The Female Genital Mutilation Controversy
From 1929 Arthur sought to strengthen the mission's resistance to the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This practice was an ancient tradition of the Kikuyu tribe, who constituted the majority membership of the Church of Scotland Mission in Kenya. He was appalled by the needless suffering inflicted upon woman by cliterodectomy, and was especially outraged by the common incidence of forced FGM upon girls.
Arthur's views were almost universally shared by the leaders of all the mission agencies operating in Kenya at that time, but many settlers and government officials believed he was stirring up an unnecessary controversy amongst the Kikuyu. The Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) also denounced Arthur. They claimed that he and the various missions were seeking to eradicate traditional Kikuyu culture. Jomo Kenyatta, a leading KCA member, returned to Kenya from the UK during the circumcision controversy, and spoke out vehemently against Arthur. In return, Arthur recommended that Kenyatta and his fellow KCA members be disciplined by the colonial authorities.
The most surprisingly negative reaction to Arthur came from within the church. Many Kikuyu felt that because the Bible was silent on the issue of cliterodectomy, it was therefore not contrary to Christian belief. Arthur's stance was caricatured as "Dr Arthur's 11th Commandment".
Arthur and the other missionaries recognised that the KCA had a major role in fomenting the circumcision controversy, and so demanded that Presbyterian Christians not only publicly renounce FGM, but the KCA as well. However, the KCA had a strong grip on many within the church. About half of the Kikuyu members left the Church of Scotland and formed Independent African churches, with attendant institutions such as teacher training colleges, the latter becoming fertile recruiting and training grounds for the KCA. It took some eight years before church membership again reached the level of 1929.
Under a barrage of criticism, Arthur resigned from the Legislative Council and his reputation in Government circles as a voice of African interests was irreversibly damaged. The Kenya Government Department of Native Affairs were scathing in their assessment of the FGM controversy, describing Arthur as being "fanatical" in his views. Arthur had misread the political mood of the Kikuyu. In adhering to his principles, he paid a heavy price. Nevertheless, he maintained the confidence of his missionary colleagues and many Kikuyu Christians.
Despite this devastating setback, Arthur continued his missionary work with zeal. MacPherson notes that apart from masterminding the construction of the Church of the Torch, Arthur devoted his last years in Kenya to building up indigenous church leaders, for the day that the Church would become fully independent of missionaries.
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