Western societies have greater difficulties understanding Islam because of their lack of a religious understanding of the world; they have lost the “ear” of faith – says Aziz Esmail, the Muslim philosopher
Can one appreciate Shakespeare without knowing the Christian culture? And can Italians appreciate Dante’s power in its totality? May be not, especially if they do not understand the Christianity of that time. It is the power, rather, the sound of faith, that the west seem to have forgotten.
It is interesting. The person who speaks like this is not a man of faith – that is, a Christian believer. He is a Muslim. A philosopher, a man of letters, and also an opera lover, and of classical music, further to his many other identities, as he is keen on pointing out: Aziz Esmail, was born in Kenya, and is Indian by origin, further to being an Ismaili by faith. He learned literature, philosophy, psychiatry and psychoanalysis, Islamic studies, and he is interested in medicine and biology. Like the ancient kind of humanistic philosophers, he is against the compartment of knowledge. He is not, at all, an ordinary man. He was a lecturer in Kenya and in the US. He is currently living in London. He was in Portugal to give a talk in his community. “Expresso” newspaper talked with him about faith issues, religion and ideology. In sum, on identities. Further to the relations between Muslims and Christians, among many other things, like democracy.
Continue reading at the source: http://expresso.pt.
Ismailimail 