I think it's really interesting that in her TED Talk Lesley Hazleton said that doubt is essential to faith. When I think of religion and religious follows, I generally make the assumption that they are confident in their faith and in their beliefs. However, the point she made about a lack of doubt causing arrogance and fundamentalism, while some what extreme in my opinion, is very relevant and incites the need for religious tolerance in our world. The role of language is also a very interesting topic to discuss, especially when studying Islam. Islam maintains that its adherents should only study the Qur'an in Arabic because translations obscure its meaning. However, this prevents non Arabic speaking people from reaching full understanding of the religious text. While I think it is a valid concern that there is inherent bias in translation, I don't think that that should stop Muslims who do not speak Arabic from studying the Qur'an and being able to understand it's passages. I think the best way to begin our study of Islam is to reach and understanding of its core beliefs and fundamental practices and then to progress into more in-depth issues within the religion and its sects.
No comments:
Post a Comment