Preaching compassion

Preaching compassion
Among other things, Karen Armstrong's lectures in Pakistan aimed to dissociate Islam from terrorism

By Babar A Mufti

"The first thing that impressed me about Islam was its pluralism. Quran praises all the prophets of the past," said the ex-Catholic runaway nun Karen Armstrong. During the last decade, in particular, her interest in Islam increased and she was able to endear herself to Muslims at large. So much so that now she is not only expected to guide them but also to explain their religion to them. In 1999, the Islamic Centre of Southern California honoured Armstrong as a bridge builder who promotes understanding among three faiths.

Karen is a self-appointed apologist for Islam in the West, who discusses the familiar questions of similarities between Abrahamic religions and of Western misrepresentation of Islam from the pre-crusades period. However, before Karen became an expert on comparative religions, she went through a rough phase of life. She got disillusioned as a Catholic nun, which she put in plain words in her book 'Through the Narrow Gate.' Subsequently, she tried her luck in academia, where her doctoral thesis was ruthlessly rejected. She even lost the job of a schoolteacher during that difficult stage.

It was afterwards that her writing career kicked in. "After I left convent, for five years, I was worn out with religion," says Karen. Gradually, she turned more optimistic about religion and her commitment to scholarship also revived. She has written some 20 books since, of which 'The Great Transformation: The Beginning Of Our Religious Traditions' published in March 2006 is the latest. Karen has been fortunate too that her interest in religion has coincided with the interest in Islam across the globe.