تسجيل الدخول

مشاهدة النسخة كاملة : Are we being too rational in introducing Islam to westerns?



سـمـاح
01-18-2008, 02:35 PM
I was reading the book "Struggling to Surrender" by Jeffery Lang, an American convert to Islam, and there was a point he mentioned which arroused my interest, so I decided to share it with you in the forrum.


In this book, the auther tries to describe his experience, and how and why he became a Muslim. He mentions that while logical thinking and reasoning were behind his abandoning his faith as a Catholic, thus becoming an atheist, the main trigger for him to embracing Islam was of a spiritual nature.


In his book his says :


"
“One of the first images one gets of Muslims is that they love to debate. They will debate whether the Qur’an or the bible is God’s words, or if Jesus is God or man, and on many other topics. To Americans, however, the experience of faith is the crux, the validation and the purpose of religion. For me, the most decisive moment in my search for God was when the Muslim student leader explained to me, after some deliberation, what it means to him to be a Muslim.
Such perspective should not be taken to mean that belief in God should be irrational, but rather that the emphasis is on feelings and spirituality. For faith must be more than an exercise in rational thinking or just a spiritual encounter. To concentrate on only one of these elements is to disregard a vital part of our humanity.
"



The auther describes to us the feelings and weeknesses of an atheist, giving us something to consider when arguing with these people. He says
:
"
“I learned very quickly that no one knows loneliness like an atheist. When an average person feels isolated, he can call through the depth of his soul to One who knows him and sense an answer. An atheist cannot allow himself that luxury, for he has to crush the urge to remind himself of its absurdity
The religious man has faith in things that are beyond what he can sense or conceive, while an atheist cannot even trust those things. Almost nothing is truly real for him, not even truth. His concepts of love, compassion, and justice are always turning and shifting on his predilections, with the result that both he and those around him are victims of instability. He has to be absorbed by himself, trying to make sense of it. Meanwhile, he must contend with outside powers that rival his, those human relationships that he cannot control that intrude upon his universe.
We all desire immortality. The religious man has a solution, while an atheist has to construct one right now. Perhaps a family, a book, a discovery, a heroic deed, the great romance, so that he will live on in the mind of others. His ultimate goal is not to go to heaven but to be remembered. Yet, what difference does it make after all?
Mankind aspires to perfection; it is an inner craving that whips us into action. For an atheist, nothing satisfies the need, because his creed is that there is no perfection and no absolute
"



He explains how the quran digs deep into the personality of these people, and uncover it for them
:
"
The atheist well recognizes this desperate searcher. His life is a futile quest for happiness in pursuit of one happy illusion after another, with each frustration only increasing his search as he grasps at darkness and drowns in temporality. He rationalizes and argues his case with conviction and challenges God in the process. Though he swears that he has the noblest of aims, he continues to hurt and be hurt. He longs for perfection, as though he contains an infinite void that no earthly pleasure can fill. The Qur’an assures him that he will come to realize the fruit of his striving at the moment of death, and then, more keenly, when he is resurrected.
"


He also describes his feelings after one muslim told him what it is to be a muslim, the event which have changed his live for ever
:
"
How much I wished that he and I could change places, so that I could feel the desire, the passion, the anguish, the yearning for his lord! I wanted to know the serenity and the torment, the trust and the fear, rising from insignificance, aspiring for surrender. I yearned to be resusciated from this spiritual death.
"

مقاوم
01-18-2008, 02:49 PM
Excellent summary JAK. But the truth of the matter is:"different strokes for different folks". There is no single method or approach that works for all types of westerners. Farooq started a very important subject once in the Islamic section but did not continue with it
I remember we were discussing the best way to deliver da3wa to non Muslims. I hope we can revive that