July 2005: Page 1, 2, 3, 4

Jumada II 1426

Volume 21 No 7


In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Submitters Perspective

Monthly Bulletin of the International Community of Submitters Published by Masjid Tucson

HISLAM

The Corruption of Religion in Our Lives

You start out on a journey along a beautiful path. You see animals and insects, large green trees, a clear creek glistening in the sunlight, and colorful insects pollinating beautiful flowers. Your feet gently rest upon warm soil. You breathe clean air and look up at a vast blue sky filled with flying birds. You pluck fruit off of long hanging branches along the path. You swim and wash yourself in an ever-widening clear creek filled with fish. You see calm ponds filled with beautiful lotus flowers. The path has its dangers. The dangers can be overcome and avoided if you follow the directions you were given when you

started on the journey.

As you travel on the path, you begin to notice changes. You see fewer animals and insects. The creek is murky and narrow with less aquatic life in it. The large fruit-laden trees begin to give way to dead flowerless brush filled with thickets of sharp weeds. You do not see many flower-laden ponds. You begin to tire frequently, and take shorter breaths. In contrast to the landmarks and signs you saw when you started out on the journey, you now see an increasing number of man-made signs pointing in directions that are not in the original traveler’s manual.

Self-appointed guides insist that you follow their directions. Travelers constantly squabble and many divide themselves into different groups. Each group claims that its way is the best way and if you do not join them you will be lost. Groups carve out their own paths away from the main path, write their own guidebooks, and outline steps to take in order to walk on their paths. The changes have been evident for a long time but you did not initially realize what has taken place. Travelers follow each other’s opinions instead of heeding the original directions provided by The Guide.

Cont’d on page 2

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