The writings of Mircea Eliade need to make their way into the Muslim world. The need to separate the "sacred" from the "profane" will greatly benefit Muslims t

The writings of Mircea Eliade need to make their way into the Muslim world. The need to separate the "sacred" from the "profane" will greatly benefit Muslims to experience transcendental views internally instead of imposing superficial ideals externally. It is difficult to have a transcendental experience without an appreciation for the sacred, and these two things are not mutually exclusive or only reserved to those who follow a religion. I don't think anybody here can argue that witnessing the birth of a child is anything but a sacred moment; perhaps for some achieving some level of success in their profession may translate into a sacred moment; even something as mundane as sipping a fine brew of tea can be sacred. (These are things that don't require you believe in a "higher power" or even a religion - but it could mean something to you and to you alone; when it happens in the presence of somebody else and they feel it positively at the same time, you could call that "bonding", and that too is sacred.) It really doesn't matter what the worldly manifestation is, but rather how it may positively affect you internally on a purely human level. The point is that "sacred" is internally directed and brings peace to your being. For me, defining "profane" or that which is worldly is a bit easier to define: anything that is not sacred. The mixture of technical problem solving and "religiosity" is a perversion of the highest degree because then there is no distinction between x and y and to simply delete one of these variables becomes a technicality without emotion, insight, or appreciation for one another or even oneself. In my experience, this is happening in the Muslim world because there are schools of thought (such as engineering or science) that solve problems wonderfully and in a methodical way to give excellent results in the real world; when combined with the uneducated view of treating every word in scripture as fact then these two things can be intermingled without distinction: religious views are explained through logic (sans sacred/transcendental experience) and wordly methodologies that otherwise benefit humanity enable actions to be carried out in the name of "religion". If only this simple distinction of "sacred" and "profane" can find their ways into the hearts of all people from all walks of life, I think we will be a step closer to relating to one primarily as human beings. It is a universal and even human understanding that anybody from any belief system can appreciate. Anybody who mixes sacred with profane and proclaims that they understand the belief system they adhere to is either fooling themselves or is a flat out liar. If you are Muslim and reading this, please reflect upon what I mean by this distinction and discuss it at your next Halaqa, if that's your thing.