© 1999 George Michelson-Dupont
© 1999 Urantia Association International (IUA)
EXCERPTS FROM A REPORT BY
Georges Michelson-Dupont, France
Many of us have wondered if and how The Urantia Book and its teachings could be accepted by the vast and growing Muslim world. This story is at least a partial answer to those questions.
Moussa N’Diaye is a 68 -year old professor of Social Psychology at Dakar University. He is also a truth-seeker and all his life has been devoted to find the truth about God. Having grown up as a Muslim, he exceeded his beliefs and entered into a spiritual journey that led him to find Le Livre d’URANTIA in 1973. After a careful reading he started to study its teachings. Soon he was convinced of its revelatory nature and decided to share the new truth with his fellow countrymen.
Knowing the nature of the religious thinking and the cultural background of the Senegalese (basically Muslim), he thought it was not appropriate to introduce the book itself without a careful intellectual and spiritual preparation. Therefore, he studied how Jesus taught his apostles and his group of believers. The presentation of new truth needs a soft, non-invasive, and loving approach that will not hurt the individual beliefs. He also selected in the Koran some basic principles and concepts that were close to The Urantia Book teachings and on which he could start the introduction of expanded ideas.
From 1973 to 1980 , he conducted sessions of questions and answers without revealing to anyone his source of inspiration. During all that time through his wise personal ministry, he expanded the understanding in the mind of the students and prepared them to accept new truths. He also gave lectures and conferences based on the teachings of The Urantia Book to his fellow professors, religious leaders, and political officials.
Finally in 1980 , he decided to tell a group of very engaged students about The Urantia Book. A new group including his four sons was formed and started a systematic study of The Urantia Book. Most of Moussa’s work was based on personal teachings. Soon a core of students appeared.
The Muslim tradition says that God has already decided everything for each and every human being; therefore, if they do bad or good, it’s God’s will. Moussa started his teachings with the lessons about the Seven Adjutant Mind Spirits, followed with Personality and the Thought Adjuster (allowing the students to understand the functioning and interaction of those three elements in their own minds). In this way, they realize that their personality has a relative free will and that they can conduct their own lives and survive death by making their own choices.
The realization that God lives in their mind and can help their soul to make those decisions was for most of them a great discovery and a relief. Women were particularly sensitive to such teachings and felt liberated from the Muslim tradition that says that only the husband gives women access to Paradise. Having previously expanded their understanding, the new truths were easily accepted. Having the methods of Jesus as an example, we can appreciate the wisdom of such slow and wise approach to teaching new truths.
Moussa also trained his students to become teachers. He asked them to make presentations on various topics, and he used sessions of questions and answers as a method of training. When new readers come to the group, each is assigned to one of the student/teachers, females with female teachers and males with male teachers. The teachers give individual teachings twice a week, starting as Moussa did and focusing on practical and spiritual matters. The emphasis is put on practicing the teaching every day. The success of this non-invasive, respectful, and loving method is self-evident. The group of teachers and students is now growing and expanding outside of Dakar.
Back in the 1950s the Revelators advised the early leaders to form thousands of study groups from which leaders and teachers would emerge; today we are experiencing the wisdom and insight of such a method. Two factors are instrumental in the success:
Said Jesus to his apostles: My beloved, you must always make a difference in teaching so as to suit your presentation of truth to the minds and hearts before you UB 151:3.1.
Georges Michelson-Dupont, his wife, and Richard Keeler, having heard reports of Moussa NDiaye and his students, made contact with Moussa and flew to Dakar, Senegal, on May 13, 1999. In Georges’ own words:
“The next three days were wonderful. We had several meetings, conversations, study groups with different people, and visits with families. We listened to individual testimony of their religious life and shared our understanding of the teachings of The Urantia Book. Very quickly I came to the conclusion that they all lived the teachings of the book, and it became obvious that they all showed the fruits of the spirit. Immediately I felt the same indescribable feeling of belonging to the family of God that I experienced in Nashville. Marlene and Richard felt the same. During our entire stay an atmosphere of understanding and love was omnipresent. Beyond our differences of culture and skin color, it was apparent that we were only one human race, the children of God.
“Before the trip to Dakar, I believed the Muslim world would be the last to accept the teachings of The Urantia Book. I also wondered how illiterate people (over 60 percent of the world population) could have access to those teachings. It becomes clear to me that the Revelators’ plan, the practice of Jesus’ method, and the truth contained in the teachings of The Urantia Book are instrumental to the success of the Fifth Epochal Revelation.
“Moussa’s students were not specially skilled to teach the concepts of The Urantia Book, although there are some basic concepts and methods to learn by training. Rather they were transformed by living the teachings in their daily lives, and, as a result, they were attractive because they showed the fruit of the spirit: loving and unselfish service and the tactful ministry to others. At this time, and according to Moussa, more than one thousand individuals in Senegal have been taught about the new truths and The Urantia Book.
“Yes, The Urantia Book was available in Dakar, but it was through a special and careful outreach that more than a thousand women and men were introduced to its teachings. To give away The Urantia Book may help, but personal introduction to the book and loving ministry is much more efficient and effective.
“To start the spreading of the teachings of The Urantia Book in a given country requires a strong leader/teacher, enlightened with the teachings of The Urantia Book—a native of the country, who understands the needs of his fellow countrymen and knows about their cultural, social, and religious background. He will minister by teaching students, organizing the growth, and forming a core of teachers that will minister in the surrounding area. With, care, perseverance, and patience, the new truths will soon become contagious and will replace the old beliefs in the hearts of hundreds and thousands of individuals. We can see the results of such plans in Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania, Senegal, and other countries.
“I have full confidence that slowly but surely, the Muslim world as well as other cultures will be exposed with success to the teachings of The Urantia Book if we keep our souls in patience. Evolution is the patient and slow technique provided by God to make the human being Godlike. Revolution is the impatient and unwise technique used by Caligastia to prevent human beings from becoming Godlike.
“You cannot force a horse to drink but you can make him thirsty, say the wise. By our spiritual flavor we can attract our fellow men for new truths.
“We are planting seeds but we should not expect to harvest, for that is God’s privilege and delight, and if we love him we want him to be delighted.”