Category • Faith & Practice
Less Known Islamic Festivals
Dr. Larson overviews some of the more obscure festivals in Islam.
Dr. Larson overviews some of the more obscure festivals in Islam.
Can you trust your Muslim neighbor during this month of Ramadan (and beyond), when they show kindness to you? How should you respond if they invite you to an iftar (the breaking of the fast at the end of each day) this month?
The argument goes that we cannot trust in the good faith of any Muslim among us, since Islam permits them to dissimulate their real intentions at their leisure. This belief is held particularly by those nonMuslims convinced that Islam has the intention eventually to conquer the world. But is the fear factor triggered by such understandings justified?
Too often I hear questions posed that imbed what might be unhelpful assumptions:
As a philosopher, I immediately begin to consider whether questions such as these assume as fact what may not be fact. For example…
We create an enormous barrier to communication if our starting point is, “You Muslims are worshipping a different god from the God we worship. We worship the true God; you are therefore worshipping an idol or something that doesn’t exist.” Even if we don’t state it quite as bluntly as this, if we assume it and communicate it, there is a huge barrier to overcome. How much better to start with…