Thank you, Fletch for sharing the link.
It sounds like Rumi has been familiar with Judaism and Christianity and has his own interpretation of Islam, which is based on the holy Quran, but wisely chosen. There are some parts of the holy Quran, that are highly dependent on a specific moment at the time of the prophet, and the problem is that some continue obeying them in any situation. There is a saying from prophet Muhammad, that goes: first your neighbor, then your house. It means that first, you have to care about your neighbor, rather than only your family! And he declares several times that I was commanded by angels to take care of my neighbors so that thought they may even receive heritage! Just imagine how would be the world that all of us cared about each other...
it is a delicate decision though, it must be mutual, otherwise one would be a victim...
I believe all prophets were trying to teach us how to respect each other and nature, how to love... the way that Rumi also has chosen. He has a story that clearly says all the religions are the same but in different languages, that is why we misunderstand each other.
it is a story of 3 men who are going to buy something to eat. One Turk, one Arab, and a Greek. They argue that their suggestion is the best to buy and insist on it when a wise man passes, hearing them, and telling them to go to the shop hand-in-hand and buy what they think is the best choice. They were suggesting buying "grapes" but in their language... and at the shop, they realized the fact.
The same story here, we all need respect and love, but due to our misunderstanding, fight... We need more wisdom to realize this fact...
