Prelude to Spotlight on Islam: Islam 101 at the Islamic Society of Boston

It is with humility that I write this prelude. I am currently learning about Islam from Kashif, a wise young man, at the Islamic Society of Boston, located in Cambridge, MA. He cautions me wisely that it is difficult to write about a religion without extensive knowledge. He is concerned that the comparatively little knowledge that I am gaining with him may do more harm than good. And, during our first meeting, he complained about the portrayal of Islam in the media. 

I have avoided Islam for sometime partly due to its controversial nature. I felt it would be good to have more experience and reflect on my methodology before I engaged in research about Islam. 

There are some lessons I have learned in this process that will be applied to the current investigation. I've learned how to more thoroughly do my homework. In my interview with Greg Epstein I failed to reread his book to ask better questions. This was probably my biggest wasted opportunity to date. I made mistakes in my treatment of Christian Science, as well. Some of these mistakes were corrected in later posts.

Readers may think that I am not selling myself well, talking about my mistakes. However, I am trying to advocate for a methodology where we learn, instead of sticking to the same talking points our entire lives. Specifically, to talk to religious people and adjust your conceptions of them as you go, but critically. You can't, or at least shouldn't, take everything a believer says at face value.  

I have no room to make basic mistakes with Islam. The controversy is too great, lives may depend on accurate analyses. Thus, I have been taking more time and being conservative. 

In regards to Islam, every Tom, Sue, Dick, and Harriet seems to have an analysis. In God is not Great Sam Harris quoted a long segment of a translation of the Qu'ran that, at first glance, advocates violence.

However, most Muslims don't care about an interpretation unless it is traced back through a chain of scholarship. In short, the Qu'ran is interpreted through tradition. I will talk more about this later; but, for now, suffice it to say that Sam Harris did not do his homework well and fueled fear of Muslims based on this faulty analysis.  

There is absolutely no way you can critique a religion without knowledge. And, given the history and the cultural context of Islam, I may never be able to offer anything resembling a full critique. What I can offer is my experiences at the Islamic Society of Boston, interspersed with some independent research.  

This will follow in future posts.