Opening

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/7/6/8/6/event_22230342.jpeg

We will examine the 7-verse opening chapter of the Qur'an titled Al-Fatiha (the opening, the key). We will explore both mainstream and mystical meanings, both separatist and inclusivist understandings, with a view to identifying insights that can be justifiably integrated into a modern secular worldview.

The Opening reads as follows:

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being,
the All-merciful, the All-compassionate,
the Master of the Day of Doom.
Thee only we serve; to Thee alone we pray for succour.
Guide us in the straight path, the path of those
whom Thou hast blessed, not of those against
whom Thou art wrathful, nor of those who are astray.

More details at the message board: m6-3apr11-Opening (https://www.meetup.com/Philo-Sophia/messages/boards/thread/10605535)

For those wishing to make a day of it, there is also a free talk at the Nicholson Museum at 2pm on "Athens: The Gilded Whore".