Holding the hand of a Moslem

Last night I went to an interfaith meeting. It was many things, inspiring and frustrating. Entertaining and boring. All the negative aspects can be attributed to one significant factor it was only the third meeting so presumably they will alleviate and only the inspirational aspects remain. Or a harsh beauracracy with cliques and uniforms and social fau pars, I hope I can join the Muslim clique.
I took my good friend Omar who always gets swamped by Islam adorers. I always get questioned about atheism but it’s generally all a little confrontational ‘So why don’t you?’ ‘Why?’ ‘Why?’ sort of questions which is my question exactly.
Omar hit the nail on the head though. What tends to happen in interfaith activities, is everyone seeks a common ground and that is humanity. It almost becomes a collective in spite of our various belief systems. It’s not a punch on session arguing the merits it’s finding the flexibility between all beliefs at which you can relate.
I’m one of those people that draws the lines till they intercept and it boiled down to humanity. As in not the devine. As in God’s certainly aren’t omnipresent because theres many areas of life that are distinct from religion or the spiritual world.
Which is a profound message of peace. Except humanity definitely has its downside. Like the f#$king peace nick Buddhists wanting us to all go out and meditate. While those shifty Bhai’s parading their tolerance around as some kind of everything to everyone policy like Virgin Enterprises is talking about Pakistan and the earthquake, Which makes someone bring up Africa, until the Moslem starts talking about keeping it local and trying to help out the indigenous communities, then those cynical fucking atheists (me) says just start a website with info and stuff as a small manageable first project where its easy for everyone to contribute. Then with all these great informative humanitarian ideas, the posturing Jewish girl starts pushing the Sub-committee catch cry.
Then this other dude who’s religion I can’t remember but it had a lot to do with Doubting Thomas the apostle, he was cool said ‘I’m not interested in going to churches let’s work together and hold an event that uses something that does bring people together, I love food, I love music, I love art these are good things.’
While I was thinking we could have a ‘Muslims and Jews eating ham for peace’ day which I’d get a kick out of, because I’m sick in the head, someone reiterated the exact same point the other guy had just raised. For forty minutes.
So after 20 ideas I thought were interesting had come and gone from my mind the incorporation issue got raised. And then that had to be brought back to philosophical debates, debates that should have been addressed at the start.
But can I say that unlike the usual occasions where I’ve had to put the ‘open minded’ money where my mouth is and gone to a Christian Evangelist information session were I walk out because the proposed belief system is so horrible and judgemental and the music is really crappy and I’m either wrong and going to hell , or write and have just spent 3 hours of my finite sentient existence being shouted at about hell and brimstone.
Which I know is bullshit. That’s not what Jesus was about, or mohammed, or buddha, or gary coleman. This meeting was frustrating but I left it energised and inspired. And not genocide inspired either. No it was great except when the inevitable questions of why I’m an atheist, how I can consider myself spiritual. But the different faiths were united, against me, but in a non-threatening way.
What a fucking world.