George Braswell

George sat cross-legged on the floor, drinking cup after cup of tea with the Muslim clergyman. He soon learned that the more tea you drink, the more you are immersed in another’s life.

George sat cross-legged on the floor, drinking cup after cup of tea with the Muslim clergyman. He soon learned that the more tea you drink, the more you are immersed in another’s life.

A missionary in Tehran, Iran, during the 1970s, George Braswell, Jr. was particularly curious about the mullahs, the Muslim clergymen. Because of the nature of their work, the mullahs spent most of their time in the mosques, which made it difficult for George to find ways to connect with them.

George was determined to meet a mullah and engage in conversation. In one of the classes he taught at the University of Tehran, George met a woman who said she would introduce him to her local mullah. George was honored to meet the mullah and was surprised how freely and openly the mullah spoke with him regarding political and spiritual matters. As they shared cups of tea, the mullah spoke with George as he would a close confidant.

Given the honor of being one of three Westerners to ever hold a faculty position at the University of Tehran, George gladly built relationships with his students and their religious leaders. George taught daughters of prominent Iranians and young men who would soon become teachers of Islam. The Iranians trusted George because he so freely engaged with their culture and sought to learn about their religion directly from them.

He retired from the field in 1974 and became professor of missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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