Eboo Patel: Acts of Faith

One of my classmates attends a Muslim Journeys class that meets once a month at the local college. When she found out that I had been married to a Muslim, she invited me to the meeting hoping that I would be able to take away something positive.  Before the gathering, I was given Eboo Patel's book Acts of Faith to read and a group of about 20 people showed up to discuss his work. 

Photograph by Nubar Alexanian

Mr. Patel is deeply involved in Interfaith work, but this book is really more about a journey, a coming to terms with your own beliefs. He encourages everyday people like you and me to explore other religions so that we will become a stronger believer in our own faith. But first, we must have dialogue and find a common value between the religions. Then we can work together to help mankind. A service that is to be done for His glory and not ours. What I thought would be a boring read turned out to be one of encouragement and inspiration.  

Here is a quote from my favorite poet which is very fitting for this post:

I am not from the east or the west

not up from the ground

or out of the ocean

my place is placeless

a trace of the traceless

I belong to the Beloved.

Rumi

   

Contemplation

 
I was at my local library this evening and saw a moving ceremony by a few Buddhist monks. They used various colors of sand to decorate a board and then when the art was complete it was destroyed. They say that it is because beauty doesn't last.  While there I saw this young man praying as the monks chanted. It was a very moving sight.  His hair was pulled up in a bun on top of his head and he was adorned in a tunic with loose fitting trousers and plain brown leather shoes.  I could hardly take my eyes off of him.

Will how I dress cause me to go to hell?

I just recently read an article about religious clothing.  Many little girls are forced to wear a veil in Morocco so that they will not be harassed. One little girl's mother said that she needs to get used to it while she is young, otherwise she will go to hell.

We have this same kind of thinking here in the states.  There are Amish people, penecostals, and Jews, while there are probably many more groups that I cannot think of at the moment. Each group believes that they are the "chosen ones". Aren't we all chosen?  I have been told that if I didn't wear a dress or skirt all of the time I, too, would go to hell.  Really? Oh no, you cannot wear makeup either. Why do women have to sacrifice so much in this life?

Do you think that God\Allah is so concerned about our outward appearance that we would be sentenced to a life of torment?  Maybe this is hell already.  We seem to go to extremes to try and please God.  What about our hearts?  What about living a pure life, where we try to be "good"? I just don't understand people.  We are supposed to be individuals.  Yet we live our lives according to what "they" are doing or live how "they" say we are to live.  Do you understand what I am talking about? We rely on religious leaders to guide us.  Yet we have the same connection to God\Allah as they do. 

What we wear really has nothing to do with the next life.  Many times it is a prideful thing.  You are saying, "look at me, I am religious, I have a connection with the Almighty".  What are your thoughts?   

Kacem El Ghazzali: REBEL

Living blindly is how a majority of the population goes about their daily lives, especially when it comes to religion.  We believe the things that our parents taught us without giving much thought to the validity of their beliefs.  Religion has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. Most believers never challenge their beliefs or are afraid to.  Many times I was told to just believe and have faith when things didn’t make sense to me. Besides, good upstanding people believe in the religion of those that came before them, but not so for Kacem El Ghazzali.  He is Moroccan, but a displaced Moroccan.  He is now residing in Switzerland where he has found freedom.  Kacem is once again feeling the pressure from fellow Muslims in his new homeland. He has asked that those in authority to help him find a place to live away from those who are threatening his life.  Yet the people who are wanting his demise must feel threatened in some way because of his vocalized opinions.  

I talked to Kacem several years ago when I first started blogging.  He was a teenager and very passionate about his beliefs.  My then husband tried to talk to Kacem but the conversation ended in frustration.  Kacem was reprimanded for his unbelief.  I, however, continued talking with him.  I agreed with his point of view and encouraged him to stand up for his convictions. However, there isn’t any religion that encourages apostasy. Sometimes death can be the outcome for such a person.  I am not an atheist, but I do believe in freedom of choice when it comes to religion, whether it is practiced or not.  The threat to others is when one is brave enough to say, "I cannot believe this anymore."