Religion as a belief system (excerpt).

    Man is absolutely the most favored creature; even to the point that
    it was said--which is true--that he is favored over the angels. The
    preference of man lies in his intellect. The intellect of man is
    what raised his status, and made him superior to all creatures.
    Therefore, it is necessary to understand this intellect and
    accordingly it is necessary to know what is thinking (attafkeer, and
    what is the method of thinking? (Tareeqat ut-tafkeer). This is
    because this reality designated as thinking is what gives the
    intellect its value, and what brings those elaborate fruits, with
    which life revives and man revives. The whole universe, including
    everything, even the inanimate beings, plants and animals, revive.

    Sciences, arts, literature, philosophy, jurisprudence, language and
    knowledge are themselves the output of the mind, and consequently
    the output of Thinking. Therefore, it is necessary for the sake of
    man, life and the whole universe, that the reality of the mind is
    comprehended, and the reality of thinking and the method of thinking
    be comprehended accordingly.

    Humanity has made this great advance in life and in the time, whilst
    being mostly concerned with the output of the mind and with the
    output of thinking, without being concerned with the reality of the
    mind and the reality of thinking.
    --From: Thinking, by Taqiuddin an-Nabhani

I considered it might spark your interest if I started with some paragraphs from a publication entitled simply, Thinking, by a person who started an Islamic movement that I have found quite deep in its approach to what, when one hears the term "Islamic" or "angel," rather quickly gets linked to religion--and I know the term 'reality' generally gets dittoed in the thinking of most general semanticists.

Since I have as a subject matter religion as a belief system, I have found I have a very daunting task to reduce with some clarity the term "religion" to a lower order of abstraction and then couple the specific religion I have chosen to focus on, Islam, with the idea of its functioning not just as a belief system but as a coherent system for all human beings to live by, post 9-11--all in thirty minutes.

However, I can rest somewhat comfortably feeling that by and large this audience recognizes that whatever I say and for however long I have to say it, something will be left out. We understand then that this presentation can do no more than hint at some areas of a vast knowledge base that I have been interacting with for many years. With me, this exciting area of understanding goes back as far as Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad, men I knew well, and it is still evolving to date.

I certainly am willing to take responsibility for everything I say but I will not take responsibility for how you take what I say, since I don't have a lot of time to explain what may be some controversial areas that may unfold. GS allows us to understand that I am giving as many talks as there are people in the audience. Some, with Islam so much in the news since 9-11--and I confess to being a Muslim--would, I suspect, like me to deal with a close analysis of Islam in day-to-day practice; some would like a substantial exposition on how I integrate GS and Islam; some will consider it important, as do I, that I be in tune with the Conference theme. But as Milton Dawes so often puts it, this is a story and it will be my story for whatever it sums up to be; that we know to be unavoidable. I understand that after my time has expired I will simply have to stop wherever I am in the presentation even though I may not be where I would like, but hopefully we can follow up some points in the discussion sessions.

I have been conversant with GS some twenty-seven years now and I have taken note that there has been an aversion to view what is generally labeled "religion," when defined as a personal awareness or conviction of the existence of a Supreme Being influencing and controlling one's own, humanity's or all nature's destiny, as a topic worthy of in-depth study and inclusion within general semantics literature.

There are some exceptions. One is a fairly lengthy chapter in Levels of Knowing and Existence by H. Weinberg entitled simply "Religion," but I consider his writing a clear exception in the general semantics literature. Another one was an article printed in vol. 57, Summer 2000, of ETC entitled "Science, Religion and God: My Story" by Milton Dawes. I sensed he used the term "religion" in the most general sense, inferring, it seemed to me, that all religions are pretty much the same and he is not comfortable taking them too seriously. Well, as he said and frequently reminded us, he was telling "his story" and was gracious enough to state he would be ready to hear the stories of others who do not share his view.

I also recall a very negative article about prayer, using some examples from the Holy Quran and Islam, that I considered was probably placed in an issue of ETC as a filler and I prefer not to dignify it with either an answer or a challenge. Then, too, there was William Pemberton's article "Conflict Resolution for Major World Religions" in the same issue presaging to some extent the title of this very conference.

In this short presentation, religion, specifically Islam, as a belief system, indexed, Holy Quran, Prophet Muhammad, Abdul Salaam, I am putting forth some specifics that hopefully will help you to understand why I am comfortable in my acceptance of Islam, as a belief system that is certainly considered a religion, and how I mesh my understanding of the formulations of general semantics with ease in the context of that belief system. As suggested above, it is clear that many GSers feel religion is incompatible with general semantics. If religion is being considered in the abstract as an un-referenced word, I can understand that sentiment, but for me, the religion of Islam as I intend to sketch it in part, and general semantics as I have understood the formulations, are not altogether incompatible.

How then is religion generally viewed? Up until 9-11, religion, including Islam, was most usually thought of and practiced as a pattern of ritualistic worship--period. Many Muslims along with other religious adherents, in the sharply demarcated division between the Church and State environment characteristic of America, have acted in the same fashion. There is a particular day (or series of days) that a greater amount of attention is given to the contemplation of the existence of a Supreme Being, and depending upon one's belief system and the set of scriptures adhered to, one does those things called for by the leaders of the religion for that period of time and that's it. (I have noticed that by and large when Muslims are pictured, close to nine times out of ten you hear the Adhan (call to prayer) and Muslims are shown prostrating themselves in prayer. Is someone trying to get viewers to think that prayer and some "terrorist acts" are all that Muslims do? That doesn't lead to much understanding.)

More often than not, once leaving the place of worship an entirely new series of behaviors may take place that have no bearing on or relation whatsoever to the professed religious beliefs. I know of no religion other than Islam, if not detached from its original sources, the Holy Quran, the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, Ijma and Qiyas, (I am not going to try to explain those terms now) that embodies within its makeup a complete and full system of guidance for our behavior economically, socially, politically, administratively, educationally, militarily, and religiously. Since this conference, listed as an international one, has taken upon itself the Herculean task of Confronting the Challenges of Conflicting World Views with one of the subjects up for discussion being beliefs, belief systems and their consequences, I would like to start here, with you as a pilot study, in working through this problem of conflicts between belief systems, modern science, and technology. Since many of you may have some real hang-ups about religion, developing some understanding here might help it spread abroad.