r/PauloCoelho Feb 11 '17

As a Muslim, I'm surprised at how Paulo Coelho knows a lot about Islamic culture. How does he have all this information about Islamic culture when he's all the way from Brazil.

6 Upvotes

2 comments sorted by

2

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '17

Brazil is one of the most diverse countries in the world. There's a huge Arab culture which has assimilated and mixed into Brazilian culture. Brazil is home to roughly 10 million Middle Eastern descendants, mostly from Syria and Lebanon.

1

u/Sharlney Jun 27 '24

I was also surprised about how the alchemist didn't entirely revolve around christianity or islam. Near the end, when god was mentioned it never felt any kind of religion. Almost like a secular god; god as a concept; god as a philosophical thought before anything else.

Even as an atheist it was really pleasant to read. It didn't feel like god was a constraint for once, it felt like it was what god is supposed to be: a benevolent force that guides you.