That's it, all of the pieces made sense as part of the whole

As George Bernard Shaw put it: 'There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.'

Even though I was raised 'culturally' Muslim, I never viewed differences in religion (or the lack thereof) as something to separate us: my best friend was, and remains, an atheist, my wife a practicing Catholic and friends I admire are Jewish, Buddhist, and everything, in between.

Yes, Reza Aslan is a good point of entry to better understanding our similarities (as a Christian who converted to Islam) as well as wonderful scholars of religion, such as Karen Armstrong, Hamza Yusuf, and many others that I'm happy to share if someone is interested.

Thank you, for sharing your experience, and for your trust _/|\_