The Nature of Nature - Abdul Hakim Murad

The Nature of Nature

Opening

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim

Introduction

Cambridge Muslim College, training the next generation of Muslim thinkers. This has become something of an annual institution now, my little presentation in the middle of the CMC donors retreat. Alhamdulillah, it's great to see so many familiar faces.

I want to start by reminding you that CMC is not just about training the new generation of imams and thought leaders for Britain's Muslim communities but we have a very strong research dimension as well.

Research Announcement

Our former dean and still one of our research fellows, Dr. Michael Beddine, has just published his great book with IB Taurus: "Redrawing the Middle East, Sir Mark Sykes, Imperialism and the Sykes-Picot Agreement." This marks the 100th anniversary of the events that created the modern Middle East.

Main Body

The Modern Mind-Body-Spirit Crisis

The old mind-body-spirit ternary which historically defined human creatures in just about every culture has now been unbalanced by modern physicalism - the emphasis that matter is all that really exists. The body has become increasingly the center of our modern concerns.

Consider the recent parliamentary debate recommending body image lessons in all British schools. Cosmetic surgery is a booming industry, self-harm among girls is increasing, and politics increasingly revolves around body politics and sexual identity questions.

Historical Context: European Spiritual Crisis

A hundred years ago, rapid social change responded to the collapse of Europe's older Christian belief systems. Physics and Darwin had convinced many people that God had died, and the race was on to find alternative ways of satisfying human needs for morality and meaning.

The loss of spirit leaves us with just our bodies and physical selves, granting materialistic ideologies potentially totalitarian influence. Science seeks single correct solutions, while modernity demands indefinite subjective truths for each individual - creating fundamental tension in modern culture.

The Ancient Harmony

There was an ancient world of sociality determined by cycles of sun and moon, movement of seasons, growth and decay - humanity's sense of belonging to a great cosmic wheel, what Mircea Eliade called "the myth of eternal return." Everything was cyclical and harmoniously incorporated within the natural world's cycle.

The Christian-Pagan Tension

This tension between Christianity as the termination of happy human relationship to the natural world and the possibility of pagan revival as an alternative shaped much of European thought. Today we see neo-paganism, witchcraft, and environmental movements attempting to recreate that mythologized Eden.

The Third Alternative: The Ishmaelite Way

Beyond the Christian-pagan dichotomy exists another alternative - the Ishmaelite tradition. In European art and literature, this was often represented through the tension between two symbolic figures:

• Hajar (Hagar): Associated with nature, the earth, sensuality, the red dress symbolizing earthly connection

• The Virgin Mary: Associated with transcendence, heaven, the blue dress symbolizing spiritual ascent

Literary Exploration: Ibsen's Vision

Henrik Ibsen, in his play "Emperor and Galilean," explored this tension through the figure of Julian the Apostate. The climactic dialogue speaks of a coming "third empire" where "Logos in pan, pan in Logos" - where spirit (Logos) and nature (pan) come together.

This prophecy points toward a reintegration of nature and divine guidance while maintaining rigorous monotheism - potentially pointing toward the Ishmaelite prophet descended from the woman in the red dress.

The Renaissance and Islamic Influence

The Renaissance brought a sudden rebirth, as if the natural world buried under church doctrine burst forth again. But there was also the "Saracenic" or Ishmaelite possibility - Europe's other significant other.

Goethe, the greatest poet of his era, wrote his famous "Mohammedskysang" (Mohammed's Song), comparing the young Ishmaelite prophet to a mountain stream, full of virile spirit, originating from heaven's rains but part of earth's nature.

Modern Responses: Two Paths

The document traces how modern Europeans responded to this spiritual crisis through two main figures:

1. Filippo Marinetti - The Materialist Path

• Embraced militant atheism and scientific reductionism

• Believed only matter exists, promoted violence and competition

• Founded Futurism, advocating destruction of museums and libraries

• Represented unflinching modernity without spiritual dimension

2. Alternative Seekers - The Integrative Path

The document details two women who broke from Marinetti's approach:

Valentin de Saint-Point:

• Developed "Metachore" - a sacred dance integrating body and geometric forms

• Broke with Marinetti over gender issues

• Converted to Islam during a trip to Tangiers

• Moved to Egypt, became active in independence movements

• Found resolution of European body-spirit dialectic through Islam

• Buried next to Imam al-Shafi'i as Ruhiyah Nur al-Din

Leda Raffanelli:

• Anarchist publisher and novelist

• Also converted to Islam during stay in Alexandria

• Combined Islamic practice with social justice activism

• Saw Islam as natural law (deen al-fitr)

• Practiced mindfulness and spiritual discipline

• Remained devout Muslim throughout her life

The Islamic Resolution

Both women discovered in Islam what could be called "Ibsen's Third Empire" - a way of being that:

• Maintains rigorous monotheism

• Embraces natural human embodiment

• Integrates spiritual and physical dimensions

• Provides social justice framework

• Offers ritual forms connecting to natural cycles

As Rod Blackhurst notes about Islamic prayer: "Both the prayer times and the rakahs rehearse astronomical and cosmic cycles. These postures enact primordial and Edenic themes, activating symbols in the believer's soul through constant repetition."

Conclusion

This represents not the importation of Eastern Islam into Western context, but the continuation of Europe's own internal arguments and narrative. For those seeking "European Islam," this shows Europeans continuing their cultural narrative and discovering in Islam the resolution - the Ishmaelite way, the third empire, "Pan in Logos, Logos in Pan."

These figures demonstrate how Islam can provide the integration of spirit and nature that European culture has long sought, offering a path beyond both materialistic reductionism and otherworldly transcendence.

Closing

Barakallahu feekum, wa salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Cambridge Muslim College, training the next generation of Muslim thinkers.