Beyond Us and Them by Sheikh Jamal Rahman

Warmest blessings... I am not religious, but I experience this and the following article as speaking powerfully about remembrance of the core essence of the great religions and how it is that we can bring forth greater love, understanding, respect, caring, and compassion toward ourselves and all beings through these different traditions. Peace...

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Rabbi Ted Falcon, Pastor Don Mackenzie, and Sheikh Jamal Rahman, known collectively as the "Interfaith Amigos," have been learning and teaching together since 2001. They blog weekly for YES! Magazine.

Beyond Us and Them

As a relatively recent U.S. citizen, I sometimes despair at the polarization of Democrats and Republicans and the angry vitriol that erupts from this divide. As a Muslim, I tire of the mean-spirited campaigns of fear mongering and hate that religious extremists direct at those with different beliefs. This incessant appeal to the basest elements of our nature—our fear of the Other, our easy refuge in Us vs. Them divides—is disturbing.

Guidance in the Quran

This issue, I realize, is not so much about the Other as it is about me. The issue is a deeply spiritual one, and I look for guidance in the Quran. A verse repeated several times in the Holy Book tells me that God will not change the condition of a people unless they change what is in their hearts. This verse reaffirms the age-old insight, found in all traditions, that a problem cannot be solved at the same level where it was created. We humans can be reconciled only by rising above the issues that divide us, by becoming aware that our disparate personalities and philosophies are actually parts of the same whole. Our sages tell us that such awareness leads to peacemaking—the art of restoring love and compassion to a relationship that has been torn apart through fear and hatred.

More: http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/interfaith-amigos/beyond-us-and-them

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The Quran lets us in on God’s little secret: “We have created some of you as a trial for others: Will you have patience” (25:20). Meditating on this verse, I have begun to understand that the Glenn Becks, Christian rapturists, Israeli settlers, and Taliban and Al Qaeda members of this world are an invitation for me to grow and expand. In a hadith that anticipates our 21st century understanding of human psychology, the Prophet said, “The faithful are mirrors to each other.” Very often, what we dislike in others is something that we need to acknowledge, heal, integrate, and empower in ourselves. ~ Sheikh Jamal Rahman (very true!)