachers enjoy the lesson. (NC Photos) Africa’s SO Million Moslems, but, Politically Strong, fork Hard To Win Converts The following article ivas written by a veteran N. C. W. C. News Service correspond ent after a trip to Africa that took him to the Sudan, Ugan da, Belgian Congo, Angola, Ghana and Nigeria. By Father Patrick O'Connor Society of St. Columban (N.C.W.C. News Service) A white-robed man spread a straw mat on the river-bank kicked off his shoes and stepped on the'mat. He faced the setting Sun — there lay Mecca — joined his hands reverently and began to pray. Then he went down on his knees and touched the ground with his forehead. He was one of Africa’s 60-odd millions of Moslems, fulfilling the Moslem duty of prayer five times a day. One hot, dazzling noon in Khartoum a courteous young man in European clothes, driv ing a smart new car, gave me a lift. He had studied in Scotland, had visited Ireland, spoke Eng lish well. It was early in Rama dan, the Moslem' month of strict fast. He had not taken food or drink, not even a drop of water, since sunrise, he told me. He would keep the fast until sun down. He was another of Afri ca’s Moslem millions. Later, on the other side Africa, in Accra, Ghana, watched thousands of Negro Moslems in festive garb gather ing to ceiebrate the end of Ra madan. Most of Africa’s Moslems are of Arab or part - Arab stock. Some are Negro Africans; these are increasing in number. In western Nigeria I passed near a town where most of the popu lation of 115,000 had become Moslem in the past 25 years. (The Bishop simply had no priest to put there.) The Moslem religion is not native to Africa. It came from Arabia, that is, from Asia, with the Arabs. The Arabs, who are Semites, originally came to Af rica as invaders and “colonial ists,” but that was 10 and 12 centuries ago. The Moslems in Africa today of I impress you with their religious observance, their strength polit ically and numerically and their expansion. 1. One must stand respect fully in the presence of any man who prays to God as devoutly as some of the Moslems I have seen. Reverence for God’s will is constantly on Moslem lips. Their religion is called Islam, which means submission to God’s will. (Greatly though they revere Mo hammed as their prophet, they do not like to be called just Mohammedans.) Their creed, though sadly incomplete and er roneous, recognizes one God, the immortality of the soul and man’s subjection to God. Their code of conduct is a mixture of Puritanism and lax ity. A man who observes the rigorous fast all day during Ramadan may spend the night in licentiousness. Strong drink is forbidden — a rule I have seen broken publicly by Moslems— but a man may have four wives. 2. In five of the 10 self-gov erning countries in Africa, the ruling power is in Moslem hands. In Nigeria, to become in dependent in October, 1960, the Northern Region, where a strongly Moslem party predomi nates, will have a majority in the federal legislature. Somali land, also to become independ ent in 1960, is mostly Moslem. Dwelling mainly in the north but numerous also in east and west Africa, the Moslems make up about 30 per cent of Africa’s population. They do not form a united religious body, however, as they are divided into sects. Among the Moslem millions are some African tribes who are only nominally Moslems, keep ing fetichism and other prac tices from a pagan near-past. It hardly ever happens in Af rica that anyone living in a Moslem community openly gives up the Moslem religion. Where Moslems are in the majority, their religion is usually inter locked with local political, so cial and economic power. And power, in the Moslem tradition, tends to be absolute. It’s a brave s.: H. Kress & Co. SI HAPPY NEW YEAR IYLAND CLEANERS Dry Cleaning — One Day Service Shirts Washed and Fluff Dried ME. 4-3944 SKYLAND SHOPPING CENTER ATLANTA, GA. MAGIC GRILL 3 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU WITH THE FINEST FOOD IN ATLANTA 771 W. Peachtree N. W. 515 W. Peachtree N. W. 395 Peachtree N. E. 771 WEST PEACHTREE N. W. TR 4-9515 ATLANTA, GA. man who tries to fight City Hall in those circumstances. On the other hand, in western Nigeria I met an African priest whose parents were Moslem. In that region adult Moslems sel dom if ever become Christians, but they will allow one or two of their children to poin the Church. 3. Moslems seek converts. The Ahmadiyya Moslem sect, with headquarters in India, has main tained “foreign missions” in west Africa since 1921.' Most of the Moslem prosely tizing is done by Africans. There is an active Moslem “lay apos- tolate. Moslems are said to be strongly represented in radio and in newspapers in Nigeria. Moslems help Moslems to es tablish themselves as farmers or traders in pagan districts. With their earnings the newcomers employ Moslem catechists, and in 10 years a whole village may have become Moslem. Moslem doctrines are easy to learn. They allow believers to have four wives. Furthermore, the African peasant or laborer may feel that as a Moslem he will gain some prestige and se curity. Maybe the richest trad ers he knows are Moslems. He hears of foreign countries that are largely Moslem. It is com mon knowledge that the British colonial government favored the Moslems for political reasons in Africa; so did the French. Moslems do not make con verts everywhere. Members of the Ibo tribe (five and a half million), for instance, in Nige ria, may become Christians or remain pagans, but they won’t become Moslems. Apart fipm oc casional marriage cases, Catho lics do not become Moslem. Moslems in Africa work hard at converting and are hard to convert. But it is risky to gen eralize where many different ra cial, social and political factors Fatfier Andrew Katkoff, M. I. C. (above), a Russian priest ordained at the Russicum Col lege in Rome in 1944 has been consecrated titular Bishop of Nauplia, in the Byzantine-Slav- onic Rite, on December 21 in the Church of St. Anthony Ab bot, Rome. He will serve as Co- adutor to Archbishop Alexander Evreinoff. The new Bishop was born in Harbin, Manchuria, of parents who were refugees from Russia. Since his ordination he has served Russian refugees and prisoners of war in Italy, Lon don and Australia. (NC Photos) SERVICES FOR W. H. BAKER AUGUSTA . — Funeral serv ices for William Henry Baker were held December 17th at the Sacred Heart Church, Rev. J. E. O’Donohue, S.J., officiating. Survivors are a daughter, Mrs. T. S. Powell of North Au gusta; two sons, M/Sgt. Julian M. Baker of Myrtle Beach, S. C. and Henry M. Baker of Mari etta; two sisters, Mrs. Ellen Keenan of Langley, S. C., and Mrs. Daniel Smith of Belvedere. Morinus A. Wyndelts Services In Atlanta ATLANTA — Funeral serv- ives for Marinus Adrian Wyn- delts, Sr., were held December 18th at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Rev. Dale Freeman officiating. Mr. Wyndelts was a member of the Holy Name Society and the Knights of Columbus. He was born in Holland. Survivors are his wife; a son, Marinus A. Wyndelts Jr., and several grandchildren. We see in the future what we dreamed the past might be like. The man who is appointed to a good job never forgets his place. enter. One can safely say, however, that in Africa’s Moslem millions there is a great fund of sincere religious sentiment and of good will towards non-Moslems. MOSAIC — TERRAZZO — TILE — MARBLE Best Wishes COLUMBUS TILE AND MARBLE WORKS G. M. TAMBURINI, Owner Phone 2-7022 1410 - 10th Ave. COLUMBUS, GA. Happy New Year Smoak's Bakery Buy with Confidence . . Serve with Pride 2108 CENTRAL AVE. AUGUSTA, GA. AUGUSTA BUILDING SUPPLY COMPANY Better Building Materials AND — Ready Mixed Concrete 1559-61 Broad St., Telephone PA. 2-8818 Augusta, Georgia THE BULLETIN, January 10, 1958—PAGE 3 VALLEY PAINT AND VARNISH CO. DURALITE BEN MOORE “Paint for Every Purpose" P. O. Box 1097 1001 - 13th Street Columbus, Ga. FOR SALE BY BUILDER Christ the King Parish, Roxboro Road Section. 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