RELIGION NEWS SERVICE: A recent story about Prince Charles learning Arabic in order to undertake a deeper study of the Qur’an has created a lot of hubbub in the British media.
The story has raised rumors yet again about the heir to the British throne’s deep fascination with Islam.
A decade ago, Islamophobes were already filled with dread that Prince Charles might have already converted to Islam.
So what is behind this attraction to Islam? What about Islam is proving so appealing to Prince Charles himself? To answer that question, let us listen to some of what he has to say.
Charles approaches Islam not primarily through the lens of security threats and international crises, but rather as a body of spiritual teachings.
He states:
The Islamic world is the custodian of one of the greatest treasures of accumulated wisdom and spiritual knowledge available to humanity.
Much of his attractions to Islam actually comes from the insights of the Qur’an that come to identify the natural cosmos as a site where God is revealed and experienced: There is a profound truth in that seemingly simple, old saying of the nomads — that “the best of all Mosques is Nature herself.” » | Omid Safi | Friday, March 15, 2013
