Diary 1963 - Murshid Sam's Living Stream

Diaries 196358 Harriet St.San Francis 3, Calif.October 16, 1963American Friends of the Middle East,323 Geary St.San Francisco 2, Calif.Dear Friends:Fires in North AfricaIt has been my “Fools for Luck” experience either to have been at places of impending dangeror to have had friends who have been there and the common warnings of us all have gone fornaught. Disregarding Vietnam and Laos, I offered to give a story of dangers in Burma—whichproved true, and ended in the to me innocent “Asia Foundation” being expelled therefrom. AlthoughI personally was satisfied with this organization it has since added to its policy a study of the nativereligions of the countries involved (Dr. Gard) and thus opened another door for international amity.“Asia Survey” in its recent issue has an article warning of Chinese penetration into some landswithin your ken. And the other day I was able by the Admiral’s absence from the office to becomethe host of one Atoubi, a radio announcer from Morocco who proceeded to give me an inside pictureof events. What strikes me as noticeable is that the article, the story of Atoubi and the long list ofcommunications given me by my spiritual brothers (dervishes) in Pakistan fit in nicely to one generalpicture of social revolution.The first thing noticeable was the quick method by which Atoubi opened up. I am not one whohas specialized in the drama-studies of a world called “Islam” with various Europeans who are fairmindedrather than information, but each one alone rather unbalanced. And all of them together willnot and cannot tell you how to act in a Mosque, in a festival or even in a private gathering.For example the Hadith of Mohammed are taught by so few in this land that one has to startout on its own, if he does not know them, to mingle with the “masses.” And a knowledge of theHadith and the institutes of Kaliph Omar made communication easy and rapid. But what is not sopleasant is to find that the communist, presumably the French, have used these as platforms for“socialism” and “communism” and they are stuck to these exact words just as many Americans arestuck—our dialectician quite agree with pseudo-definitions—and in practice these words come tomean whatever their operatives want them to mean.Another thing that won the confidence of Atoubi is that in addition to being a dervish andlover of Mohammed and Omar, I have spent some time in the UAR and know it better than manyothers. Indeed I am in favor of large portions of the Nasserian program,, but it does not fit in withmy personal definitions—or lack or use of definitions—of any terms whatsoever.