B. Content

There are seven levels that  will proceed from the very sensual, narrative level over simple survey to  more complex analyses.

– Aggada

Here we are using the term only as a marker for an education of the soul through literary means. It has been difficult to find appropriate prose material to deliver insight into the Muslim experience, but I think we have now found some workarounds.

– Surveys

I’m going to assume your knowledge of some of the better known entry points, which I  will nonetheless reference, but I’m going to present you here with a number of challenges and also show you how fruitful this can be (insert: clip of Kohelet exercise)

– Sociology

Why religion in a secular world? do we need it? and, if so, what for? We’ve got some some nice stuff here.

– The Nature of Evil

Free will implies mistakes and turn arounds.
Or is evil inherent in the system?
How do we deal with it?
What different solutions have the different faith communities found to resolve the conflict and restore order to their communities? Can we learn from one another or are our solutions mutually incompatible?

– Special cases

We will consider the extremes, because that is where the danger lies.
There will be examples of unique solutions here. Some special topics…

– Philosophy

Both Jewish and Muslim philosophy deal with ultimate questions about the nature and purpose of the universe and man’s role in it. These have (unfortunately) been excluded from Western philosophy (with some very limited exceptions).

– Transcendence

Trivial statement:  “all mysticism is the same ” are rejected in a preference for understanding the uniqueness. What’s it all about? You get to this level by a hard path, building up structures that will sustain you. We know where we’re going, but it’s a journey. Let’s travel together…