Exposure to Islam
Reader comment on item: On New York's "Khalil Gibran International Academy"

Submitted by Richard Goodman (United States), Aug 7, 2007 at 13:56

Several decades ago I had an experience that perhaps illuminates the thinking of many Muslims. I found a naive certainty among a group of Muslims that their religion is so true and wonderful that if anyone hears its main tenets he or she will recognize immediately that this is the one true religion.

I was in Indonesia as tour manager for a group of Americans. I had had a hand in designing the trip. I had felt that because Indonesia is primarily a Muslims nation, a visit to a Muslim mosque and a discussion with the mosque's spiritual leader would prove interesting. It did.

At the mosque, the Imam spoke for about an hour. His words were translated into English by a member of his congregation. He explained what he felt were the major outlines of his religion.

At the end of his explanation, he asked how many of us were now ready for conversion. It was clear that he expected a lot of us would be. No hands went up.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.