“Preach Christ to the Muslims”
A book review of St. Francis of Assisi and the
Conversion of the Muslims, Frank M. Rega, S.F.O,
TAN Books and Publishers. <http://www.thepoverello.com>www.thepoverello.com
Reviewed by Kenneth Baker, S. J.
Homiletic and Pastoral Review (HPR), June 2009, pp. 76-77.
Fr. Baker is also the editor of the HPR.
(The below review appears in what I would term a
‘loyal mainstream Catholic’ magazine, published
by Ignatius Press no less, which is why I am
pleasantly surprised that Fr. Baker agrees with
the approach of St. Francis – that we should try
to convert the Muslims rather than simply
dialogue with them. This of course runs counter
to the philosophy of ecumenism and dialogue
promoted by the Church since the Second Vatican
Council. It is a philosophy which has virtually
emasculated the missionary activity of the
Church, causing Catholics, especially in Europe,
to stand helplessly frozen in fear before the
onrushing juggernaut of Muslim immigration and increasing dominance.) - Frank
There is no doubt that St. Francis of Assisi was
a radical Christian – radical in the sense of
going down to the very roots or essentials of the
faith when it came to imitating Jesus
Christ. There are dozens of fine books about the
saint. The emphasis in this book about his life
is on his attempt to convert to Christianity the
powerful sultan of Egypt, al-Malik al-Kamil.
The small book has three parts. The first
part deals with the youth and conversion of St.
Francis, without going into great detail, since these facts are well known.
The heart of the book is to be found in the
second part, which tells of his missionary
journey to Egypt with the intention of converting
the sultan and any other Muslims who would listen
to him. The year was 1219 during the Fifth
Crusade to retake the Holy Land from the
Muslims. The Crusaders were at first defeated at
Damietta, which was followed by a truce of some
time. During the truce St. Francis and one of
his companions crossed the battle lines and went
to see the sultan. By doing that he was risking
his life, since the normal treatment of captured
Christians in such circumstances was to be
beheaded. Trusting absolutely in God and willing
to die for the faith, Francis was at first beaten
by the guards but eventually taken to the
sultan. The sultan was favorably impressed by
the humble, kindly Francis and listened to
him. The guards wanted to chop his head off, but
the sultan said “No” and received him as his
guest. Francis spent a few weeks with the
sultan, preaching to him the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and telling him that if wanted to be
saved, he had to become a Christian.
The author says that the sultan was
favorably impressed, but knew he and his family
would be killed by other Muslims if he
converted. When Francis saw that he could not
convert the sultan, he departed and returned to
the camp of the Crusaders. The sultan offered
several rich gifts to Francis, but he refused to take anything.
In the third part Mr. Rega says that there
are credible reports that the sultan asked for
baptism shortly before he died. If that is so,
then it means that it was due to the preaching of
St. Francis. In this part there is also an
account of the last few years in the life of the
saint when he suffered from many bodily ailments,
became almost blind, and received the stigmata two years before his death.
St. Francis was a radical follower of Jesus
Christ. He was joyful and had a pleasant
personality so that he attracted many
followers. In a few short years his followers in
the Franciscan way of life numbered around five
thousand. But he was not a pacifist. He
supported the Fifth Crusade and encouraged the
knights. Also he did not believe in “dialogue”
or theological discussions. After all, he was
not a theologian – he was a saint who grew in
knowledge of the faith by prayer, penance,
meditating on the Bible and being guided by the
Holy Spirit. So he did not attempt to dialogue
with the sultan. He preached to him Jesus Christ
crucified. When he was convinced that he had
done all he could to convert the sultan, he
returned to Assisi to be with his friars.
This is an excellent book for spiritual
reading. His approach to the Muslims is
instructive for Christians today who think they
can dialogue with them. St. Francis preached
Christ to them as the only savior of the world
and he was ready to die for the faith.
Kenneth Baker, S.J.
70 Lake Street
P.O. Box 297
Ramsey, N.J. 07446
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