I read the article you referred to and it was enlightening! I agree with all the reasons you chose Islam. I lived in a Muslim country for a couple of years and loved it, as did the other Americans living there. In fact, I revisited it many years later. Perhaps I'll try reading the Quran again. I tried several years ago, but only got half-way through. The first half was, to me, full of violent imagery to which I couldn't relate. I read that the earlier writings are towards the back, so maybe I should start with the last half! By the way, I read that in translations of our New Testament into Arabic, the word for 'struggle' is translated as 'jihad.' Most people assume that a jihad is a violent confrontation, but I know Muslims who say it mostly refers to a personal struggle for self-improvement. "They" say that Muhammed may have had some influence from the Jews and Christians in Arabia. I don't know about the Jews, but the Christians in Arabia would not have been in the Western/Rome tradition, but in the Eastern/Jerusalem tradition. They would have been close to what today are called the Gnostics. I don't know if they would have revealed their belief in karma and reincarnation to Muhammed; they were not supposed to disclose their secret teachings to John Doe!
Thanks for putting us onto this link!
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