Compassion Is The Key In Islam And

God Is Not Good, Or Wise, Or Intelligent Anyway That We Know. So, People Like Maimonides In The Jewish Tradition, Eboncina In The Muslim Tradition, Thomas Aquinas In The Christian Tradition, Insisted That We Couldn't Even Say That God Existed Because Our Concept Of Existence Is Far Too Limited And They Would Have Been Horrified By The Ease With Which We Talk About God Today.

Yet A Personal God Can Become A Grave Liability. He Can Be A Mere Idol Carved In Our Own Image, A Projection Of Our Limited Needs, Fears And Desires. We Can Assume That He Loves What We Love And Hates What We Hate, Endorsing Our Prejudices Instead Of Compelling Us To Transcend Them.

Compassion Doesn't, Of Course, Mean Feeling Sorry For People, Or Pity, Which Is How The Word Has Become Emasculated In A Way.

There Must Be No Coercion In Matters Of Faith!

In The Holy City Of Mecca, Violence Of Any Kind Was Forbidden. From The Moment They Left Home, Pilgrims Were Not Permitted To Carry Weapons, To Swat An Insect Or Speak An Angry Word, A Discipline That Introduced Them To A New Way Of Living.