Questions Of Belief

Today's entry is by way of a reply to some interesting questions asked of me by someone who'd read the blog a few days back under the comments bit. S/he inquired as to where I saw myself fitting into Islam, whether I converted due to social necessity and whether my faith is unshakeable.

As I answered under the same comments, I find myself fitting into the world of Islam with remarkable ease. Its rich and varied thought world has been and is exciting to explore. I suppose I feel most at ease with what might broadly be termed the Sufi tendencies within the faith, but this is, as always, to oversimplify. I might add here that I follow Blake's dictum All Religions Are One, so what I find rewarding in Islam is not exclusive to the faith, but I do feel temperamentally attuned to the Muslim way of doing things. And another clarification is worthwhile here. I find a lot of people seem to assume that religious faiths are somehow monolithic in their dogma. Whilst I can understand why this assumption is made, it seems to me deeply uncharacteristic of the nature of those faiths. The capacity to cater to a vast range of needs and demands of their adherents is more obviously what distinguishes living faiths.

I certainly did need to convert in order to marry my wife, a need that was attended with deep joy. Would I have converted had I never met her? I think there's a fair chance I would have. Indeed, there's an argument that says once you are able to say: There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Messenger, you are muslim (though perhaps not Muslim.) I reckon accepting this argument might well exponentially increase the number of muslims in the world. However, had I remained on that level I'd never have experienced the rewards of Muslim practice - and there's an argument that Muslims might be distinguished by what they do, rather than what they believe.

As for the notion of steadfastness, I must say it doesn't have a lot of meaning for me. I don't find great obstacles to belief, quite the opposite, but I'm happy to consider well-founded, well-informed criticisms of Islam, or religious faith in general. I suppose you might say I don't feel in the least threatened by these. I've always been puzzled by the notion that theists of various colours don't feel doubt when it's so obvious that most, if not all, do - and rightly so. The dark night of the soul is a real lived experience, and possibly a necessary one.

Anyway that's my fairly obviously inadequate attempt to do justice to the questions. I'd get seriously worried if I found the answers flowing more readily.