The Scatterbrained Syncretist
This is from a cloudcuckooland email on February 18, 2002. The following has been edited for the privacy of the other participants in the conversation. Other than that it hasn't been changed (except I added some links) and it retains the rather sloppy conversational tone, unchecked facts and unconsidered opinions...so, gimme a break, it's just an email...OK?
I don't know how seriously to take that article. It seemed obvious that the author was an Indian nationalist (extremist? fundamentalist?) with an agenda.
However, I think his point was a little different from the one you argue against. There is no question of Islam being descended from Hinduism...it is more a child of Judaism (but not really descended from Judaism either...except maybe the monotheism part...and the tradition of prophets...and the legalism about ethics). On the other hand, Christianity really is a child of Judaism. I hope that doesn't offend anybody...I'm not discussing anything other than the history of these beliefs. I don't accept any of them, so I get no pleasure from identifying one or the other as ancestral. (I hate feeling the need to make asinine disclaimers like that.)
Although Christianity descended from Judaism, it became the predominant religion in areas that were not previously Jewish (Europe). The Europeans had pagan (polytheistic) beliefs and practices. Anyway, as Europeans adopted Christianity, they imported some of the culture and rituals from their traditional pagan practices into Christianity. You can read endless insane rantings about that on Christian fundamentalist sites...stuff like Christmas trees and (I believe) the collection of saints revive elements of polytheism in nominally monotheistic Christianity.
I read the article as a claim that India had culturally dominated Arabian lands and that there are cultural fingerprints of that time in the developments (including Islam) that followed. These seemed more like the fingerprints of paganism in Christianity. Although this seems reasonable to me, the history of that part of the world is rather fragmentary and distorted (in comparison to the history of post-Roman Europe). This is an area where I have no expertise...but I have the impression that the experts have some uncertainty about these matters. One of the conditions that contributes to the confusion about these times and places is that the sacred nature of the sites precludes any scientific archeological investigation by neutral parties.
In the West, archeology has made discoveries that have sometimes proven and sometimes disproven historical documents and oral histories...and there is no similar "fact checking" allowed in the Muslim world. Different cultures have different concepts of "truth" and I understand (correct me if I am wrong about this) Muslims to believe that Allah revealed the ultimate and perfect truth to Mohamed...so "fact checking" would be both unnecessary and blasphemous.
To me, as a Westerner, this is the most troubling aspect of any religion...especially in fundamentalist forms. I believe that there is always more to learn and that my understanding is in serious need of improvement...so I keep asking questions. When somebody thinks they know the truth, they are blind because they are no longer seeking answers. Although this questioning is natural for me, I am aware that my approach can be criticized in many ways...I certainly don't have the comfort that most people seem to get from knowing that God is watching over them. Nor do I find any meaning in existance...while I see believers think they are engaged in a holy struggle that is part of God's plan. So, I know I pay a price for my own beliefs...but, I find the freedom and progress I experience to be worth that price. I also see that much of the bloodshed in this world is caused by people defending their beliefs or forcing them on others. So, being faithful has a big price too.
This rather lame approach works for me in my social context but I can imagine that in other situations it would be foolish and destructive for me to live like this. We each must harmonize our views with the views of our friends, families and employers because it is so important to belong to a group.
Next time maybe we'll discuss Love Hina! I have a feeling that we'll all agree about that. Hahaha!
Later,
A
