I Want to Hear About You

Islam in this Blog

I would like to clarify some things for you, readers.

Recently, I’ve realized how hard this site can be to navigate. First, it says “Islam, fiction and philosophy,” three themes which can be seen as the complete opposite. As an outsider, we can wonder what an author really aims to do by advertising these three elements and how they connect.

We can work out “philosophy” and “fiction” together, but where does Islam fit? And furthermore, is the person well verse in these domains, like does she have a proper education and will the information be valuable?

Here are some answers. Just to be clear, from these three domains, I’m only educated in philosophy, especially analytical philosophy (some medieval and ancient philosophy too). I’ve not academically studied Islam, but I have studied like millions of Muslim by going to after-school program. I’ve lived it and have sufficient education in philosophy of religion to gather some coherent thoughts.

My other credentials are in the domain of healthcare (a BA, with an experience with child development). And finally, an MA in Cognitive sciences, especially comparative cognition – language -, social cognition and cognitive psychology.

When it comes to fiction, it is all self-taught, but I plan to study it further in the future, if everything goes according to “my” plan (or in other word “God willing”).

So bringing the three points together feels natural and somewhat forced, at the same time. Can Islamic teachings be integrated in work of fiction which stays true to its characters act and stories? We will see. For now, I only explore Islamic influenced themes and based my story on some hadith, without exploring the hadith itself.

Goals

What I want is to build and showcase my own understanding of Islam, the Sunni kind, even if I don’t mind Shia influence and appreciate the deep intricacies of other Islamic organizations, such as Sufism.

Clearly, philosophy has a strong hold over my thoughts process. I’m looking for the truth, no matter where I find it (in revelations or in structured thoughts). Reasoning helps me understand what I perceive, feel and learn about the world, and as a scientist, I believe there is a clear chain of causality for a majority of observable events. However, I also accept a mystical aspect when it comes to my beliefs, and this aspect may be due to the limitation of our cognitive abilities or our lack of knowledge. Or it may due to something bigger. Anyway, I want to explore these questions.

Fiction

In the English language, there are very few fictions with Islamic themes in its center, and that is what I aim to tackle. I want to explore a new way of speaking about religion (“my” religion), and other monotheists religions, to make it more accessible, and less overwhelming to people who want to engage with them, in a neutral or positive way.

I want to imagine new characters, who go about their days, with intermittent prayers and teachings with deep meanings to them.

I also want to express and analyze my love for works of fiction I encounter, like I recently did with the movie “Loveless” and an anthropological take on the origin of violence. These are themes which are dear to me, just like love, art and spirituality.

So, more than three themes

Yeah, I would love to talk more about art and love, and their place in religions. Christians already do that because of hundreds of years of commissioned art depicting religious themes. Representative art is less accepted in Islamic settings (and Jewish too, if I’m correct because of the prescription to not idolatry) and we are more known for abstract and decorative art. But writing is a great way to bring our teachings to life, and to engage with them, imagine different perspectives and different situation. So, it is not to imitate Christians, but to showcase our own values through symbolism, which is a universal language.