A good friend has slowly drifted into a ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam. As the second wife of an ulema, a Muslim scholar, completely covered in public, and reading only the Qur'an at home, she says she was never happier. Is this a good thing as long as she does not harm anyone? Can educating her children in the same fundamentalist way be considered 'harm' or 'doing the best for her children to the best of her knowledge'?
Would my reaction have been different if she had joined a fundamentalist current of Buddhism instead, an interpretation which does not allow music, encourages daily studying of the holy texts, provides a strict daily schedule and obliges her to wear a particular garment in a particular colour?
How much of my 'common sense' reactions are due to 'relicism' - some sort of religious racism?
Would my reaction have been different if she had joined a fundamentalist current of Buddhism instead, an interpretation which does not allow music, encourages daily studying of the holy texts, provides a strict daily schedule and obliges her to wear a particular garment in a particular colour?
How much of my 'common sense' reactions are due to 'relicism' - some sort of religious racism?
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