‘Working together will not mean creating a mishmashed, one-world religion.’
Daniel Thomas Dyer, a Sufi Muslim, found interfaith events to be well-intentioned but lame affairs. Then he met Quakers in Kendal.
Being part of a Sufi Muslim community in Kendal, at the threshold of the Lake District, I deeply appreciate the mysticism and spiritual nonconformity that this part of the country has nurtured over the centuries. Wanting to meet like-minded souls from other faiths, I have been drawn in particular to the local Quakers, and have been warmly received there. Sitting in a Quaker Meeting recently, it occurred to me that if Muhammad (peace be upon him) were alive today he, too, would feel very comfortable worshipping with these Friends. He was, after all, a man who had a daily practice of meditating in silence. He first received revelation after long hours meditating in a cave on Mount Hira, and, after ritual prayer, it was his custom to turn around and face the congregation, at which point they would sit together in silent meditation for some time.
