💬 Thursday Quotables: No god But God by Reza Aslan
Hosted by Book Shelf Fantasies, "Thursday Quotables" is a weekly feature that highlights a great quote/line/passage that you com across while delved deep into your current read. The quote can be beautiful, funny, surprising, anything that catches your eye and stands out!
My current read is one that, honestly, I should have started reading ages ago. Keeping aside the fact that it's been recommended to me time and time again, it's also, technically, my June "Ramadan" Book (of the Month) Club pick.
I decided on No god but God by Reza Aslan for several reasons:
it was an obvious choice considering the theme
F of JAF and several friends and college professors have recommended it to me over the years
as a Muslim, I'm always interested in seeing different perspectives of the Religion, and having it discussed from a scholarly, historical perspective was just so fascinating to me
with recent(ish) world events and the almost daily barrage/condemning/discrimination that Muslim's face where we have to answer for the actions of a few made me want to read more about the religion and what it went through since its inception, the struggles and pitfalls, the triumphs, etc.
I've always loved watching Reza Aslan interviews, the eloquence and intelligence with which he speaks makes you want to keep listening to what he's saying, to learn more about the topics he's discussing
I am not very far into it, having started only a few days ago (in my defense, jetlag and a sad return to work), but there was one quote in the introduction that made me want to go:
I can't say exactly what it was about this quote that got to me, but as soon as I read the paragraph, it resonated.
Without further ado (or gifs):
"There are those who will call it apology, but that is hardly a bad thing. An apology is a defense, and there is no higher calling than to defend one's faith, especially from ignorance and hate, and thus to help shape the story of that faith, a story which, in this case began fourteen centuries ago, at the end of the sixth century C.E., in the sacred city of Mecca, the land that gave birth to Muhammad ibm Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib: the Prophet and Messenger of God. May peace and blessing be upon him"
- No god but God, xxvi, Reza Aslan
