Enrichment

11 Ramadhan, 1442

I'm making some progress in Tariq Ramadan's fine account of the life of the Prophet - peace be upon him - though not as much as I would like. I've arrived at the chapter on the Hijrah and TR's thoughts thereon have been particularly stimulating. Even though I've read the book before I didn't quite take in just how fundamental to the Hijrah was the way in which the nascent Muslim community was exposed to a major cultural shift and what was in effect a multi-cultural society (given the non-Muslim tribes resident in Medina) - and how much the community gained from that enrichment.

I've always had doubts about Muslim exclusivity and this confirmed those doubts. It seems to me self-evident that the faith was at its most vibrant when it lived cheek by jowl with complementary systems of thought and belief. And I wonder if something similar obtains in our own age.