Sömürge Dönemi Hint Alt Kıtası’ndaki Hıristiyan Misyonerlik Stratejilerinde Kur’an-ı Kerim

Year 2026, Volume: 26 Issue: 1, 373 - 404, 28.03.2026

Nur Uddin

https://doi.org/10.33415/daad.1696762

https://izlik.org/JA23HT73UZ

Abstract

Bu makale, sömürge altındaki Güney Asya’da Hıristiyan misyonerlerinin Kur’an’la ilişkisini ve Kur’an’ı amaçlarına uygun şekilde nasıl kullandıklarını incelemektedir. Bölgede 16. yüzyılda başlayan Hıristiyan misyonerlik faaliyetleri, 18. yüzyıl sonlarında Batılı güçlerin bölgedeki etkisiyle yoğunlaşmıştır. Misyonerler, İslam’ın teolojik temellerini sorgulayıp Hıristiyanlığı üstün kılmayı hedeflemiş ve Kur’an’ı ya İslam’a karşı kullanmış ya da Hıristiyan inançlarını desteklemek için ondan alıntı yapmak için kullanmıştır. Özellikle, sömürgenin zirve dönemi sayılan 1857 sonrası dönemlerde, misyonerlerin çalışmalarına artan bir sistematiklik kazandırılmış ve yeni yorumlama yöntemleri geliştirilmiştir. Çalışmada örnek olarak ele aldığımız John Murdoch’un Selections From the Koran eseri, İslam’ı eleştirirken misyonerlere Kur’an’ı nasıl kullanacaklarına dair rehberlik etmiştir. Ele aldığımız diğer misyoner William Goldsack ise Bengalce’ye yaptığı Kur’an tercümesiyle Müslümanları Hıristiyanlığa yönlendirmeyi amaçlamıştır. Goldsack’ın yaklaşımı, Kur’an’ın içeriğini çarpıtarak ve zaman zaman yanlış bilgilendirmelerle Hıristiyanlık lehine sunmasıyla dikkat çekmektedir. Çalışmada kullanılan yöntemler, içerik analizi ve söylem analizi gibi niteliksel araştırma teknikleridir. Bu çalışma, Hıristiyan misyonerliğinin, sömürge dönemi Hint Alt Kıtası’ndaki dini ve entelektüel tartışmalar üzerindeki etkilerini daha iyi anlamamıza yardımcı olmaktadır.

Keywords

Tefsir , Kur’an , Misyonerlik , Sömürgecilik , John Murdoch , William Goldsack , Hint Alt Kıtası

The Holy Quran ın Christian Missionary Strategies During Colonial South Asia

https://izlik.org/JA23HT73UZ

Abstract

This article explores how Christian missionaries in colonial India used the Qur’an to further their objectives. Christian missionary activities in the region, beginning in the 16th century, intensified significantly in the late 18th century under expanding Western colonial influence. The primary aim was to challenge Islam's theological foundations and assert Christianity's superiority. Missionaries approached the Qur’an in two ways: either to refute Islamic teachings or to support Christian beliefs. Under British colonial rule, missionary work became more organized, leading to the development of new interpretative strategies. This article analyses the works of key missionaries, including John Murdoch and William Goldsack. Murdoch’s Selections from the Koran critiques Islam while guiding missionaries in using the Qur’an for their mission, while Goldsack’s Bengali translation aimed to convert Muslims, often distorting the Qur’an to favor Christianity. The study employs qualitative research methods, including content and discourse analysis, offering a more in-depth examination than the existing literature. It provides significant insights into the impact of Christian missionaries on religious and intellectual debates in colonial India.

Keywords

Qur’anic Commentary , Missionary , Colonialism , John Murdoch , William Goldsack , Indian Subcontinent

References

• Bellenoit, Hayden J. A. Missionary Education and Empire in Late Colonial India, 1860-1920. London-New York: Routledge, 2016.
• Bellenoit, Hayden J. A. ‘Missionary Education, Religion and Knowledge in India, c. 1880-1915’. Modern Asian Studies 41/2 (2007), 369–394.
• Bennett, Clinton. Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. ed. Gerald H. Anderson. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998.
• Birışık, Abdulhamit. Oryantalist Misyonerler ve Kur’ân: Batı Etkisinde Hint Kur’ân Araştırmaları. İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları, 2004.
• Birışık, Abdulhamit. ‘Pervîz, Gulam Ahmed’. DİA. XXXIV/247–249. İstanbul: TDV yayınları, 2007.
• Bulut, Yücel. ‘Hindistan’da İngiliz Sömürgeciliği, Oryantalizm ve William Jones’. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology 3/6 (10 February 2012), 71–106.
• Camps, Arnulf. Jerome Xavier, S.J. and the Muslims of the Mogul Empire: Controversial and Missionary Activity. Schöneck: Nouvelle Revue de Science Missionnaire Suisse, 1957.
• Camps, Arnulf. Studies in Asian Mission History. Leiden-Boston-Köln: BRILL, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047400318
• Carvalho, Pedro Moura. Mir’āt al-Quds (Mirror of Holiness): A Life of Christ for Emperor Akbar: A Commentary on Father Jerome Xavier’s Text and the Miniatures of Cleveland Museum of Art, Acc. No. 2005.145. Leiden- Boston: Brill, 2011. https://brill.com/display/title/20498
• Cerrahoğlu, İsmail. ‘Garânîk’. DİA. XIII/361–366. İstanbul, 1996.
• Cerrahoğlu, İsmail. ‘Oryantalizm ve Batıda Kur’an ve ve Kur’an İlimleri Üzerine Araştırmalar’. Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 31/1–4 (1 August 1989), 95–136.
• Coffey, D. O. Admitted Truths in Muslim-Christian Dialogue: A Study of William Muir, Sayyid Ahmad Khān and William Goldsack in 19th Century India. Great Britain: University of Edinburgh, 2003.
• Felix, Rev. Father. ‘Jesuit Missions in Lahore’. The Islamic World in Foreign Travel Accounts: Mughal India According to European Travel Accounts: Texts and Siwdies IV. ed. Fuad Sezgin. Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, 1997.
• Ferguson, John. The ‘Literary Evangelist’ of India and Ceylon: John Murdoch, LL. D. Colombo: Ceylon Observer, 1898.
• Goldie, Francis. The First Christian Mission to the Great Mogul. London: M.H. Gill, 1897.
• Goldsack, Rev William. Mussalmani Bengali-English Dictionary. New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, Bilingual édition., 2007.
• Goldsack, William. Ghulam Jabbar’s Renunciation: A Tale of Eastern Bengal. London-Madras-Colombo: Christian Literature Society, 1913.
• Goldsack, William. ‘How to Reach and Teach Illiterate Moslems’. Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems. 29–40. New York-London-Torento: Flaming H. Revell, 1906.
• Goldsack, William. ‘The Moslem Press of Bengal’. The Muslim World 7/2 (1917), 182–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.1917.tb01540.x
• Goldsack, William. The Origins of the Qur’an. London-Madras-Colombo: Christian Literature Society, 1907.
• Goldsack, William. The Qur’an in Islam: An Inquiry into the Integrity of the Qur’an. London-Madras-Colombo: Christian Literature Society, 1906.
• Gündüz, Şinasi. ‘Misyonerlik ve Hıristiyan Misyonerler’. Dinbilimleri Akademik Araştırma Dergisi 2/4 (1 August 2002), 1–21.
• Gupta, Vikas. ‘Social Agenda of Colonial Education: Textbook Discourse in the Mid-Nineteenth Century’. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 68 (2007), 1112–1123.
• Hani̇lçe, Murat. ‘Henry Martyn s Personal Effects and His Grave in Tokat’. Cedrus 5 (1 June 2017), 543–566.
• Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Philosophy of History. trans. J. Sibree. New York: The Colonial Press, 1899.
• Jarric, Father Pierre du Jarric. Akbar and the Jesuits: An Account of the Jesuit Missions to the Court of Akbar. trans. C. H. Payne. London-New York: Harper & Brothers, 1926. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203307526
• Johnson, Wesley Irvin. Evangelicals Encountering Muslims : A Pre-Evangelistic Approach to the Qu’ran. South Africa: University of South Africa, PhD Thesis, 2015. https://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/19987
• Jones, L. Bevan. ‘How Not to Use the Quran’. The Muslim World 30/3 (1940), 280–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.1940.tb00454.x
• Khan, Mofakhkhar Hussain. Pobitro Kur’an Procharer Itihash o Bonganubader Shotoborsho. Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1997.
• Koch, Ebba. ‘The Influence of the Jesuit Mission on Symbolic Representations of the Mughal Emperors’. Islam in India : Studies and Commentaries. ed. Christian W. Troll. New Dehli: Vikas Publishing House, 1982.
• McClymont, A. W. - Hodge, John Zimmerman. The Travelling Bookman, John Murdoch of Madras: With a Special Chapter on the Indian National Christian Council and Its Debt to John Murdoch. Lutterworth Press, 1947.
• Morris, Henry. The Life of John Murdoch: The Literary Evangelist of India. London- Madras: Christian Literature Society for India, 1906.
• Muir, William. The Life of Mahomet: From Original Sources. Edinburgh: John Grant, 1923.
• Murdoch, John (ed.). Catalogue of The Christian Vernacular Literature of India: With Hints on The Management of Indian Tract Societies. Madras: Caleb Foster, 1870.
• Murdoch, John. National Education in India. Madras: United Scottish Press, 1863.
• Murdoch, John. Report on Theological Education in India. Madras: The S. P. C. K. Press, 1900.
• Murdoch, John. Selections From the Koran. Madras-London: The Christian Literature Society, 1896.
• Neill, Stephen. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. New York-London-Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
• Patton, Cornelius H. (ed.). Christian Literature in Moslem Lands: A Study of the Activities of the Moslem and Christian Press in All Mohammedan Countries. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1923.
• Rhea, Sarah J. Life of Henry Martyn, Missionary to India and Persia, 1781 to 1812. Chicago: Women’s Presbyterian Board, 1888.
• Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses. New York: Random House, 2011.
• Sargent, John. Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn. London: Seeley, Burnside & Seeley, 1830.
• Solihu, Abdul Kabir Hussain - Abdulhameed, Abdulganiy Akorede. ‘Christian Translations of the Qur’an into Yoruba and Their Historical Background’. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09596410.2015.1073884
• Takle, John. ‘Moslem Advance in India’. Islam and Missions. ed. E. M. Wherry - Samuel M. Zwemer. 206–219. London-New York-Toronto: Fleming H. Revell, 1911.
• Uddin, Nur. Bengalce’de ve Bangladeş’te Yapılan Kur’an ve Tefsir Çalışmaları. Konya: Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans, 2018.
• Uddin, Nur. Hint Alt Kıtası’nın Batı ile Etkileşim Sonrası Toplum ve Siyasetinde Kur’ân ve Hz. Peygamber. İstanbul: Marmara Üniversitesi, Doktora Tezi, 2024.
• Vennela, R. - Smith, Richard. ‘Bilingual English Teaching in Colonial India: The Case of John Murdoch’s Work in Madras Presidency, 1855–1875’. Language & History 62/2 (4 May 2019), 96–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/17597536.2019.1641942
• Wherry, E. M. ‘Christ Superior to Mohammed: Fourteen Reasons From The Koran’. The Muslim World 9/3 (1919), 252–264. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.1919.tb01774.x
• Zwemer, S. M. ‘Translations of the Koran’. The Muslim World 5/3 (July 1915), 244–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.1915.tb01451.x