Episode 8: An Agnostic Muslim Thought Cloud

Kashgar also wrote a short article on her personal relationship to Islam and she asked us to share it because she felt that it was easier to articulate through writing. “Sometimes I still wonder if I had made the right decision or if Islam is something that resonates with me but the answer has stayed the same every time I have thought about it: My spiritual relationship with Allah is meaningful in a way that is difficult to articulate and Islam has come to mean more than simply a connection to family heritage. Even if I had left Islam, I think that this spiritual aspect of my life would have remained. At the end of the day, I believe we’re all on different paths that lead to the same destination whether that is truly some kind of afterlife or nothing at all. But in the meanwhile, I choose to have faith in Allah despite the inner tug of war between logic and emotion. I obviously don’t have the answers and this personal story is full of self-contradictions but I have learned to find comfort in the grey zones, the ambiguities and the nuances as an agnostic Muslim for progressive/secular values.”  (She used a pseudonym for the article.)

Click Here for Kashgar’s Article

Kashgar’s book list!

On Progressive Islam
Edited by Omid Safi
https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Muslims-Justice-Gender-Pluralism/dp/185168316X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524187624&sr=8-3&keywords=Omid+Safi
A Sinner in Mecca: A Gay Muslim’s Hajj of Defiance
Parvez Sharma
https://www.amazon.com/Sinner-Mecca-Muslims-Hajj-Defiance/dp/1944648372/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524187717&sr=1-1&keywords=A+sinner+in+Mecca
Homosexuality in Islam
Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kuggle
https://www.amazon.com/Homosexuality-Islam-Critical-Reflection-Transgender/dp/1851687017/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524187667&sr=1-1&keywords=Homosexuality+in+Islam
Qur’an and Women
Amina Wadud
https://www.amazon.com/Quran-Woman-Rereading-Sacred-Perspective/dp/0195128362/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524187765&sr=1-1&keywords=Amina+Wadud
Queer Muslim Marriage: Struggle of a Gay Couple’s True Life Story Towards Inclusivity and Tawhid within Islam
Ludovic-Mohamad Zahed
https://www.amazon.com/Queer-Muslim-marriage-Struggle-Inclusivity/dp/1483990206/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524187820&sr=1-1&keywords=Queer+Muslims
Progressive Muslim Identities
Edited by And Zonneveld, Vanessa Karam, Olivia Samad
https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Muslim-Identities-Vanessa-Karam/dp/0983716102/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524188124&sr=1-8&keywords=Progressive+Islam