Many ways to be a Christian, and a Muslim
Apr. 4th, 2011 08:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akilanajmahAs right wing Christians, biblical literalists, conservatives and evangelicals of various denominations would have it, the good Christian is necessarily socially and fiscally conservative, anti-abortion, pro-patriarchy, anti-feminism and certainly opposed to LGBT rights or anything else that might suggest approbation of homosexuality. Liberal and progressive Christians have fought back against that, proclaiming that their faith inspires them to loves and compassion for all, and teaches them to practice forgiveness and inclusiveness. (See for instance the network of spiritual progressives. )
This same struggle is taking place within Islam. Conservative, Islamist, even mainstream groups swear by the notion that there is only one way to be a “true” Muslim. That image very much mirrors the conservative positions, and also includes strict adherence to the rituals of Islam, and to dietary and dress codes, etc. Very often you will hear from these folks, “Islam says...” or “Muslims believe....” as though Islam were some unified creed and Muslims a monolithic bloc. Take, for instance, this statement from CAIR in their diversity training handbook for healthcare professional, “Muslims receive illness with patience and prayers and consider it, like other life events, a test from God.” This is obviously true of some Muslims. But certainly not all 1.2 billion of them!
Liberal, mystical and progressive Muslims push back against this uniformity, proclaiming that there are many ways to be a good Muslim; that they are inspired by their religion to practice peace, mercy, compassion, and to strive for truth and beauty or justice and the brotherhood of all mankind, that pursuing values may be more important than practicing rituals, and that while the rituals may be one way to pursue values such as humility, modesty, self-discipline and personal piety, they are certainly not the only way. As for religious law, these other groups, viewing the Qur’an through the lens of the basic values that it teaches, often come up with quite different interpretations. (see for instance MPV’s ten principles)
How then do we define Christian or Islamic or any other religious groups’ values? Very carefully! And with full acknowledgment that there is difference of opinion within each tradition. The Prophet Muhammad taught that differences between Muslims is a blessing from God. People are wildly different -- some thrive on structure, others feel suffocated by it; some find comfort in following a strong leader, others like to lead; some are intellectual, others emotional; some social, some loners. The list could go on and on, and most of us lie somewhere in the middle of each spectrum, not fully one or the other. Any religion that asserts itself to be of universal relevance has to be broad enough and deep enough to meet the vast array of spiritual, emotional, social, etc needs that the human race encompasses. Little wonder, then, that the followers of those religions should disagree so vehemently on what the religion stands for.
source
This same struggle is taking place within Islam. Conservative, Islamist, even mainstream groups swear by the notion that there is only one way to be a “true” Muslim. That image very much mirrors the conservative positions, and also includes strict adherence to the rituals of Islam, and to dietary and dress codes, etc. Very often you will hear from these folks, “Islam says...” or “Muslims believe....” as though Islam were some unified creed and Muslims a monolithic bloc. Take, for instance, this statement from CAIR in their diversity training handbook for healthcare professional, “Muslims receive illness with patience and prayers and consider it, like other life events, a test from God.” This is obviously true of some Muslims. But certainly not all 1.2 billion of them!
Liberal, mystical and progressive Muslims push back against this uniformity, proclaiming that there are many ways to be a good Muslim; that they are inspired by their religion to practice peace, mercy, compassion, and to strive for truth and beauty or justice and the brotherhood of all mankind, that pursuing values may be more important than practicing rituals, and that while the rituals may be one way to pursue values such as humility, modesty, self-discipline and personal piety, they are certainly not the only way. As for religious law, these other groups, viewing the Qur’an through the lens of the basic values that it teaches, often come up with quite different interpretations. (see for instance MPV’s ten principles)
How then do we define Christian or Islamic or any other religious groups’ values? Very carefully! And with full acknowledgment that there is difference of opinion within each tradition. The Prophet Muhammad taught that differences between Muslims is a blessing from God. People are wildly different -- some thrive on structure, others feel suffocated by it; some find comfort in following a strong leader, others like to lead; some are intellectual, others emotional; some social, some loners. The list could go on and on, and most of us lie somewhere in the middle of each spectrum, not fully one or the other. Any religion that asserts itself to be of universal relevance has to be broad enough and deep enough to meet the vast array of spiritual, emotional, social, etc needs that the human race encompasses. Little wonder, then, that the followers of those religions should disagree so vehemently on what the religion stands for.
source
