My first spiritual teacher of any consequence was a Muslim. He was also, I should add, a member of the Gelugpa Order of Tibetan Buddhism, an Eastern Orthodox Christian, and a devotee of Divine Mother Sarada Devi and Sri Ramakrishna. Lex Hixon, known to many of his followers as Sheikh Nur al-Jerrahi, was clearly many things to many people. I first encountered him when I drove to Riverdale to interview him for my second book, Through the Labyrinth. I owe a lot to Lex, but more than anything, he mentored me in the value of religious pluralism, something in which he believed so ardently that he practiced several different spiritual traditions simultaneously. This is no small feat when you consider that following just one path can absorb huge amounts of time and psychic energy.
I could spend several entries just writing about Lex, but one picture should suffice to convey the essence of who he was and is.
Lex Hixon, Sheikh Nur al-Jerrahi
Although Lex identified himself as a Sufi, he was always careful to acknowledge that to be a genuine Sufi, one must also practice the Five Pillars of Islam, including Shahada (profession of faith), Salah (five-times daily prayers), Zakat (alms), Sawm (fasting during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). Of course, Sufism utilizes mystical practices and looks for the deeper truth in Islam, as well as openly embracing other wisdom traditions. And so, one has to do more than the average Muslim to be a Sufi, Lex believed, but the idea of Sufism somehow being separate from Islam was unacceptable to him.
I mention my affection for Sheikh Nur (one of the 99 Beautiful Nmes of Allah, Nur is Arabic for Light) to introduce another important figure and Web site devoted to moderate Islam. I recently read a moving article on IslamiCity.com entitled "Prophet Muhammad: A Prophet Betrayed." The author is Dr. Aslam Abdullah, editor of the Detroit-based English weekly Muslim Observer. Dr. Abdullah is also director of the Islamic Society of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the recently elected General Secretary of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relation. He wrote the kind of piece many of us who were raised as Christians, Catholics, or Jews can relate to, pointing out how the enlightened ideals of the founder of a faith have been betrayed by his followers. Here is one brief excerpt:
"We take great pride in recounting heroic tales of Islamic battles, but we must remember that the Prophet spent less than 20 hours in battles which cost less than 500 casualties, nearly half of them Muslims. Yet he brought a peaceful world in existence where slavery was abolished, persecution of women was stopped and divisions on the basis of one's creed and color or status were destroyed....
"With the example of his personal life, the Prophet encouraged a peaceful family life where love and compassion would dominate the behavior among spouses. Yet more than 40 percent [of] Muslim women suffer from some kind of domestic violence. There are more than [a] quarter of a million women who are bought and sold in black market all over the world every year by all kinds of people including Muslims who claim their loyalty to Prophet Muhammad
. How do these people identify with his life when they are violating every principle that he stood
for?"
I applaud Dr. Abdullah and direct those who would like to know about Islam to visit IslamiCity.com, or read about Islam in my book The Joy of Sects.
And if you have any questions about Islam, please feel free to ask me.
I mention my affection for Sheikh Nur (one of the 99 Beautiful Nmes of Allah, Nur is Arabic for Light) to introduce another important figure and Web site devoted to moderate Islam. I recently read a moving article on IslamiCity.com entitled "Prophet Muhammad: A Prophet Betrayed." The author is Dr. Aslam Abdullah, editor of the Detroit-based English weekly Muslim Observer. Dr. Abdullah is also director of the Islamic Society of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the recently elected General Secretary of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relation. He wrote the kind of piece many of us who were raised as Christians, Catholics, or Jews can relate to, pointing out how the enlightened ideals of the founder of a faith have been betrayed by his followers. Here is one brief excerpt:
"We take great pride in recounting heroic tales of Islamic battles, but we must remember that the Prophet spent less than 20 hours in battles which cost less than 500 casualties, nearly half of them Muslims. Yet he brought a peaceful world in existence where slavery was abolished, persecution of women was stopped and divisions on the basis of one's creed and color or status were destroyed....
"With the example of his personal life, the Prophet encouraged a peaceful family life where love and compassion would dominate the behavior among spouses. Yet more than 40 percent [of] Muslim women suffer from some kind of domestic violence. There are more than [a] quarter of a million women who are bought and sold in black market all over the world every year by all kinds of people including Muslims who claim their loyalty to Prophet Muhammad
. How do these people identify with his life when they are violating every principle that he stood
for?"I applaud Dr. Abdullah and direct those who would like to know about Islam to visit IslamiCity.com, or read about Islam in my book The Joy of Sects.
And if you have any questions about Islam, please feel free to ask me.
What a shame he is not alive. I can only imagine the good a moderate muslim like him could have created.
Misogirl,
Lex was able to bridge many worlds. He was raised in a secular humanist family but went on to explore all those religious traditions I mentioned. When I wrote my book "The Joy of Sects," Lex vetted my chapter on Islam and gently corrected any mistakes or misunderstandings. He was a fervent supporter of Islam but also believed strongly in avoiding religious extremism and fundamentalism.
Namaste,
Peter
Peter, I just happened to be listening to your interview on justenergyradio.com
I clicked the link to your site and found this article. Sheik Nur performed my wedding ceremony 15 years ago at Masjid al Farah in NYC. He also gave me a muslim name (Nour- meaning the Universal Light of God) just like his own.
I was fortunate for having met Sheik Nur in this side of the world and still follow his practices until today; embracing all traditions, and finding the likenesses between them.
Thank You for posting this!
Asalam Aleikhum, Nour.
I miss Lex so much. He always emanated that perfect balance of love, wisdom, toughness, and generosity. I haven't had a teacher like him since. I thought of him when my wife and I went to the Kabbalah Centre in Manhattan for Pesach last week. Jews and non-Jews sharing the universal truth of Kabbalah, chanting, clapping, foot-stomping, Torah-reading, and Sheikh Nur would have loved it, and probably would have been able to follow the service in Hebrew and Aramaic better than I could!
Namaste,
Peter
Peter thanks for writing this. I miss Shaykh Nur every day, though I feel his presence strongly at times. For misogirl, above, it says in the Qur'an something like (slight paraphrase), "Say not that those who die in the way of Allah are dead. They live, though you perceive it not." Nur's sweet and powerful presence continues in various ways. Inshallah all of us who wander the roads of love will meet each other again, or for the first time.
Karima,
I'm always warmed to hear from anyone who knew or worked with Lex, or Sheikh Nur, who is one of the great unsung heroes and authorities on the world's religions. Had he lived longer on this plane, I feel confident that he would be a fixture on the spiritual "scene," teaching at places like Omega and writing books for Hay House and tapeing for Sounds True and others. Not that he ever seemed the least bit interested in fame or recognition, a genuine lamedvovnik, or hidden saint , one of the 30 righteous souls who keep the earth spinning, in the Kabbalistic tradition, Indeed, by now he would probably have added Kabbalah to the many traditions he already followed in what he termed his "experiment" in full-fledged religious pluralism. Thank you for the Quranic quote, and indeed Lex lives in the minds and hearts of people like you and me and "Nour" above.
Namaste,
Peter
Peter,
First, I loved your book "Labryinth".
Second, I was a disciple of Swami Nikhilananda when Lex and Sheila were devotees. We spent two summers together at the Vivekananda Ashram in Thousand Island Park, New York.
I became an Eastern Orthodox Christian and am very interested to hear more about that part of Lex and Sheila's "journey". I hear about his Vedanta and Sufi experiences but next to nothing about his Eastern Orthodox experience. I understand he went to Mount Athos (Greece), called "the Holy Mountain". I understand he knew Fr Alexander Schmemann well. That's about all I know. I find it a bit...odd I guess that he was able to see himself so "ecumenically" when Eastern Orthodox Christianity, while respectful of other sincere non-Christian traditions, is not really "ecumenical" in the sense of "Truth being one...", etc.
So I wonder what you know!?