Carl Gottlieb Pfander (1803–1865)—also spelled Karl—was a German Protestant missionary renowned for his polemical work with Muslims. He served with the Basel Mission in Central Asia and the Trans-Caucasus, and later joined the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in British India, specifically in the North-Western Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh). Pfander became known for his efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity and his theological debates.
Carl Gottlieb Pfander’s Writings
Pfander authored several notable works, most famously Mīzān al-Ḥaqq (The Balance of Truth), a Christian apologetic. Other works include Remarks on the Nature of Muhammedanism and numerous tracts challenging Islamic theology.
Early Life and Education
Born on 3 November 1803 in Württemberg, Germany, Pfander was one of nine children of a village baker. His hometown was steeped in Pietist evangelical traditions influenced by J.A. Bengel and F.C. Oetinger. At 16, he resolved to become a missionary. He trained in Germany (1819–1821) and later at the Evangelical Institute in Basel, Switzerland (1821–1825), where he became fluent in Persian, Turkish, and Arabic.
His first assignment with the Basel Mission took him to Shusha in the Karabakh Khanate (present-day Azerbaijan), where he learned Armenian and Azerbaijani. He served there from 1825 to 1837. During this period, he married his first wife, Sophia Reuss, in Moscow in 1834. She died in childbirth in 1835 in Shusha.
When Russian authorities shut down the Basel Mission in Central Asia in 1837, Pfander joined CMS and was sent to India, where he remained until 1857. He married his second wife, Emily Swinburne, in Calcutta in 1841; they had six children.
Work in India and the Agra Debate
In India, Pfander became a leading figure in Christian-Muslim dialogue. On 10–11 April 1854, he engaged in a landmark public debate in Agra with renowned Sunni scholar Rahmatullah Kairanawi. The event, hosted by the Church Missionary Society, attracted hundreds of Christians and Muslims.
While the debate was intended to cover several theological issues—such as the divinity of the Quran, the Trinity, and Muhammad’s prophethood—it largely centered on the authenticity of the Christian scriptures. Pfander defended the Bible, while Kairanawi cited the Gospel of Barnabas to argue the Bible had been corrupted. Both sides claimed victory, but many noted Pfander’s arguments were weaker than expected.
Despite this, some Muslim scholars, including Imad ud-Din Lahiz and Safdar Ali, were moved by Pfander’s writings and later converted to Christianity. Imad ud-Din, once an assistant to Kairanawi, eventually described the debate as a Christian victory, especially praising Mīzān al-Ḥaqq.
William Muir, then Secretary to the Government of the North-Western Provinces, witnessed the debate and later documented it in The Mohammedan Controversy (1897).
Peshawar (1855–1857)
Pfander later moved to Peshawar, a strategic city on the northwest frontier. He continued distributing Christian literature and engaging in debates, even during the tense period of the 1857 Indian Rebellion. For his scholarship and bravery, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity by Cambridge University that same year.
Constantinople (1858–1865)
After the Indian uprising, CMS sent Pfander to Constantinople in 1859. Initially, he found a receptive audience among Turks curious about Christianity. However, his aggressive critiques of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad provoked backlash. Ottoman authorities shut down missionary presses, closed bookstores, and imprisoned several CMS missionaries. British diplomatic pressure eventually led to their release, but the mission was permanently suspended. Pfander returned to Britain.
Death and Legacy
Carl Gottlieb Pfander died on 1 December 1865 in Richmond, London. He is buried at St. Andrew’s Church cemetery in Ham, Germany.