Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Love, InshAllah

Home
Muslim
Relationships and Religion
Atheists I have loved

Atheists I have loved

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am by Posted by The Editors

Atheists I have loved 2014-11-03T11:19:02-07:00 Posted by The Editors

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Alain de Botton

I’m in the midst of a blistering spiritual drought.

While I am happy that so many people have connected to my book on a deeply personal level, the 24/7 promotion and publicity machine coupled with parental unhappiness with certain aspects of said book have resulted in a rapid and vast spiritual desertification unlike anything I have experienced before.

In the face of this, I did what any good Muslim girl experiencing a spiritual drought would do: I went to hear an intelligent atheist hold forth at the Jewish Community Center.

I’ve loved many atheists in my life, and they have all had the effect of helping me fall back in love with my faith and religion in a way that often co-religionists do not. It’s not because of their abrasive, militant stance against religion – that’s not the style of atheist I’m attracted to – but rather their curiosity, and willingness to engage with and to listen to someone with a different belief system.

Even people of other faiths can help me see my religion in a renewed and beautiful light. It’s often other Muslims I struggle the most with. They are the ones who make me feel furthest away from the beauty and light of my own faith. Perhaps it’s because I expect more of them.

So, I went to hear the charming, brilliant & self-proclaimed “gentle” atheist philosopher Alain de Botton speak about his new book, Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believers Guide to the Uses of Religion.

His insights into the meanings of the ritual, forgiveness, community, art, and other aspects that are so central to religion were poetic, insightful & moving. Even his remarks on the necessity of daily spiritual breaks like prayer or the use of water as a cleansing and focusing agent were lovely in a way that lectures on the fiqh of salat or wudu have rarely been. Indeed, they revived my own faith in a way that little has since January.

I only wish that we had more people like him – affiliated with religious traditions, or not – who are devoted to exploring and sharing the qualities of beauty, wisdom, empathy, curiosity and compassion. As members of a secular society, we need that so desperately in this day & age in which romantic love and financial success are deemed the ultimate arbiters of success and yet so often leave us feeling empty and longing for something deeper, something more. As believers, we need more poets and lovers – people who are ablaze with the loving and generous spirit that is supposed to illuminate the legal structure of faith.

Didn’t Imam Shafi say that he considered everyone he met to be his teacher, either on how to be or not to be? Last night, Mr. de Botton was my teacher on the special strengths of faith and the bridges that are possible between people with opposing views on God.

If Mr. de Botton’s lecture was a love letter to believers, this post is a love letter to atheists in honor of all that I have learned and continue to learn from them.

—

Ayesha Mattu is a writer, international development consultant and the editor of Love InshAllah. Her writing has appeared in CNN.com, The Huffington Post, International Museum of Women, and Religion Dispatches. This piece was originally posted at her blog, Rickshaw Diaries.

religion for atheists

spirituality

Previous Post

March 15, 2012

The Power is in the Telling

Next Post

March 20, 2012 How to buy a house. Or marry a girl.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Brown Girl Dreaming Editors Flirting with Fate and other Disasters of an Intersectional Muslimah Food, Love, & Memories Friday Love Halal Since 22 Integrity of Heart Life After Death Literary Mama Literature Love Inshallah Podcast Love InshAllah writers Media My Infidel Husband Not Without Love Poetry Monday Radical Love Reflections & Readings Reviews of Love InshAllah Salaam Love Writers Sex & The Ummah Single in the City Spotlight Story & Chai Book Club The Geekologist The Love Tour The Male Gaze Things I Wish I'd Known Thoughts of a Wasat Girl Uncategorized Your Sunny Side Up Your voices

Select a Month May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who prophesied swords would be beaten into plowshares?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joel Daniel Hosea Micah