Adventures in Islam, Part 1

Other religions have always interested me.  I bought copies of the sacred writings of Hinduism, Islam, Baha'i-ism and attended church with my friends of different Christian sects while in high school.  I served a mission for my church in Japan, overwhelmingly Buddhist and Shinto with a smattering of Soka-gakkai.  As an undergrad, I took an underwhelming course in comparative religion as a sophomore, but dropped out of college the next term.  

I didn't take it much further than that.  I had lived abroad in a very different cultural landscape and found that people had much the same values and aspirations as I had.  I got it.  Not a big deal; those different world views didn't affect me much.  

Eventually, I became a very autonomous supervisor at work.  I had more than a dozen highly trained and very professional engineers working in my department.  One of them is a devout Muslim.  My entire crew (I think) knows I'm a Mormon.  I don't preach to them, but I don't gamble or go drinking with them or swear, so at least they know I'm a little on the prudish side (what do you call that?  Prudish sounds so pejorative, but it's a little more visceral than "behavioral conservative".)

This man and I have become friends as well as coworkers.  I'll call him Mike.  It's not very Islamic-sounding, but that's kinda the point.  Mike and I began to ask each other questions about our families and religious observances, because that's something that's as common to us as talking football is with other men.  So we've built a close relationship.  We trust each other, and have high regard for each other as men of faith and family.

As I looked around for music for The Morning Stars to sing, I found some traditional spirituals, ordered some Estonian folk music, and wondered if I could get some Muslim religious music.  So I discovered Nasheed (Nashid), Muslim holy music.  And I asked Mike about it.  He was working a short week one week, and I didn't get any mail from him for a full day or so, and he apologized and said his family was celebrating the Eid.  So I looked that up.  

It piqued my curiosity.  Islam seems to be a very cradle-to-grave, morning-until-night, holistic worldview.  It doesn't seem to be squeamish about the necessities of living.  Killing an animal to eat requires understanding that you are taking a life.  Meat doesn't come from styrofoam packages.  It comes from living animals that in other times might have been a beloved pet.  Doing what God says to do is really important, as when you fly your aging father halfway around the world to perform the Hajj.  A life centered on God is the only way to live.  That doesn't mean you can't watch YouTube.  But it means that you're careful to maintain your focus toward the divine.

At least that's the way I see it today.  I have great and growing respect for Islam.  So tonight, when Aria and I went to Powell's to use some of her Christmas gift card, I picked up an introductory text to Islam and a translation of the Koran.  This is where the adventure really begins.