Monday, September 22, 2008

Schwartz's The other Islam Chapter 1

Those of you looking for a humanistic cosmopolitan version of Islam should read this book. It is best understood by those who have a propensity toward the theological.

I have to admit that I am somewhat crossed up and confused with what the Turkish Alevis are. According to Schwartz they are sufis and fairly tolerant. Yet according to other sources they are a fused type of blended religion that is from the ancient Kurdish religion known as the Cult of Angels. Schwartz may be right as the Alevis of Turkey are
very dissimilar to the Alewites of Syria.

Even the Yezidi venerate a Sufi mystic but are clearly not Muslim. The question with blended religions like Santaria boils down to authenticity.

This is interesting reading to the theologically inclined.

1 comment:

SecondComingOfBast said...

It might be interesting, Beak, but its almost irrelevant. You're going to be seeing large groups of whites from the American South sacrificing little puppy dogs to Hecate before you're going to see any mass movement of Muslims towards the Sufi branch of Islam.