Over the last several decades, I’ve studied the great religious traditions of the world. I’ve taught courses on World Religions and participated in services, rituals, and ceremonies from many of these beautiful traditions. While the formal study of religion is interesting to me, what I find most engaging is when people share with me what faith means to them in real life. While each religious tradition holds specific beliefs, faith is a lived experience that can vary widely from one person to another.
I’m fortunate to live in a neighborhood that’s religiously diverse. While many in my neighborhood come from various Christian churches, about a fourth of my neighbors are Muslim. There are also Jews, Buddhists, and people of no particular faith.
Western countries have many incorrect impressions of Islam. Because of the cultural differences evident in religious practices between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, many people in North America and Europe assume that Islam is far different in belief from Christianity and Judaism. It’s not. In fact, I find that the three religions are more similar than different. That probably has to do with all three religions tracing their lineage to Abraham, the nomadic herder who lived in Mesopotamia during the Early Bronze Age approximately 4,000 years ago. Each religion developed different customs but maintains similar core values.
Much like the Bible, the Holy Quran of Islam is divided into books. All but one of the books begins with a statement about God: God is compassionate and merciful. While Jews and Christians believe this, anyone reading the Quran can’t escape it. Compassion and mercy are key attributes to God and are repeated over and over again. That’s why one of the five pillars of Islam, the five core dogmas, is charity and compassion: to give generously to care for others, to be compassionate toward them, to make the lives of others better.
I asked a neighbor what it means to him to be a Muslim. He reminded me that the word “Muslim” means “one who submits.” I told him that I have difficulty with the term “submit.” I explained that submission is something I associate with masters and slaves. I don’t experience myself as a slave to God or God as my master. Instead, I experience God as a living mystery infused into each aspect of life. He nodded and explained, “You have a wrong understanding of submission.” The example he used was gravity. He explained that we have no choice but to submit to gravity. Gravity is a force greater than us and it holds together the cosmos. God is like that: a force greater than us that holds the cosmos. The force, who is God, is mercy and compassion. He explained that the force of God’s mercy and compassion is greater than any human power. When we submit to it, acknowledge mercy and compassion, we experience the greatest force there is.
While there are those who insist the Islam is a religion of terror, acts of terror don’t represent the religion. Terrorism is about politics and power. It doesn’t matter the religion. People use religion to advance their own agendas. Just as Westboro Baptist Church and the KKK use Christianity to advance hatred, prejudice, and bigotry, so there are people who use Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism to do the same things. These abuses of religion shouldn’t be confused with the religion. Instead, taking time to know the religion of others and how people understand their beliefs is critical for us as a society. By virtue of travel, communication, and immigration, the world is pluralistic. Many different beliefs exist alongside of each other and inspire people’s lives and actions.
Perhaps the best summation of what’s essential in Islam is found in a teaching from Islam. As you read it, the message will likely seem familiar to you:
“Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet said: Allah will say to his servant when He will be taking account of him on the Day of Judgment, ‘O’ son of Adam, I was hungry and you did not feed me.’ He will answer: ‘How could I feed you? You are the Lord of the worlds!’ He will say: ‘Did you not know that my servant so and so who is the son of so and so felt hunger, and you did not feed him. Alas, had you fed him you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me.’ ‘O’ son of Adam, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink.’ He will reply: ‘How could I give You drink? You are the Lord of the worlds!’ He will say: ‘Did you not know that my servant so and so, the son of so and so was thirsty and you did not give him drink. Alas, if you had given him, you would have found that (i.e. reward) with me.’ ‘O’ son of Adam, I became sick and you did not visit Me.’ He will answer: ‘How could I visit You? You are the Lord of the worlds!’ He will say: ‘Did you not know that my servant so and so, the son of so and so became sick and you did not visit him. Alas, had you visited him, you would have found Me with him (Bokhari).”
Indeed, the Abrahamic religions have very similar values. Don’t be fooled by the cultural differences but focus on the actual values that mark the experience of people of faith.
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