Harkar mishan ta fara ne kafin juyin juya halin masana'antu ya barke a Turai a karni na 18, kuma ta ci gaba har zuwa lokacin da aka rushe Daular Musulunci a shekarar 1924. An kafa babbar cibiyar mishan a Malta a karshen karni na 16. Ita ce ta zama hedikwatar da suke gudanar da farmakinsu na mishan a kan duniyar Musulunci, amma a shekarar 1625 sun koma al-Sham, inda suka yi kokarin kafa harkokin mishan a can ma. Mishanin ba su samu nasara sosai ba illa kafa 'yan makarantu kadan da buga 'yan littattafai kan al'amuran addini, a karshe suka sha kashi a shekarar 1773 lokacin da aka dakatar da ayyukansu suka koma Malta.

The missionary movement actually started before the Industrial Revolution erupted in Europe in the 18th Century, and it continued until the Islamic State was dismantled in 1924. A huge missionary centre was established in Malta towards the end of the 16th century. This acted as the headquarters from which they conducted their missionary onslaught on the Muslim world, but in 1625 they moved to al-Sham and tried to establish missionary movements there as well. The missionaries did not find much success beyond establishing a couple of schools and publishing few a books on religious matters, finally succumbing to failure in 1773 when their activities were shut down and they returned to Malta.

Gagarumin ci gaba da masu wa'azi suka samu ya faru ne a karni na 19 lokacin da Daular Musulunci ta fara gabatar da sauye-sauye iri-iri, wadanda ake kira Tanzimat, galibi da nufin rage matsin lambar da ke karuwa daga kasashen Yamma. Wadannan sauye-sauye sun shafi fannoni da dama, ciki har da filaye, haraji da hakkokin wadanda ba Musulmi ba. Ko da yake wasu daga cikinsu a bayyane suke saba wa Musulunci, Daular Musulunci a lokacin ta yi amfani da ijtihadi, kuma ta yanke hukuncin cewa wadannan sauye-sauye ba su saba wa Shari'ah ba. Saboda haka ba za a ce sun aiwatar da dokokin kufr ba, domin a zukatan Musulmi wadannan matakai ba su saba wa Shari'ah ba.

The real breakthrough for the missionaries was made during the 19th Century when the Islamic State started to introduce various types of reforms, known as Tanzimat, mostly aimed at diffusing the increasing pressure from the West. These reforms affected many areas, including land, taxation and the rights of non-Muslims. Although some of them were clearly contradictory to Islam, the Islamic State at that time did actually refer to ijtihad and it concluded that these reforms did not contradict the Shari‘ah. So one cannot say that they implemented Kufr laws because in the minds of the Muslims, these measures did not contradict Shari‘ah.

Wani ɓangare na waɗannan gyare-gyare shi ne ba wa 'yan ƙasar Musulunci Kiristoci cikakken 'yanci. Khulafa' sun ba ƙasashe irin su Rasha da Faransa iko kusan cikakke wajen magance matsalolin da suka shafi Kiristoci, kuma waɗannan ƙasashe sun yi amfani da wannan dama wajen shiga cikin Daular Musulunci. Wannan dama ta haifar da ƙarin ƙwazo a aikin mishan, kuma ta share hanya ga kafa cibiyar mishan a Beirut a shekara ta 1820. Wannan cibiya an yi niyyar ta zama kamar ciwon daji mai kisa da ke yaɗuwa a ko'ina cikin Daular Musulunci, tana aiki a matsayin abin hanzarta raguwar Khilafah ta 'Uthmaniyya.

Parts of these reforms included a greater autonomy for the Christian citizens of the Islamic State. The Khulafa’ gave countries like Russia and France an almost free hand in dealing with problems relating to Christians, and these countries used this opportunity to infiltrate the Islamic State. This window of opportunity led to a greater vigour in missionary work and paved the way for the establishment of a missionary centre in Beirut in 1820. This centre was to act as the deadly cancer that spread all over the Islamic State, acting as a catalyst in the decline of the ‘Uthmani Khilafah.

Malamai masu yada addini sun fara fuskantar manyan matsaloli, amma sun ci gaba da ayyukansu.

The missionaries initially faced great difficulties but they persisted with their activities.

Da farko abin da suka fi mayar da hankali a kai shi ne wa'azin addini da al'adun addini; shirinsu na ilimi kuwa ya kasance mai iyaka da rauni. Sun yi nasarar buɗe kwaleji a ƙauyen A'ntoura da ke Lebanon. Ƙungiyar Amurka ta mayar da wurin buga littattafanta daga Malta zuwa Beirut domin buga littattafan da rarraba su, kuma a shekara ta 1834 sun shiga dukkan yankin al-Sham.

Their first area of concern was religious preaching and religious culture; their education programme remained limited and weak. They managed to open a college in the village of A‘ntoura in Lebanon. The American mission transferred its print shop from Malta to Beirut in order to print and distribute its books, and they penetrated the entire region of al-Sham by 1834.

Wani fitaccen mishan a wannan zamani shi ne Ba'amurke Eli Smith, wanda ya kasance yana aiki a Malta a matsayin mai aikin sa kai mai kula da matbaar mishan. Eli Smith ya isa Beirut a shekarar 1827, amma bayan shekara guda tsoro da gajiya suka kore shi, sai ya koma Malta. Daga baya ya sake komawa Beirut a shekarar 1834, kuma tare da matarsa suka buɗe makarantar 'yan mata. Fagen aikinsa ya ƙara faɗi, ya kuma sadaukar da rayuwarsa wajen aiki a al-Sham, musamman Beirut.

One notable missionary from this period was the American Eli Smith, who had been working in Malta as a volunteer in charge of the mission press. Eli Smith arrived in Beirut in 1827 but a year later fear and boredom drove him out and he returned to Malta. He next returned to Beirut in 1834 and together with his wife opened a school for girls. His area of work broadened and he devoted his life to working in al-Sham, Beirut in particular.

Wata dama mai ba da dama ga masu wa'azin bishara ta zo lokacin da Ibrahim Pasha ya karɓi tare da aiwatar da sabon tsarin ilimin firamare a Siriya. Asalin wannan tsari yana cikin tsarin ilimi na Masar, wanda kuma aka karɓa daga tsarin ilimin 'yanci na Faransa. Ibrahim ya kuma tilasta biyan haraji akai-akai, lamarin da ya buɗe hanya ga waɗanda ba Musulmi ba su riƙe mukamai a gwamnati, kuma ya shelanta ra'ayin Turawa na daidaiton dukkan 'yan ƙasa a gaban doka. Masu wa'azin bishara sun yi amfani da wannan damar, suka ƙara ƙaimi a ayyukansu, suna faɗaɗa ayyukan bugunsu a lokacin. Jesuits, waɗanda Paparoma ya dakatar da ƙungiyarsu a shekara ta 1773, suka dawo da ƙarfi, sai kuma masu wa'azin Furotesta na Burtaniya da Amurka suka kafa tushe mai ƙarfi ta hanyar kafa Cocin Furotesta na Siriya a shekara ta 1839. Bayan haka, an kafa Kwalejin Furotesta ta Siriya, wadda yanzu ake kira Jami'ar Amurka ta Beirut, a shekara ta 1866, sannan ayyukan Jesuits suka kai ga kololuwa a Université Saint-Joseph da ke Beirut a shekara ta 1874.

A further opportunity came for the missionaries when Ibrahim Pasha adopted and implemented a new primary education syllabus in Syria. The roots of this syllabus lied in the Egyptian educational system which in turn was taken from the French libertian system. Ibrahim also enforced regular taxation, opening the way for the non-Muslims to hold posts in the government, and proclaimed the European view of equality of all citizens before the law. The missionaries took advantage of this opportunity and intensified their activities, expanding their printing works in the process. The Jesuits, whose order had been suspended by the Pope in 1773, returned in force, and British and American Protestant missionaries established a firm foothold by establishing the Protestant Church of Syria in 1839. Following on from this the Syrian Protestant College, now the American University of Beirut, was established in 1866 and Jesuit activity culminated in Universite Saint-Joseph in Beirut in 1874.