ABSTRACT
This chapter looks beyond these manifestations and seeks to discern what the majority of Muslims and religious leaders take their religion to be. It introduces readers to the majoritarian reality of modern Islam, defined, with necessary looseness, as the experience and convictions of most Muslim believers. The radical Islamists are unlikely to contribute greatly to this, if at all; but mainstream Muslims lay claim to a wealth of alternative perspectives to offer to those Westerners who are prepared to learn from cultures other than their own. The Sharia requires the ablution known as wudu before most ritual observances, particularly the canonical prayers, sensibly providing a feeling of cleansing, thus opening the worshippers' hearts to mood of purity and serenity delivered by worship. Theology may help to clear up some misunderstandings and false claims, but sensible religion will always recognise that, in the words of Razi, Islam's most reputable philosophical theologian of medieval times, it ultimately leads to bewilderment and perplexity'.
