Whether you were writing this while inspired, enraged, or desperate, I appreciate you putting it out there.
Some scattered thoughts that came to mind while reading your words, which may compliment the perspective you’ve presented:
-I was sitting on a rooftop, looking up at the sky. An Iranian friend was next to me. I asked her, “Do you hate Islam?”
She chuckled, then said, “I don’t know much about it. I’m just Muslim by name. People in my country hate the government, and the government says, ‘we are true Islam,’ so we hate Islam.”
-While walking through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, I was observing the fabric of the society and this came to me:
“When you witness the fabric of a society that is set up on Islamic principles, you'll see people of all faiths coexisting in peacefulness.
And this contrast will highlight the abuse of the societies who wear it not for each to govern oneself, but to patronize others.
Those who practice the "Maslama"; the performative superficial version of this a insightful guide, one that paves coexisting in harmony with oneself, other humans, other beings, and the surrounding environment, as set by their architect, that is Islam."
-While reading the biography of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, I was at first repulsed by his enslavement to admiration, superiority, and power, how he clung to political influence and partook in its corruption.
But as his structure began to fracture, and he started seeing through the vanity of it all, I became hopeful.
Perhaps he’d break free, defy the system, and use his intellect and influence to reforge the legacy he had lived up to.
But when he reached clarity, he withdrew, secluded himself, disengaged from the physical dimension, and pursued salvation alone.
To me, it hit me as betrayal.
Someone who is entrusted with such intellect, such influence, and such capacity, and they choose self-preservation over collective responsibility.
And yet, having chosen to reroute my own life towards agency, seeking to plant a seed of reform, there are times when the scale of this spiderweb that we are all entangled in its complexity overwhelms me too.
And in those moments, I don’t really blame him as much.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it!
I think it’s always unfortunate when people judge a religion based off of how specific people practice it or exploit it. I understand, of course, that it’s natural for many to do so when they experience the brunt of such abuse in the name of religion, but it’s sad nonetheless. This is why I’m passionate about religious literacy and people reading for themselves instead of being told what something is and then judging based off of that. I think as a collective we can go really far once we accept this.
I have many thoughts about Ghazali but to respond to your points, as you said it is a betrayal to prioritize personal comfort over collective responsibility which is why asceticism isn’t allowed in Islam. The complexity of it all you rightly mention, it becomes so overwhelming that it’s natural to reach a point where you can’t help but understand where he was coming from! I suppose that’s our great challenge - to sit with the discomfort and complexity, and override it with hope and the knowledge of our responsibility being greater than our grief.
I’m so glad my feed led me to your writing. It found me right in the thick of an existential ache when belief starts to feel like both a comfort and a confrontation. Painfully needed, deeply stirring.
I too lose sleep over all the same ponderings. Born an Irish Catholic, I have had to go beyond the God of religion I was raised on to find safe ground for my ‘Belief’ in Goodness which is what I prefer to call God these days. The lack of Integrity in the ‘living’ of religion of ‘religious’ people brought me to the depths of despair, while the silence of complicity obliterated all remaining hope away.
I hadn’t realised it was absent from your Muslim perspective until the last two years with my constant company keeping online with Palestinians. The same disbelief and incredulousness about the genocide and the lack of any actual, practical help from the Muslim world has astounded me, and has been added to the same cavern of disbelief and incredulousness of inaction of the so called ‘western’ polical and religious, so called Christian states.
Politics and religion have ruined and continue to ruin the world we share. But I do see a great distinction now. I see them now as cages of patriarchal definiton, thought and language of disassociation. It keep us trying to find solutions for the world they both impact, without allowing them to mingle with integrity to Rise the Health and Wealth of humanity and our shared habitat of the natural world. Instead, this system of separation allows profit by the few and control of the many. Our complicity of silence, that compounds and continues, comes from a lack of alternative language and perspective rather than intention.
But beyond faith in either religion or politics, or indeed beyond a lack of any belief in both of them, is the Truth that Life, and its Living is both political and religious. Beyond the patriachal definition, language and perspective of separation there is not only a field as Rumi would say, but a different World. Beyond the distance of separation, LifeLiving redefines both the meaning of God and GodSpace. Beyond the distance of separation, LifeLiving redefines the Health and Wealth of humanity and its habitat. The grounding of Goodness is transformative.
We can get there from either perspective, but as Believers in the VerbingGoodness that is the God of the many names from any and all perspectives, Goodness unites. Regardless of which old patriarchal cavern of disbelief we come from, the one thing we, the people of the world can agree on, is the existence of Goodness. Despite all evidence to the contrary, despite the state of the world, despite the cost and loss and pain and destruction we know Goodness exists. We know it, because it lives in our hearts.
Thank you for showing me the Belief in yours. It means so much to know we are not alone and that others share not only our discontent but our Faith in a different World.
That is why your writing is so important. It is not speaking into a void but highlighting what I call, the Gift of Absence. I believe the importance of Language and the written Word is imperative. We don’t want more of the same old, same old world, we want better. If books of divine words got us into this mess, maybe Divine Words words will get us out of it too.
Rather than striving to bridge the dissociative speak between our Knowing and Living, our language and written words must instead strive to critique the blatant absence and distancing of Goodness to tangibly promote and ensure a better world, not only for the Palestinians but for all who live together in this BeautyFull World of Goodness.
Thank you so much for reading, engaging so thoughtfully, and lending your kind words of support, Eimear! I am truly appreciative. Your heartfelt reflection mirrors the perpetual sorrow I find myself in, and like you say, words are absolutely imperative for us to connect with and console and inspire each other. I am so grateful my words could be received that way. I shall keep writing, working, and praying for a better world 🤍
"True individuation requires engagement with the unconscious world, not escape from it.
The hermit who withdraws from life has not transcended it, but has been defeated by it."
Carl Jung
Whether you were writing this while inspired, enraged, or desperate, I appreciate you putting it out there.
Some scattered thoughts that came to mind while reading your words, which may compliment the perspective you’ve presented:
-I was sitting on a rooftop, looking up at the sky. An Iranian friend was next to me. I asked her, “Do you hate Islam?”
She chuckled, then said, “I don’t know much about it. I’m just Muslim by name. People in my country hate the government, and the government says, ‘we are true Islam,’ so we hate Islam.”
-While walking through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, I was observing the fabric of the society and this came to me:
“When you witness the fabric of a society that is set up on Islamic principles, you'll see people of all faiths coexisting in peacefulness.
And this contrast will highlight the abuse of the societies who wear it not for each to govern oneself, but to patronize others.
Those who practice the "Maslama"; the performative superficial version of this a insightful guide, one that paves coexisting in harmony with oneself, other humans, other beings, and the surrounding environment, as set by their architect, that is Islam."
-While reading the biography of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, I was at first repulsed by his enslavement to admiration, superiority, and power, how he clung to political influence and partook in its corruption.
But as his structure began to fracture, and he started seeing through the vanity of it all, I became hopeful.
Perhaps he’d break free, defy the system, and use his intellect and influence to reforge the legacy he had lived up to.
But when he reached clarity, he withdrew, secluded himself, disengaged from the physical dimension, and pursued salvation alone.
To me, it hit me as betrayal.
Someone who is entrusted with such intellect, such influence, and such capacity, and they choose self-preservation over collective responsibility.
And yet, having chosen to reroute my own life towards agency, seeking to plant a seed of reform, there are times when the scale of this spiderweb that we are all entangled in its complexity overwhelms me too.
And in those moments, I don’t really blame him as much.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it!
I think it’s always unfortunate when people judge a religion based off of how specific people practice it or exploit it. I understand, of course, that it’s natural for many to do so when they experience the brunt of such abuse in the name of religion, but it’s sad nonetheless. This is why I’m passionate about religious literacy and people reading for themselves instead of being told what something is and then judging based off of that. I think as a collective we can go really far once we accept this.
I have many thoughts about Ghazali but to respond to your points, as you said it is a betrayal to prioritize personal comfort over collective responsibility which is why asceticism isn’t allowed in Islam. The complexity of it all you rightly mention, it becomes so overwhelming that it’s natural to reach a point where you can’t help but understand where he was coming from! I suppose that’s our great challenge - to sit with the discomfort and complexity, and override it with hope and the knowledge of our responsibility being greater than our grief.
I’m so glad my feed led me to your writing. It found me right in the thick of an existential ache when belief starts to feel like both a comfort and a confrontation. Painfully needed, deeply stirring.
Thank you for reading and your kind words! So grateful 🤍🙏🏼
Another great piece of writing…. Thank you💚
I too lose sleep over all the same ponderings. Born an Irish Catholic, I have had to go beyond the God of religion I was raised on to find safe ground for my ‘Belief’ in Goodness which is what I prefer to call God these days. The lack of Integrity in the ‘living’ of religion of ‘religious’ people brought me to the depths of despair, while the silence of complicity obliterated all remaining hope away.
I hadn’t realised it was absent from your Muslim perspective until the last two years with my constant company keeping online with Palestinians. The same disbelief and incredulousness about the genocide and the lack of any actual, practical help from the Muslim world has astounded me, and has been added to the same cavern of disbelief and incredulousness of inaction of the so called ‘western’ polical and religious, so called Christian states.
Politics and religion have ruined and continue to ruin the world we share. But I do see a great distinction now. I see them now as cages of patriarchal definiton, thought and language of disassociation. It keep us trying to find solutions for the world they both impact, without allowing them to mingle with integrity to Rise the Health and Wealth of humanity and our shared habitat of the natural world. Instead, this system of separation allows profit by the few and control of the many. Our complicity of silence, that compounds and continues, comes from a lack of alternative language and perspective rather than intention.
But beyond faith in either religion or politics, or indeed beyond a lack of any belief in both of them, is the Truth that Life, and its Living is both political and religious. Beyond the patriachal definition, language and perspective of separation there is not only a field as Rumi would say, but a different World. Beyond the distance of separation, LifeLiving redefines both the meaning of God and GodSpace. Beyond the distance of separation, LifeLiving redefines the Health and Wealth of humanity and its habitat. The grounding of Goodness is transformative.
We can get there from either perspective, but as Believers in the VerbingGoodness that is the God of the many names from any and all perspectives, Goodness unites. Regardless of which old patriarchal cavern of disbelief we come from, the one thing we, the people of the world can agree on, is the existence of Goodness. Despite all evidence to the contrary, despite the state of the world, despite the cost and loss and pain and destruction we know Goodness exists. We know it, because it lives in our hearts.
Thank you for showing me the Belief in yours. It means so much to know we are not alone and that others share not only our discontent but our Faith in a different World.
That is why your writing is so important. It is not speaking into a void but highlighting what I call, the Gift of Absence. I believe the importance of Language and the written Word is imperative. We don’t want more of the same old, same old world, we want better. If books of divine words got us into this mess, maybe Divine Words words will get us out of it too.
Rather than striving to bridge the dissociative speak between our Knowing and Living, our language and written words must instead strive to critique the blatant absence and distancing of Goodness to tangibly promote and ensure a better world, not only for the Palestinians but for all who live together in this BeautyFull World of Goodness.
Thank you so much for reading, engaging so thoughtfully, and lending your kind words of support, Eimear! I am truly appreciative. Your heartfelt reflection mirrors the perpetual sorrow I find myself in, and like you say, words are absolutely imperative for us to connect with and console and inspire each other. I am so grateful my words could be received that way. I shall keep writing, working, and praying for a better world 🤍