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Integral Islam?

Posted August 20th, 2010 by Jonathan Cobb in Islam

Just an observation:  I've seen Ken and other Integral Institute faculty interview Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus about applying Integral to their religion, but no Muslims.  This strikes me as rather odd.  Are there no Muslims interested in Integral?  Surely there must be some Sufi mystics who find Integral to have great applications for their religion.  It seems to me that, given the War on Terror abroad and the Culture Wars here at home, an Integral Islam is more necessary than ever.

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timing

Posted August 20th, 2010 by Kerry Dugan

Jonathan,

I see it as a matter of timing. Over these last nine years, during the formation(s) of I-I, I+L, the leading edges of Islam might, by historic necessity, be otherwise engaged.

One pressure has been to publicly identify in order to retain credibility with mainstream and orthodox adherents. I think that an urgency of managing pr, thus keeping channels of intra-religious dialogue somewhat open, has trumped opportunities for expansive explorations of emergent waves, even while applying characteristics of integral levels toward resolutions of critical crises.

I would hope that SourceIntegral, being based in Dubai, or the Human Emergence groups in the Mid East, will eventually network some visible active interest in contributing to the media content here. We'll see.   

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Yes

Posted August 21st, 2010 by Federico Parra

Jon, I remember some years ago there was announced a search for an Islam teacher, I don't know if it was for the Integral Spiritual Center of for the first ISE.

I any event, I remember the place continued to be vacant for many months (it was a black square with a "?" sign) and then was removed.

I imagine Ken's interpretations on terrorism and the usual description of middle east as being mostly amber could help in keeping Muslim teachers away from Integral (I am, nonetheless, in agreement with both interpretations).

I agree that Sufism is the place to search, and not only to "complete" the circle of traditions (with one of the most important religions on earth), but because I think (and many with me) that Sufism has a very important part of the puzzle to put into the table, as a balanced Theistic and Contemplative tradition, that is very feminine in their practices (a strong emphasis on arts and music and dance and poetry as vehicles for spiritual revelation).

I love Sufism and hope as you to be seeing some Integral Sufism somewhere soon.

Peace,

Federico

 

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Even most moslems do not always see the hidden message of Islamic teaching...

Posted April 17th, 2011 by Tuty Yosenda

 

There are five pillars in Islamic teaching:

 

  1. Syahada, an editorial statement of moslems that they live and work on behalf of God.  (That's why syahada pronounced outloud at mosques as a part of praying call 5 times a day).  There are two dimension of this 'testament':  internal and external. The internal/esoteric dimension (which is the most significant part of sufi discipline) is a kind of holy call to find our inner solidity and self-originality. And as an external testament, there is a hidden invitation for moslems to make the best presentation about their life, as well as to  generate a creative-unforgetable mark in this world, as an expression of their devotion to God.    
  1. Shalat, a self-discipline practice to shape up necessary habits. Based on esoteric view, the five pillars is an exemplary; this means shalat is not merely a regular praying. And in sufi teaching (which focuses mostly on interior dimension of religion), reading, physical exercise and any other patterned self-disciplines are a different face of shalat... as long as these are performed on behalf of the Mighty God (Allahu Akbar), and aimed for a better life (as seen as shalom at the end of shalat).    
  1. Fasting, a practice to maintain a focus and consistency on a long-term goal, as well as a self-discipline to achieve a self-sufficiency state. You know that fasting is the most ancient practice, even animal migration (which is all about regeneration and life continuation) like salmons do this for a bigger circle of their life.  Furthermore, you can see that in fasting, there is a hidden invitation for us to take a risk, to leave our comfort zone, to disconnect with the temporariness and any other 'local networks', and to activate our 'universal network' instead.  At last, Ramadhan fasting followed by 'nights of a thousand months' ritual, in which another hidden invitation to see our existence as an eternal creature offered.     
  1. Zakat, a collective act of sharing, participating, facilitating, sacrificing, as well as taking a communal responsibility.  Ibrahim (Abraham), 'a father of the many, a pluralist leader'  is the most remarkable example of this pillar.  
  1. Hajj pilgrimage, 'a journey to the past' to discover that we all have the same 'restore point', and are headed to the same home.  Unity, humanity, and integrity are the main focus of this pillar. But about integrity, this will take a long-live hardwork to grasp. In my learning experience, high integrated moslem is a complete package, in which he/she finds the harmony between the existence and the essence, the ideal and the reality, science and religion, theory and practice, east and west ;-), and many more.   

 

So, basically, a truly moslem is  an integrated person. But since long-live hardwork and a yearning to unleash the hidden messages required, we may find them as members of minority.   ;-)