Utopic Visions

Originally posted October 20, 2021

There was a teacher at my seminary, Dr. Ibrahim Farajaje or as he was affectionately called by many of the people and students that loved him who his life touched, Ibrahim baba.

When I think of a utopic vision of the future I often think of him, who shared with his community a vision of integrated interfaith community.

Not assimilation, but a vision of a true dual experience, of simultaneous cohesiveness and diversity.

Religion and faith is perhaps the very last place I could have imagined peaceful coexistence around. Something that has been used as justification for great atrocities. Of which roots of resentment go deep across the globe, spanning millennia.

Can you imagine it? A world where people can believe things about the world and the nature of existence that seem conceptually irreconcilable, and yet live in peaceful coexistence?

I can, thanks to him.

And when I think about how he radically altered my beliefs about what was possible, I remember that each and every one of us has a visionary inside waiting to be awakened, waiting to tap into their creativity and make an impact on the world around them.

We have problems all around us- massive, terrifying, and terrible problems- and sometimes it can feel overwhelming to be saturated in it all, day after day.

What would happen if you suspended your disbelief, woke the creative genius inside of you and got to work?

What would you do?

What could you accomplish?