Quakers and Sufis

"Move beyond any attachment to names.

Every war and every conflict between human beings
has happened because of some disagreement about names.

It’s such an unnecessary foolishness,
because just beyond the arguing
there’s a long table of companionship,
set and waiting for us to sit down.

What is praised is One,
so the praise is one too,
many jugs being poured into a huge basin.

All religions, all this singing, one song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity.

Sunlight looks slightly different on this wall
than it does on that wall
and a lot different on this other one,
but it is still one light.

We have borrowed these clothes,
these time-and-space personalities,
from a light,
and when we praise,
we pour them back in."

- Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th century Sufi Poet

“There is a principle which is pure, placed in the human mind, which in different places and ages hath different names: it is, however, pure and proceeds from God. It is deep and inward, confined to no form of religion nor excluded from any, where the heart stands in perfect sincerity.” – John Woolman, 18th century Quaker preacher

“The humble, meek, merciful, just, pious, and devout souls are everywhere of one religion, and when death takes off the mask, they will know one another though the diverse liveries they wear here make them strangers.”
– William Penn, 17th century Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania

I am an autodidactic student of world religions. It interests me to learn how people in various times and places have dealt with the questions that seem to perpetually and univerally trouble mankind, such as: How do we explain evil and suffering? Why are we all painfully aware of our propensity to fall short of our own moral ideals? What is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?

In the course of my studies, I've found intriguing parallels between Sufism and Quakerism. It strikes me that Sufis are to Islam what Quakers are to Christianity. Sufism and Quakerism are both based on the core idea that it is possible to directly and experientially encounter God. Both tend towards the inward and mystical. Both emphasize peace, equality, truth and simplicity. Both see God as loving, compassionate, merciful, gracious and present. Both are often viewed with suspicion or even contempt by guardians of "orthodoxy".

Of course, there are differences between Quakerism and Sufism as well. Each was born in a different place, time and culture and grew out of a different world religion.

Yet the affinities strike me as remarkable. I think it is a subject worthy of further investigation.

Some Muslims and observers see Sufism--or something like it--as the future of Islam. What if, likewise, Quakerism--or something like it--is the future of Christianity? Wouldn't it be interesting if Christianity and Islam, in the form of Quakerism and Sufism (or forms very similar) came to a point of seeing one-another as beloved siblings, travelling together on the same journey home?

I know I'm getting a bit pie-in-the-sky-I'd-like-to-teach-the-world-to-sing here but imagine the implications if, someday, two-thirds of the world's population--the Christians and Muslims--found common ground in the Living Presence of the God of Love? I imagine too that there are similar sects with similar values within Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, etc. As someone once said, "It's like there are two layers to a religion. An outer (exoteric) layer, and an inner (esoteric) layer. The outer exoteric layer is the layer of the layman, the fundamentalist, the literal minded, the zealot, the man-on-the-street. The esoteric layer is the layer of the mystic." Mystics of various faiths seem to recognize one-another as kindred spirits.

What if the trajectory of mankind's history is towards unity within God's Presence? I find that narrative much more compelling--and indicative of the Father whom Jesus revealed--than the doom and gloom Armageddon narratives espoused by so many within both Christianity and Islam.

Is it possible for a Christian such as myself--who believes that Jesus is the Savior of the World--to entertain such ideas? Yes, as a matter of fact, it is.