Islam In the Age of Synthesis
What can I do Muslims? I do not know myself.
I am no Christian, no Jew, no Magian, no Mussulman.
Not of the East, not of the West. Not of the land, not of the sea…
My place placeless, my trace traceless.
Neither body nor soul: all is the life of my Beloved . . .
- Rumi
Central Idea: One need not be a Muslim to embrace the gifts of Islam.
I remember celebrating Eid-al-Fitr, a holiday marking the end of the month of Raamadan, even though I didn’t participate in the fast and I don’t self-identify as a Muslim. The day for me represented the spirit of Islam — joy, sharing, remembrance, unity — and I wanted to share this spirit with others. On my altar at the time was a picture of the name of Allah, a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, and three lamps representing the essence of all faiths. Does this seem contradictory?
In age we live in today — what can be called an age of synthesis — I feel that a fusion of faiths is becoming an increasing reality for many of our generation. As our generation develops the ability to discern truth from dogma and develops a fuller taste for free-thought you will find us increasingly reconciling what once seemed paradoxical. This very paradox was understood by mystics such as Rumi, who happened to be the greatest Islamic scholar of his time. He is an example of one who’s roots grew in the soil of Islam and who’s tree flowered into a revelation that transcended and included all faiths.
Surrender to the peace of God
I remember attending an exhibit at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto approximately two years ago. Architecturally speaking, it is the most remarkable museum I have visited. The entire project is a synthesis involving architects from Japan, Eastern Europe and India, where the Islamic conception of light has been expressed through not only the physical structure but also reflected in the surrounding environment with pure genius.
The main exhibition featured rare art and artifacts from a long range of Islam’s history. At the beginning of the exhibition was a panel that defined Islam, and it really resonated with me: “Surrender to the peace of God”. I had usually heard Islam defined as “Submission to the Will of God”, which had never sat right with me. This whole notion of submission was woven through much of what I experienced as the off-putting aspect of Islam, and most religions in general — the notion that we need to submit our will to something we have neither seen, experienced or understood. This often leads to nothing but ignorance.
Surrendering to the peace of God, however, is much more in line with my ethos and personal experience; we can surrender to the lived experience of peace that comes with the realization of God because this is what our souls so deeply want, and it’s natural. We are not being asked to surrender to an idea but to an experience that we all intrinsically seek through the spiritual practices of any faith.
This is what Islam is for me, and what it offers to all sincere seekers who approach it. Furthermore, the peace of Islam is a dynamic one that strives for righteousness in a world that is often ruled by the unjust. It challenges us to overcome these very tyrants within our own minds and hearts so that we know how to recognize and deal with them in the world.
Islam has also produced a tremendously beautiful culture in a wholistic sense of the word. It’s knowledge fields are vast, expanding all areas of human inquiry and includes awe-inspiring artistic achievement expressing a social and economic worldview that is far more advanced than its given credit.
It is a spiritual worldview designed to nurture community and create an ethical society.
I am grateful to be able to receive its many gifts and let-go of what I don’t resonate with. I don’t pray five times a day or even read the Koran, but the Surah-Al-Fatihah (Opening Prayer) is one of the deepest prayers I’ve encountered in my life. It brings me back when I wander astray and its verses contains a secret to evoke the Divine reality within ones heart.
Sufism is a gateway
For those interested in a broader conception of Islam’s core principles and esoteric teachings, Sufism is a beautiful gateway. While certainly connected, Sufism is a path not married to Islam yet remains a devoted lover (many scholars and mystics claim that sufism pre-dates Islam). Being a sufi at heart means to live and grow through the intelligence of Love and to become a living response to the worlds cry’s for empathy, beauty and understanding.
The sufi way asks us to remember that we are simultaneously one and different -our threads connected to the cosmic loom of existence- being ever-woven into the fabric of the Creators dream. The mystics teach that our purpose is to awaken to Reality and our birthright is to dream into being a life of harmony and beauty.
It is only through truly walking a spiritual path and learning from the experiences of life that one comes to recognize what the peace of God means.
In this time it is important to encourage messages that spread the light of Truth, for which the essential teachings of Islam are but one radiant Voice. Many muslims recognize that those who discover the peace of God and work for this same peace and justice to be accessible to others are united with the essence of their faith.
May we remember that there are so many gifts that have come to the world through the vehicle of Islam.
My wish is that we learn to receive them as a global, evolving planetary community. For, despite a marred history from centuries of wars, bigotry and misunderstanding, the light of Islam far exceeds its shadow.
May Peace be Upon You,
Zamir
