I glanced at the news and saw that Fatima Rifka Bary is to be sentenced to go back home. If you recall she was the 16 year old who discovered Christianity. A big no no in a Muslim home. Worthy of a beheading!
But the courts, ignorant to the ways of Islam, ordered Fatima back to her parents house.
If this was a Jewish home, I wonder if Rifka would even be wanted back to the home? I would guess not. But at least there is no mitzvot (religious duty) to behead the kafir (non-believer).
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This also makes me think of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. From being exposed to and reading alot of philosophical works, it led her to leave her religion -which was Islam. According to many rabbis, such readings would take anyone out of their religion!
How does that work?
That's hard to explain. Suffice it to say that in the scheme of things, we gather wisdoms and funnel them through understanding and from that we get knowledge.
For example: wisdom = numbers
understanding = algebra
knowledge = what a variable would be
here's a graph:
I suspect that reading all the philosophical writings brings us maybe to wisdom, understanding, and knowledge -a downwards pointing triangle. And I think the focus of religion or spirituality is to make a different triangle; the keter (crown), wisdom, and understanding triad.
Keter means crown. It is like the border of where wisdom ends. We ought to learn as much as we can about our world, but once we've reached the borders, then we get to faith. The part that we don't know, but we rely on the idea that God is running the show, that He created everything and is all knowing.
In the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge triad, we are beholden to the various laws of physics, biology, etc. In other words, we don't walk on water, we get hit by a bullet, etc. However, in the keter, wisdom, and understanding triad the world and its rules are beholden to us (assuming we make God's will our will)! ....I don't know if the world is ready for that yet.
Did Ayaan lose her faith? Her keter? Her crown? I suppose some would argue yes. But at the same time listening to her, she seems very caring and fights --one of the few lone voices-- for the rights of Muslim women. That confounds me. I once learned that prayer is like a sword. One must learn to wield it properly -neither flinching to the right (overdone kindness) nor to the left (too severe). And to learn how to wield this "sword" on must practice justice. Ayaan, in her way, is boldly fighting for justice. If she has faith in the Creator, would she have the power of effective prayer?
Sometimes I wonder if she simply rejected Islam, and just replaced it with a more humanitarian belief --but she calls it athiesm. She also introduces the heavy question of which way is God's will.
Anyway, I worry for Fatima Rifka Bary. She doesn't have the mobility and freedom to search and discover freely. Then again if she looks too much will she too fall into atheism?
