Bridging cultures

Next Thursday, Dr. Ibrahim Saeed of the Islamic Center of Madison will speak at our library on the "ABCs of Islam" as part of our Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys series. This is the first part of a collaborative cultural event sponsored by the Kilbourn Public Library, the Baraboo Public Library and the UW-Baraboo/ Sauk County Library.

I don't know if I will make it to the lecture, but a bit of synchronicity is that I just ran across a quote from the thirteenth-century Persian Muslim/Sufi mystic poet, Rumi. He wrote, "Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation."

It reminded me forcefully of something St. John of the Cross, the sixteenth-century Spanish mystic poet and Discalced Carmelite, said: "The Father spoke one Word, which was his son, and this Word he speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence it must be heard by the soul."

People write doctoral dissertations about the possible influence of Muslim poetry and mysticism on John of the Cross. After all, he was born less than half a century after the Christian monarchs took over the last remaining section of Spain which had been under Muslim control for centuries. He was prior of a monastery that was literally in the shadow of the awesome Alhambra in Granada, and he grew up in a town -- Medina del Campo -- that was named for the Medina where Muhammad is buried.

At any rate, I love both sayings, whether they are historically directly connected or not.

The story of Elijah on Mt. Horeb, where he hears God speaking "in a still small voice", also comes to mind. My understanding is that the literal meaning of the Hebrew is that Elijah hears "the sound of a fine silence."

Sounds like God to me.