Achmed Abdullah

“ Of course I am an orthodox Moslem, but I'm not a fanatic. I have seen and heard and thought too much to be intolerant. I have learned that once we descend to the roots of our tree of life, be we Moslem or Jew or Christian, our elemental feelings and passions and aspirations remain the same, unchanged and unchangeable. Only the superficial, the mean, the contemptible, mark the barrier between different religions. Only ritual divides man from man. But the bed-rock of life we all stand naked in the presence of the Most High God.
“It is even like the story of Akhbar and the Buddhist monk.” ”

“ Soaked in the outward profession of their faiths, the empty letters of their creeds, but unenlightened with a single beam of shining truth, they were shrouded in the black clouds of self-conceit, the grey mist of preconceived opinions ”

“ We may dispute about the outward ornaments of our faith; but once we reach the naked, quivering heart of our inmost beliefs, we find that we are all one. There is no dispute about the seven great virtues, the seven great sins, the seven great truths. They are one and the same in all creeds. The real truth is always a compromise....' The Buddhist was silent for a while and meditated, then he continued gently, 'And I say: let the Moslem as well as the Christian give up each a few inches of his cherished, iron-clad rituals ”