"Art indeed, so far from being
a playful diversion of the human race,
is the place of its most fundamental insight,
and the centre to which the more uncertain
steps of metaphysics must constantly return"
— Iris Murdoch, "On 'God' and 'Good,'" in
Existentialists and Mystics , Penguin Books,
1999, page 360
Related material —
Wendy Derleth
" 'In the West,' she observed, 'anything that must be hidden
is suspect; availability and honesty are interlinked. This clashes
irreconcilably with Islam… where the things that are
most precious, most perfect and most holy are always hidden….' "
— Pauls Toutonghi, review of a recent novel, Alif the Unseen
(page BR19, New York Times Sunday Book Review , August 12, 2012)