EIPHNH

Contemplations by Ahmed Marcouch.

Doubt and compromise.
I am a religious man. I believe in God's existence. However, being a man of faith actually means to me that I'm on a journey, with all its different stages of doubt, learning, discovering, and wondering. I have my own, fixed, moments of contemplation, in which I am alone and silent, preferably several times during the day. Sometimes I read the Koran, sometimes I just look outside through my window, at home, or at the office. I try to go to the Friday Prayer every week, in a mosque of my choice. I really enjoy that, especially if the sermon is beautiful and inspiring. The services give me energy and relaxation at the same time. These moments are very intimate to me, they touch my soul every single time.

Koran, sense and nonsense.
I've grown up with the Koran; all values were connected with religion. In our family, the most important thing was to be a good Muslim. As I grew up, I started thinking about what made sense and what didn't. In college, I attended philosophy classes. Because of that, I learned to think independently, and, I learned to doubt and question things. I have learned to doubt and to be more rational about the divine will, the “orders” God wants us to follow, especially the way the divine will is sometimes interpreted by several religious leaders. There is not just one single truth. I admire other religions too. I once visited an Apostolic service and I truly loved it!

The Muslim and the Humanist.
As a Muslim, I am not any different from a Humanist who strives for human dignity. Of course, a crucial aspect of being a Muslim is the faith in God. However, faith, or religion if you will, to me is not a static truth. People who perceive religion in this way always scare me. The essence of my faith is being human, being a dignified human being, fighting for the rights of others, for the environment, finding a balance between all those aspects. That is the essence of my faith. That, I think, is exactly the point at which people of different religions can find each other, whether they are non-believers, Christians, Muslims; people. I think it is a wonderful thing that different religions in The Netherlands co-exist. Of course, there are conflicts from time to time. We always must search and strive for balance; the work is never done.

Spirituality and the Amsterdam canals.
I think Amsterdam is a wonderful city with which I feel deeply connected. I am able to experience spirituality, walking along the canals. That is because I know a lot about this city, because I am conscious of the long, extraordinary history of Amsterdam . I can taste and feel life, but I feel transience as well. The very idea that I belong to this generation and that many generations went ahead of me, giving some meaning to life itself, touches me in my soul. Spirituality means not being afraid of silence, not being afraid of a moment alone. It means filling the silence with a kind of intangible energy. I am a true rationalist, but I am certainly a sensitive man as well.

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