I've been genuinely affected and deeply challenged by Dr. Abdallah Rothman's frame of Islam-as-transaction vs Islam-as-transformation. Once I saw the former in myself, I couldn't unsee it, though identifying the problem turns out to be easier than doing something about it. For that reason I really loved the lucid, direct prose, the clear language, the challenges he sets out. A lot of us have internalized a broader, material, instrumentalist culture without realizing it
It’s like Islam with a little “i” versus ihsan or iman .. we are preoccupied with black and white, halal and haram but we don’t get to the cognitive and spiritual dimensions of our lifestyle choices.
Exactly that--for those of us who live as minorities, it's unfortunate, because we are robbed of a broader perspective that might help guide us through hard choices. (I know too many Young Muslims who made unfortunate religious life choices because they couldn't see the bigger picture, or didn't even believe there was a bigger picture.) But I'm equally convinced it matters to the Muslim-majority world, where too often there isn't enough critical and thoughtful reflection on the consequences of our collective choices for religious life (and social health).
Such a good read. And just when I really needed it. Jazakallah Khayr.
I've been genuinely affected and deeply challenged by Dr. Abdallah Rothman's frame of Islam-as-transaction vs Islam-as-transformation. Once I saw the former in myself, I couldn't unsee it, though identifying the problem turns out to be easier than doing something about it. For that reason I really loved the lucid, direct prose, the clear language, the challenges he sets out. A lot of us have internalized a broader, material, instrumentalist culture without realizing it
It’s like Islam with a little “i” versus ihsan or iman .. we are preoccupied with black and white, halal and haram but we don’t get to the cognitive and spiritual dimensions of our lifestyle choices.
Exactly that--for those of us who live as minorities, it's unfortunate, because we are robbed of a broader perspective that might help guide us through hard choices. (I know too many Young Muslims who made unfortunate religious life choices because they couldn't see the bigger picture, or didn't even believe there was a bigger picture.) But I'm equally convinced it matters to the Muslim-majority world, where too often there isn't enough critical and thoughtful reflection on the consequences of our collective choices for religious life (and social health).