RELIGION AS A BELIEF SYSTEM (excerpt)

Man is absolutely the most favored creature; even to the point that it was said-which is true-that he is favored over the angels. The preference of man lies in his intellect. The intellect of man is what raised his status, and made him superior to all creatures. Therefore, it is necessary to understand this intellect and accordingly it is necessary to know what is thinking (attafkeer, and what is the method of thinking? (Tareeqat ut-tafkeer). This is because this reality designated as thinking is what gives the intellect its value, and what brings those elaborate fruits, with which life revives and man revives. The whole universe, including everything, even the inanimate beings, plants and animals, revive. Sciences, arts, literature, philosophy, jurisprudence, language and knowledge are themselves the output of the mind, and consequently the output of Thinking. Therefore, it is necessary for the sake of man, life and the whole universe, that the reality of the mind is comprehended, and the reality of thinking and the method of thinking be comprehended accordingly. Humanity has made this great advance in life and in the time, whilst being mostly concerned with the output of the mind and with the output of thinking, without being concerned with the reality of the mind and the reality of thinking. -From: Thinking, by Taqiuddin an-Nabhani I considered it might spark your interest if I started with some paragraphs from a publication entitled simply, Thinking, by a person who started an movement that I have found quite deep in its approach to what, when one hears the term Islamic or angel, rather quickly gets linked to religion-and I know the term 'reality' generally gets dittoed in the thinking of most general semanticists. Since 1 have as a subject matter as a belief system, I have found T have a very daunting task to reduce with some clarity the term religion to a lower order of abstraction and then couple the specific I have chosen to focus on, Islam, with the idea of its functioning not just as a belief system but as a coherent system for all human beings to live by, post 9-11-all in thirty minutes. However, I can rest somewhat comfortably feeling that by and large this audience recognizes that whatever I say and for however long I have to say it, something will be left out. We understand then that this presentation can do no more than hint at some areas of a vast knowledge base that I have been interacting with for many years. With me, this exciting area of understanding goes back as far as Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad, men I knew well, and it is still evolving to date. 1 certainly am willing to take responsibility for everything I say but I will not take responsibility for how you take what I say, since I don't have a lot of time to explain what may be some controversial areas that may unfold. GS allows us to understand that I am giving as many talks as there are people in the audience. Some, with Islam so much in the news since 9-11-and I confess to being a Muslim-would, I suspect, like me to deal with a close analysis of Islam in day-to-day practice; some would like a substantial exposition on how I integrate GS and Islam; some will consider it important, as do I, that I be in tune with the Conference theme. But as Milton Dawes so often puts it, this is a story and it will be my story for whatever it sums up to be; that we know to be unavoidable. I understand that after my time has expired I will simply have to stop wherever I am in the presentation even though I may not be where I would like, but hopefully we can follow up some points in the discussion sessions. I have been conversant with GS some twenty-seven years now and I have taken note that there has been an aversion to view what is generally labeled religion, when defined as a personal awareness or conviction of the existence of a Supreme Being influencing and controlling one's own, humanity's or all nature's destiny, as a topic worthy of in-depth study and inclusion within general semantics literature. …