In 1807, William Ward (1769–1823) and the Serampore Press published a Persian pamphlet to share the gospel with Muslims. This short pamphlet almost derailed the developing Baptist mission. In the aftermath of the revolt of Muslim and Hindu soldiers in the Vellore Mutiny (1806), the East India Company (EIC) sought to maintain religious peace. When the Persian pamphlet offended Muslims in Calcutta, the EIC threatened to expel the missionaries from the region and called William Carey (1761–1834) in for questioning to halt the distribution of the pamphlet. The Serampore missionaries later realized that during production a native translator inserted the title “tyrant” before each use of Muhammad’s name in the tract. However, beyond this offensive insertion, what did the text say?
In this paper, I argue that beyond the offensive insertion, the Serampore missionaries made an honest, but underdeveloped attempt to present the atoning work of Christ to Muslims in the Serampore Persian pamphlet. While confrontational—warning that God would “burn all sinners for ever in hell fire”—the tract identified the sinfulness of all humanity to point to the gracious atoning work of Christ “who took on himself the sins of all men.” The pamphlet brought the “joyful tidings” that “God in his endless bounty and mercy has appointed an all powerful saviour.” It attempted to draw on Islamic theology, even referencing the first line of the Shahada, with the phrase “it is in your creed that there is only one God.” While it did cause controversy, the Persian pamphlet represented an early, even if flawed, attempt to present evangelical Christianity to Muslims.
For this paper, I draw from research among unpublished EIC records at the British Library which include a translation of the Persian pamphlet, letters between Carey and the EIC, and a transcript of the interrogation of Carey. This research seeks to draw on and contribute to recent studies such as The East India Company and Religion by Penelope Carson, Converting Britannia by Gareth Atkins, and Terrains of Exchange by Nile Green.