We Have Domesticated God's Transcendence. We Often

Compassion Is Not A Popular Virtue. Very Often When I Talk To Religious People, And Mention How Important It Is That Compassion Is The Key, That It's The Sine-qua-non Of Religion, People Look Kind Of Balked, And Stubborn Sometimes, As Much To Say, What's The Point Of Having Religion If You Can't Disapprove Of Other People?

Religions Have Found That If You Behave In A Certain Way, If You Sort Of Perform Certain Rituals That Expand Your Mind And Make You Realize That Will Make You Realize And Help You To Seguey Into Transcendence And Perform Certain Acts, Adopt A Certain Lifestyle, You Develop New Capacities Of Mind And Heart, Just Like The Dancer, Or The Athlete That Make You Into A Whole Human Being And Principle After One Of These Disciplines Right Across The Board In All Of The Faiths Is Compassion, The Ability To Feel With The Other Person.

Islam Is A Religion Of Success. Unlike Christianity, Which Has As Its Main Image, In The West At Least, A Man Dying In A Devastating, Disgraceful, Helpless Death. The Cross, Crucified, And That Turned Into Victory. Mohammad Was Not An Apparent Failure. He Was A Dazzling Success, Politically As Well As Spiritually, And Islam Went From Strength To Strength To Strength.

He Was Decisive And Wholehearted In Everything He Did, So Intent On The Task At Hand That He Never Looked Over His Shoulder, Even If His Cloak Got Caught In A Thorny Bush. When He Did Turn To Speak To Somebody, He Used To Swing His Entire Body And Address Him Full Face. When He Shook Hands, He Was Never The First To Withdraw His Own. He Inspired Such Confidence That He Was Known As Al-amin, The Reliable One.

Far From Being The Father Of Jihad, [prophet] Mohammad Was A Peacemaker, Who Risked His Life And Nearly Lost The Loyalty Of His Closest Companions Because He Was Determined To Effect A Reconciliation With Mecca