Islam and Its Moral Responsibility

Frederick Denny, the keynote speaker of the night spoke on Islam and its moral responsibility and how Muslims need to educate. He was a very intelligent man and great speaker, but he was too philosophical for the students in the audience. I was one of those misfortunate souls who could not understand where he was going. He hit on many key points that connected the current problems of Islam and ideas of liberation theology. He stressed that Islam is and always will be a monotheistic, ethical religion. I agree with this statement and with the education of the youth and the world, others will see that Islam is not evil or that much different from Christianity in faith. In his randomness he also hit on the ideas of sin. In Islam Ma'arvt and Mounkar are the Islamic terms for what Christians call sinless and sinful acts or the expectable and not expectable behaviors. From these aspects of faith one can seek justice and morality through God, the one who wills and acts justly. Spiritual morality and justice are filtered from God and should not be questioned. We should take what he gives us and use it responsibly. Doing what is right and just in the eyes of the lord will draw one closer to the almighty. Closeness to the Creator is the ultimate of all Muslims and with understanding and education all will see that this is the goal of all the Abraham faiths. All 3 believe that happiness comes from love for him. He asks only that we should "spend of our substances out of love for him alone." Meaning moral duty enacted out of duty for him, "for god's sake first." Doing all things through the lord first and then showing and educating the people, the world and Muslims alike in the ways of the lord can reach peace in Denny's opinion. There are struggles with-in Islam itself with the more radical liberation theology. They take their faith to the extreme and segregate their own. Find peace from with-in, find peace amongst your brothers, and then find peace