The Spirit of Islam in St. Joseph, MO

By Jerrad Hardin — St. Joseph Museums, Inc.

“I would like to acknowledge the past philosophers and prophets who served as liberators of the mind for humanity to eliminate its sufferings. These wise men recommended societies open their minds to activate the gifts of spirit. Primitive individuals knew of the existence of the spiritual nature of all things. Their quest was to awaken the spiritual presence within their lives.” Author Eugene Crowley, Jr., excerpt from his book Paris on My Mind

Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb

As the third century erupted in political and social problems for some of the world’s major economies, trade markets coming from India along the silk road began to shift focus away from the Roman regions and into southeast Asia. This is among a few reasons there are ancient Hindu structures in Cambodia and Vietnam today. The ancient Hindu traditions eventually reached North America, and at the first World Parliament on Religions convention in Chicago in the 1890s, a keynote speaker was the Hindu-mystic, Swami Vivekananda. In the audience were inventors Thomas Edison and Nicolai Tesla, along with featured speaker and once-editor of the St. Joseph Gazette, Alexander Russell Webb. Webb was a descendant of Americans from the original thirteen colonies, and the only Muslim representative at the convention.

Worlds Congress of Religions — Chicago Worlds Fair 1893

This American period is marked by the struggle for basic human rights, and an under-representation of women in all aspects of life. But at this convention a whopping 10 percent of the 200 speakers were women, a big number for the time. People such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Annie Besant were among the presenters. Besides this, perhaps one of the most “herstory” moments of the late 19th century, speaker and Hindu mystic Swami Vivekananda had spent a lifetime praying and encouraging the world to pray to the Divine Mother Kali, a central figure in Hinduism considered to be the Mother of the Universe. Vivekananda predicted a compassionate and prosperous world if civilization shifted their prayers to the Divine Mother.

A call for peace and religious tolerance was on the minds of millions of people around the world when the World Parliament on Religions was organized in part by a Presbyterian minister from the United States. The world had been dealing with the consequences of rapidly expanding military capabilities along with growing religious intolerance. The convention was hosted as a spiritual companion to the cutting-edge technology showcase at the Chicago World’s Fair.

For Swami Vivekananda’s part, his 130-year-old message echoes today in profound ways — “Sisters and Brothers of America, I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism.”

Ardhanarishvara, a form of the Hindu deity Shiva — Currently on display at the St. Joseph Museums.

Alexander Russell Webb started as a journalist in Missouri at the Missouri Republican Newspaper in St. Louis. He did so well that he was hired as the Editor of the St. Joseph Gazette in the 1880s. By 1889 he had converted to Islam after taking a trip to India, a nation who had long engaged with the spiritual traditions of Persia and Arabia. Webb is considered to be among the earliest of the “Old Stock” American converts to the Muslim faith. He also served as United States consul for the Philippines in Manila from 1887 to 1892. After his conversion, he changed his name to Mohammad Webb and wrote -

“The truth of the Unity of God is apparent in all the manifestations of nature and has been clearly and unmistakably taught by the founder of every religion known to man. Idolatry and a multiplicity of gods have invariably been the inventions of misguided men, and such doctrines were never taught by truly inspired religious teachers.”

Persian Oil Lamp — St. Joseph Museums Collection #L2022.24.39

One of St. Joseph’s important intellectual and religious ancestors must be Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb. His sharp and poignant vision for civilization admonished the west at the time for its inability to recognize the beauty and mystical nature of Islam. Our museum represents many ancient peoples and their spiritual traditions. Considering recent world events, we should feel especially moved to share our important collection and St. Joseph’s ancestral roots in the broader inter-faith communities of the world.

Ramakrishna, a Hindu monk who spent much of his time meditating and teaching about God in the Himalayan mountains, also prayed to the Divine Mother. In his lifetime, prominent people from other countries considered him to be an incarnation of God and pleaded with him to start a mission. It was this Hindu mission that his student Swami Vivekananda brought to America at the convention in 1893 -

“I have practised all religions — Hinduism, Islam, Christianity — and I have also followed the paths of the different Hindu sects. I have found that it is the same God toward whom all are directing their steps, though along different paths. … A lake has several Ghats. At one, the Hindus take water in pitchers and call it ‘ Jal ‘; at another the Mussalmans take water in leather bags and call it ‘ pani ‘. At a third the Christians call it ‘ water ‘. Can we imagine that it is not ‘ Jal ‘, but only ‘ pani ‘ or ‘ water ‘? How ridiculous! The substance is One under different names, and everyone is seeking the same substance; only climate, temperament, and name create differences.”

Persian Oil Lamp — Collection #:L2022.24.40