"A confession has to be part of your new life. -Wittgenstein"
Since starting this blog, I've come to realize that my I can no longer in good faith affirm that Islam is of supernatural origin. From my studies, I have concluded that it is completely explicable in natural and cultural terms. I do not see the Qur'an as a divine incursion into the natural world. It is a human document. It has poetic beauty and practical wisdom, as do many scriptures revered by one or another section of humanity. Like these other scriptures, it also contains many things that are morally unacceptable and much that is simply factually incorrect, besides. Despite that, I still appreciate many aspects of Muslim culture- I like eid, I appreciate the literature produced across time throughout the Muslim world. I am still intensely interested in what is commonly termed 'Muslim' philosophy and in the Arabic language. And I love the food. I will, as before, oppose racism, xenophobia, and social injustice, whether directed at Muslims or non-Muslims. But I can no longer affirm the shahadatayn, I can no longer pray, and I can no longer observe the fast of Ramadan as anything other than a method of training the will and of learning deeper empathy for the needy. Sadaqah is still a cardinal virtue, as any humanist will affirm. I will be taking time to detail some of my criticism in detail but this very brief statement will be sufficient for now.
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