Faith, In A Place Where It Defines You

I have a friend Mo, who is Egyptian and German but speaks Arabic and is culturally Egyptian, but from Boston. Him and I talk about religion together. He’s a Muslim and I’m well, I’m not sure yet. He, and so many others here are open to sharing things with me about Islam, about their faith, and why they believe what they believe. Islam is I think the religion that is most actively practiced in daily life. The dedication to 5 daily prayers, the attempts to devote so much of your day to what you believe, to your God I find to be incredibly admirable. I don’t believe in Mohammed’s divinity but I find many of the principles of Islam interesting. I have language partner Emey, we meet every week to discuss different topics (1/2 in English and 1/2 in Arabic). She shares her perspective on religion with me, why she believes what she does- and I just find her honesty and openness so refreshing. People here talk about their faith so openly (but only if you are Muslim or Christian) and instead of being an inhibitor of converstaion, is something respected, and actually quite common. Whereas in the states its a topic to stay away from, here even the taxi drivers curiously ask you about your religion. (More to come on this topic)

It’s funny how similar all the three major religions are- even the principles of morality shared by nearly all religions lie along the same lines- all preach principles of love, truth, patience, kindness and grace. The world would be so much simpler if we could just recognize our shared principles and agree to disagree on the details. Unfortunately, so much of the political sphere of religion is shaped by responding to the fanatics (from every religion) who ruin it for the rest of us.

It is ironic that those who consider themselves the most religious ad most devoted are the ones who feel their religiosity some how excludes them from following the simplest of commandments- love your neighbor, treat others the way you would like to be treated(though not officially a religious principle...still, arguably commonly applied in most religious texts).

That is why I think I consider myself to be a kind of universalistic in regards to religion. Humans are so prone to fault- to become absorbed in the hierarchy, the politics, and the power struggles. There are pieces from each religion that I admire, believe and also criticize. I do believe in one God, at least I’ve gotten that much down. I don’t really know where I stand on the details about life after death, messiahs, rules etc. but I believe in acts of kindness, a supreme being, a kind heart and the moral values propagated by the major religions. I figure when I know, I’ll know. But I want to experience and explore every religion before I can have any kind of full understanding of what I do believe, and why.