Integrating your faith into your life

Sometimes when life gets so busy we forget what our various faiths ask us to do. We push things aside as if they don't matter to us. This article in the Huffington Post by Daliah Merzaban as an example of how a Muslim changed her way of thinking from trying to fit her faith into her life to fitting her life into her faith. Merzaban is a Muslim, and in Islam there are five required daily prayers. She talks about how she used to push those prayers back, and often miss the proper times to pray them because she was so busy with work and life in general. At some point though she realized she didn't want to do this anymore and started making sure she fit her life around her faith, rather than compromising her faith. Merzaban said she actually found doing so to be quite simple and refreshing.

This is an inspirational article not only for Muslims to try to be better at keeping their faith, but for all people of faith to take time to remember what their faith calls for in their daily life. Let's try to integrate our lives into our faith rather than trying to push aside things we have been taught and believe in but sometimes feel like we don't have time for.

I would love to hear from you about how you try to maintain your faith with your daily life. Do you find it difficult at times? Or does it come naturally for you?

Loving everyone

I came across this article today and thought it was a great example of how people truly can get along even if they have different beliefs and viewpoints. The article is about how a college student from the U.S. had a Thanksgiving dinner in Turkey with an atheist, Jew, Christian, and Muslim. Everyone put there differences aside and just had a wonderful meal together. Now why can't people all around the world do the same thing? Why do so many people always have to fight just because they have slightly different views? As the saying goes, let's just agree to disagree.

So while people around the world continue to argue and fight over their differences I am happy to know that there are some people right here at the University (yes, I mean all of you InterfaithU members!) that do not feel the need to try to force their religious beliefs on others. I am happy that these people are perfectly happy to simply answer questions about their faith to those who are curious.

I can only speak from my own religious point of view (which is Islam), and in Islam religion cannot be forced on people, although we may educate others about it, a persons choice in faith must ultimately be their own and come from their heart. I can educate others about Islam to the best of my own ability, so that they understand its teachings, but I am not going to tell someone that if they do not become a Muslim they are doomed. I can honestly say that I find people who preach and say you will go to hell if you don't become a Muslim just as annoying as those who say if you don't take Jesus into your heart you will go to hell. As a Muslim I can also say I love Jesus (He is one of the Prophets in Islam), I simply don't believe he is the Son of God or died on the cross.

I would love to hear your thoughts too! What annoys you? What do you believe? What are your hopes for interfaith work?