The Mission of the American Board in nineteenth-century Syria

From a contemporary perspective Christian missionary activities in centuries past are perceived very negatively. It is beyond doubt, that overseas missions in the nineteenth century have to be analyzed critically. However, many studies tend to generalize missions in the context of cultural imperialism and colonialism. This dissertation attempts to present a more differentiated and balanced view of mission by analyzing interactions and reactions between and among people in the context of intercultural contact within the mission field. The focus of this study is the Syria Mission, directed by the Protestant missionary society American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) from 1819 to 1870 in the Ottoman province of Syria, operating mainly within the territory of present-day Lebanon. Whilst achieving little success with evangelization, the American Syria Mission experienced a more positive resonance within the sector of education. The analysis of the cultural transfer between the Ottoman Empire and the United States of America undertaken in this study focuses on four relevant protagonists, whose contributions have not yet been sufficiently explored in missiological studies. This dissertation analyzes the influences of the committed missionaries Eli Smith and Cornelius Van Dyck on cultural transformations in Syria in the nineteenth century also known as the naha , as well as the biographies and writings of the two Syrian Protestants Burus al-Bustani and John Wortabet, which provide insight into the reception of these cultural influences amongst the Syrian population. As a result, the Syria Mission of the ABCFM demonstrates how two different cultures met in a so called contact zone in the mission field and how these dialogue partners, despite many conflicts and disagreements, succeeded in contributing towards a fruitful dialogue.