Esoteric beliefs found an early foothold in Western civilization through the ancient Greek Gnostics. Since then, other esoteric beliefs have been trickling in from all over world, but one of them that has evaded our understanding until recent times are those of the Druze. Since the Middle Ages they have lived somewhat secretly in closed-off communities to prevent persecution. Today there are at least 1 million Druze on the planet. Some of them in the Middle East, especially in Syria [Read more…] about Esoteric Muslims: The Druze
Archives for May 2014
Jesus in the Quran, Part Two
Muhammad’s ministry as a prophet who preached monotheism had gotten well off the ground in Mecca by 622 CE. He had gathered a following of Muslims and instructed them to practice non-violence and personal “jihad” (struggle) to overcome one’s carnal resistance to submission. But then came persecution. Just as Jesus angered the Pharisees by overturning the tables of the moneychangers, Muhammad angered the polytheist authorities by removing all 360 idols from the Kaaba. This both insulted the polytheistic culture and threatened to interfere with trade from polytheistic merchants from out of town. [Read more…] about Jesus in the Quran, Part Two
Jesus in the Quran, Part One
As the world continues to shrink and its populations mingle, we find ourselves living in a soup of mixing cultures. We may be mowing the lawn one day when a neighbor’s smiling face pops up over the backyard fence asking to borrow your chain saw. After remarking that you have not seen him for a while, he explains that he has been fasting in his basement for a week as part of Ramadan, and that he now feels refreshed and ready for jihad. You wonder if he is referring to jihad, the Islamic Holy War. Then as if reading your mind, he explains he needs the chain saw to trim his oak tree, not to chop off the heads of infidels. [Read more…] about Jesus in the Quran, Part One