Altaf Ali

“Those who dared criticize Serra and his Franciscans for their treatment of the Native Americans risked being crushed by the power of the Roman Catholic Church, with its power of excommunication, or being literally torn to pieces by the Inquisition, which could conduct an investigation using horrendous means of torture against anyone who dared challenge the church or its hierarchy.”
― Elias Castillo, A Cross of Thorns: The Enslavement of California’s Indians by the Spanish Missions

“The only way there is to know God is through what he calls the `proof of existence' (al-burhan al-wujadt), which is a direct act of intuition and which does not admit any separation between the knower and the known.”
― Ibrahim Kalin, Knowledge in Later Islamic Philosophy: Mulla Sadra on Existence, Intellect, and Intuition

“Tradition is not only a protective, conservative principle; it is, primarily, the principle of growth and regeneration… Tradition is the constant abiding of the Spirit and not only the memory of words.”
― Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity

“Through his devotion to the holy Imāms, the Shiite is predisposed to receive this initiation from them, and such initiation provides him with a direct and personal link with the spiritual world in its 'vertical dimension' without his having to enter formally into an organized ṭarīqah, as is the case in Sunnism.”
― Henry Corbin, History Of Islamic Philosophy