Farhan Qureshi

I was born and raised an Ahmadi but I converted to orthodox (Sunni) Islam at the age of 17. When I was 25, my life journey continued and I embraced the idea of Universalism based on my education in Psychology as well as my encounters with diversity and plurality in the human species. Islam continues to influence my life today but to be fair to the traditionalist (Sunni) majority, I am not Muslim and hence the proper claim I make for myself is Agnostic.

I have been involved in Apologetics and prior to my Agnosticism I was a member of the Muslim Debate Initiative; though I did not have a single debate sponsored by them. Prior to my affiliation with MDI, as a Muslim, I debated many scholarly individuals including: Dr. James White, David Wood, Walid Shoebat, Nabeel Qureshi, Sam Shamoun, Tony Costa, Shaykh Shaker Elsayed (Muslim intrafaith debate) among others. My purpose in debating has never been to convince others of my beliefs rather to challenge my own beliefs, defend my beliefs, pursue knowledge and the true meaning behind life, reality and existence.

Recent and upcoming debates: Pastor Jonathan Switzer of the Crossroads Valley Chapel on WFMD radio. Series to broadcast in November. Another upcoming debate is with radio talk show host Bob Siegel (bobsiegel.net); The topic of both debates: Is Hell a just punishment for sinners and /or nonbelievers.

Current Activities: Unitarian Universalism Association; Studying Mystical Traditions including Zen Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, Gnosticism, Kabbala, Sufism, Taoism; I am also involved in an academic study of Clinical Psychology and Mental Health.

Blog: http://www.faithfreedom.org...

Beliefs: Agnostic Theism, Rationalism, Empiricism, Mysticism

Random Thoughts:

One is either enlightened through religion or brainwashed by it.

It is possible to see outside of the box and yet remain inside of it.

I prefer spirituality and rationality instead of theology, religion and dogma. I am spiritual rather than religious or dogmatic.

The greatest jehad (struggle) is against oneself. Do not allow your ego and identity to get in the way of reality.

Discipline is commendable but don't forget to be yourself either.

Know yourself. Self-Actualization, Self-Awareness, Self-Knowledge, Self-Discovery, Self-Discipline, Self-Control, basically knowing yourself and your fullest potential in every imaginable category is the first step to enlightenment. The second is to realize that there is a deep connection between you and literally everything else in existence. Separation is one of many illusions in this illusory world.

Confront your ego, confront your shadows (the illnesses, weaknesses and darkness that afflicts you), acknowledge them as they are and make a sincere effort to control them. If you cannot completely control these urges, impulses, or desires, don't panic. You were either born with these challenges or developed them throughout a time of childhood, adolescence, ignorance and weakness, and now they are a part of your life; there are ways to manage the ego and the shadows.

Beware of the consequences of your actions but never dwell in guilt because dwelling in guilt will only bring about more misery and suffering. Move forward, do not stay in the past or remain stagnant. The purpose of life is to evolve. That is what humanity is doing collectively and that is what each individual should be doing in their own personal capacity as well. As individuals living normal day to day lives and as human civilizations and societies we should constantly be evolving in terms of gaining knowledge, evolving our perspective as we gain more knowledge; evolving our philosophy, methodology, and as such we evolve spiritually as well. Our experiences and perception of reality evolves through an ongoing process of enlightenment. We have to embrace our evolution.

Growth should be the consequence of our suffering, not more suffering.

If you learn how to impact the unconscious part of your of mind then your consciousness as you know and experience it will have reached the highest level of self-management.

We don't have to agree to get along. It is possible to agree to disagree.

Subjective experiences are far more important to me than argumentation.

Arrogance is the worst characteristic one can have.

It is possible to be both conservative (about certain things) and liberal (about certain things).

I abhor terrorism and persecution.

The belief in the existence of Hell where people are tortured for eternity by way of God's will is the most repulsive belief that one can honestly hold.

An individual believes according to what appears to be the true to them. We each have our own subjective knowledge, experiences and perception. Do not judge anyone because even if they are sincerely wrong, they are yet sincere.

Influences:

Contemporary: Deepak Chopra, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Brad Warner, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr. Frank Morales, Eckhart Tolle, Anthony Robbins, Andrew Cohen, Alex Grey, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Lama Surya Das, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ken Wilber, Peter Russell, Gregg Braden, Fred Alan Wolf, John Esposito, Karen Armstrong, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Tariq Ramadan, Hamza Yusuf, TJ Winter, Mokhtar Maghraoui, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Maajid Nawaz, Javed Ghamidi, Khaled Abou El Fadl, Jim Al Khalili, Michio Kaku, Dr. Pillai, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Mooji, Satish Kumar, Tony Samara, Stephen Knapp, Amit Goswami, Ram Dass, Dr. Brian Weiss, Dr. Andrew Weil, Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, V.S. Ramachandran, Adyashanti, William Nyogen Yeo Roshi, Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi, Genpo Roshi, Stephen Batchelor, Rev. Carlton Pearson, Rev. Michael Dowd, William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Bart Ehrman, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennet, Richard Dawkins, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Bill Maher, Michael Moore, Ron Paul, Reza Aslan

Historical: Socrates, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Muhammad, Aristotle, Plato, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina, Ibn Arabi, Rumi, Ibn Sabin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Al-Kindi. Al-Farabi, Al-Jahiz, Al-Ghazali, Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra, Sai Baba of Shirdi, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Ghulam Ahmad Pervez, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Bahaullah, Wasil ibn Atta (Mu'tazilah), Jahm bin Safwan, Abu Hasan al-Ashari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, Noble Drew Ali, Martin Luther (Protestant Reformation), Michael Servetus, Erik Erikson, Abraham Maslow, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant, Nietzsche, St. Thomas Aquinas, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, John Lennon, Bob Marley, George Fox (Quakers), James Nayler, Thomas Henry Huxley, Max Müller, E. Stanley Jones, Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Baghwan Shree Rajneesh, Guru Nanak, Asoka, Dogen Zenji, Confucius, Laozi, Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Mahavira, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda