Worldly Holiness

I’ve just been grabbed by Miroslav Volf’s new title. Allah: A Christian Response. He mentions in his introduction that Muslims and Christians together comprise more than half of the world’s population. Furthermore, most scholars agree that both these religions will continue to grow in numbers in the near future. He penned the following words before the upheaval in the Middle East so I’d say Volf is incredibly prophetic as well. He writes, “equally significant, as the democratic ideal spreads and takes deeper root, Christianity and Islam are likely to assert themselves even more vigorously in public arenas worldwide.” p. 1. So the question that comes to mind: “Which face of either religion will show up?” History and modern day events seem to give examples that have the potential to take us in very different directions, up or down, negative or positive.

Volf also notes we live in a world more interconnected and interdependent with rapidly diminishing natural resources. I’m thinking of how the news of an incident of the slap on the face of a fruit seller in Tunisia led to what we are seeing across the Middle East and how social networking has helped fuel and speed up the process of public opinion. I also observe that the turmoil in Libya has raised the price at the gas pump by 11 cents per gallon in about a week’s time. Volf suggests much of this will multiply the occasions for conflict between Muslims and Christians. I haven’t read deep enough into this new book to pull out Volf’s solution to the problem but he has teased me already with something that supports my thoughts on the same topic. We need to find “ways for Christians and Muslims to be true to their convictions about God and God’s commands, while living peacefully and constructively together under the same political roof.” p. 14. Os Guiness similarly believes this is THE greatest challenge in the 21st century. Check out his lecture at the Global Faith Forum last October here: Os Guinness, Friday Afternoon Keynote.

So my evening in front of the fireplace with a light snow falling outside will be rich. I think I’m still thawing out from my hike yesterday with Bradley.

It was Cold on Tiger Yesterday

Tags: "Christian Response" "Book notes" "Christian--Muslim relations", Allah, Volf

Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, originally uploaded by papalars.

This mosque is as impressive as it's data sheet indicates. I had read about the numbers before we traveled to Casablanca but nothing on paper can quite capture the sense of the immensity of this structure. Our little group of 5 went to visit the mosque on a Sunday and I took something like 165 pictures. Thanks for the digital revolution. Then I did something foolish. Never before had I done this. I uploaded my photos to my laptop and then went to re-insert the card back into my camera. Since I had all these wonderful pictures on my laptop, I wanted to prepare for the next day's events and shooting. I erased the card. Then I went back to my laptop to begin to play with the pictures–crop, color adjustments, etc. only to find that just about 16 of the originals had actually uploaded to my computer. Ugggg! I have never made that mistake before.

So the next day, I had to make a trip back to the Hassan II Grand Mosque of Casablanca. Which I did. Dragged two others from our original group along with me. This time, however, we got the tour of the inside and learned even more of how immense this structure is. It was simply amazing. I learned some of the specifics also of the before prayer ablutions that Muslims make, saw the different sections of the mosque proper and a whole lot more about the dimensions of this particular house of prayer. Below are more of the details.

The Hassan II Mosque (Arabic مسجد الحسن الثاني) is a mosque located in Casablanca, Morocco. Designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau, it is the second largest in the world (after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca). It stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic, which can be seen through a gigantic glass floor with room for 25,000 worshippers. A further 80,000 can be accommodated in the mosque's courtyard. Its minaret is the world's tallest at 210 meters (689 ft). That is a third again the height of the Seattle Space Needle if that helps for a reference point.

Built on reclaimed land, almost half of the surface of the mosque lies over the Atlantic Ocean. This was inspired by the verse of the Qur'an that states "the throne of God was built on the water". Part of floor of this facility is glass so worshippers can kneel directly over the sea; above, lasers shine at night from the top of the minaret toward Mecca. These features were specifically requested by King Hassan II, who declared, "I want to build this mosque on the water, because God's throne is on the water. Therefore, the faithful who go there to pray, to praise the creator on firm soil, can contemplate God's sky and ocean."

It also includes a number of modern touches: it was built to withstand earthquakes and has a heated floor, electric doors, and a sliding roof.

The mosque displays strong Moorish influence and the architecture of the building is similar to that of the Alhambra and the Mezquita in Spain. This and the old Tin Mal Mosque are the only mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslims.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_II_Mosque

Horse Taxi in Fez Medina, originally uploaded by papalars.

What in the world is a medina? You may have heard about Medina, the city in Saudi Arabia where the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad lies. That Medina figures large in the early history of Islam. Did you know, however that it is also the design of many of the ancient cities across North Africa that speaks of the footprint of the advance of Islam across this region in the 7th century? The last posting was a picture of the medina in Fez from atop a local hill. That was the big picture. I'd like to tell you today a little about what the medina looks like from inside and just a few pieces that make up the infrastructure, layout and culture. It is a significant aspect of this culture from which many of our focus friends come.

As I stepped into this medina in Fez last week it was apparent that I was also stepping back many centuries in time. Walking down the narrow streets and alleys we jostled with slower pedestrians and various sorts of “animal taxis,” carrying the goods for local stores to sell or shipping out artisan crafts made at one of the many hubs of traditional crafts that dot this particular medina. It was truly amazing, and fascinating. My colleague, Ken suggested we not get lost. You cannot see any major landscape on the horizon to give orientation because there is no horizon to be seen deep in the walls of this city. We did have a plan B however, in the event of such a misfortune of getting lost! He said, “just follow the major flow of a stream of people, they will probably lead you to a major gate!” This was not a terribly comforting thought so even though I hung back at times to take pictures, I did not let the next person in front of me in our party out of sight!

Medina literally means “town” in Arabic. Most medinas across North Africa have the same design. They consist of densely packed urban hubs enclosed within defensive walls. The tangle of narrow roads and winding alleyways turns the medina into a maze or labyrinth. The city is sliced up into sections by a few major roads bisecting the city but, as a defensive measure, are either closed off at certain points by projecting walls or angled in new directions to confuse and slow the advance of any invaders.

Within the larger medina, which in the case of Fez numbers about 300,000 inhabitants, you will find smaller sections or quarters. These are like small “neighborhoods” that include a communal oven, a hammam (steam bath), a madrasa or Koranic school, and a grocer’s shop. Here you will find the basic necessities of life but not much more—vegetables, fruit, oil, coal, sugar, spices and other foods. Somewhere in the center of the medina you will also find the principal mosque that is the focus of the entire community. In the case of Fez, our tour guide told us that there were 350 mosques in the medina.

Well, this is probably enough for our history lesson today. Next I will tell you a bit about the famous tannery in Fez. Below are some links with more interesting information about Fez. Enjoy. By the way, how could I forget. Pray for Nate, our young colleague who we left in language school in Fez. He is living with a family and really going for it. Pray for his learning and sense of God's presence with him each step of the way.

http://www.paulbowles.org/fezbowles.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fes%2C_Morocco

“We regard our involvement in….mission as an adventure, are prepared to take risks, and are anticipating surprises as the Spirit guides us into fuller understanding. This is not opting for agnosticism, but for humility. It is, however, a bold humility —or a humble boldness. We know only in part, but we do know. And we believe that the faith we profess is both true and just, and should be proclaimed. We do this, however, not as judges or lawyers, but as witnesses; not as soldiers, but as envoys of peace; not as high-pressure salespersons, but as ambassadors of the Servant Lord.”               

                                          David Bosch in Transforming Mission

This is a guiding thought from a first rate missiologist as we consider our work among our focus people. His book, Transforming Mission is an encyclopedia. Really! I recommend it to anyone who wants a top shelf guide to a history of missions and the thoughts behind the different periods in mission history. He does an in depth assessment of the guiding paradigm of each significant period from the New Testament to modern times. He passed away in the 90's but left us all with his profound reflections, all 587 pages worth! 

The Maghreb (المغرب العربي al-MaÄ¡rib al-Ê¿ArabÄ«; also rendered Maghrib (or rarely Moghreb), meaning "place of sunset" or "western" in Arabic, is the region of Africa north of the Sahara Desert and west of the Nile — specifically, coinciding with the Atlas Mountains. Geopolitically, the area includes Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, Western Sahara, and sometimes Mauritania, which is often placed in West Africa instead. An inhabitant of the Maghreb is called a Maghrebian or Maghrebi. It is worth noting however that Libya may also be described as part of the Mashriq which also encompasses Egypt.

Maghrebis are of mixed origins. They are mainly of Berber and/or Arab origins; the resulting mix is sometimes (particularly in Mauritania) termed Moorish. The Trans-Saharan trade brought in numerous West Africans, whose average contribution to the population increases as one goes south. In the northern coastal towns, conversely, several waves of European immigrants have influenced the population — notably Moriscos, Spanish Muslims who fled the Reconquista, Turks who came over with the Ottoman Empire, and French, Italians, Spanish, and others captured by the corsairs. Jewish communities have historically been present in the older cities, and have contributed to the wider gene pool through conversion. In Algeria especially, a large European minority, the "pied noirs", immigrated under French colonial rule; the overwhelming majority of these, however, left immediately following independence.

The region is almost entirely Muslim in religion, following the Sunni Maliki school, although small Ibadi communities remain in some areas. A strong tradition of venerating marabouts and saint's tombs is found throughout the region, still commemorated by the proliferation of "Sidi"s on any map of the region, though this tradition has substantially decreased over the twentieth century. A network of zaouias traditionally helped proliferate basic literacy and knowledge of Islam in rural regions.