Voices: The Clash of Civilizations

Irene and Hale

As we all know, there has been much violence in certain parts of the world recently related to a video which, according to some who read their sacred texts carefully, clearly falls under the sin of sacrilege.  In subsequent posts I will address the close reading of texts, sacred or otherwise and how living in a world where we are inundated with words, images, and sounds in ways never before thought of, is challenging some long held beliefs. And not just in the Middle East but next door as well. A few days ago I posted an essay that was offensive to some. It contained some graphic language and talked about same sex relationships. To some this too is sacrilege.

But in the midst of all the anger and furor that the media exploits for ratings and for profit (and political leaders too I am afraid), the vast majority of people simply live their lives from days to day.

What follows are some quotes. Hale is a student I met this summer. She had helped a student who was, in almost every way, very different than who she is and how she lives. She reached across traditional lines and in many ways represented the new wave of believers.

At brunch one day the three of us quoted chapter and verse of our respective sacred texts. We actually discovered that the golden rule: treat others as we would want to be treated, exists in all the spiritual worlds we three live in. I think this may be true o many people across the world regardless of creed or culture.

But the world intrudes on this simple and central tenet of faith. And all hell breaks loose. It breaks my heart. But I want to thank Hale for sending to me he favorite verses from the Qur’an. Most Westerners have not ventured into the test. I hope everyone will read what she has chosen as her cores texts. It demonstrates her faith, which I have seen is traditional and very strong (we had to find a play for her to pray one day as the mosque in town was too far away) and she always carries her Qur’an with her, and yes, she dresses much more traditionally than most. And yet she is far more open minded than the vast majority of students I meet from around the world. She cares enough about others to reach out to those in need no matter how wide the gap in cultures and approaches to life.

We should learn a lot from people like her.  And look at her face instead of the face of what the media choosed for us to see and perceive as the voice of Muslims everywhere.

How to Fan the Flames of Fear in the US

As with the Anderson consulting entry I posted earlier this week, we can learn more from the young (either literally young or young at heart) as they have not quite been set into hard changing habits. They are much more open. They are flexible and adopt and adapt. Old folks like me have trouble doing so.
That is why the students take the risk to  travel the world to new cultures they know will be judgmental in many negative o simply uneducated ways—to meet new people and ideas and to be altered forever by them. Luckily, for us, I think, their courage inspires us to change too and for this they bring much needed innovation and ideas to our land.

I am lucky as Hale has changed me for the better. And I will write about her again about how she changed another person who is from her same country and culture but had never actually spoken to a student from Eastern Turkey as he has lived in the cocoon of the population that lives in Istanbul. Not all that much different than some Manhattanites who have never me or actually talked to some rural students who arrive on campus and are perceived as narrow and conservative. The Latin phrase I use in this case is: Tu Quoque. It means you also, and applies to those who critique others also need to think about critiquing themselves for the very same thing they accuse others of doing wrong. Sometimes those doing the judging about who is too judgmental are equally if not more judgmental than the ones they critique. It is a lesson I have learned the hard way. I hope these words will make the pat a little easier for some you want to get beyond labels (Muslims) and reach out and meet a person: Hale.

It makes all the difference.

Tu Quoque

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My favorite ayah in the Qur’an is the verse that was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed: “Read!”

“Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), Has created man from a clot of blood. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen and taught man that which he knew not.” (96: 1-5)
It is very meaningful to me that the first verse directs us to read and gain more knowledge rather than to worship the Lord alone. It makes me think God doesn’t want us to worship Him solely because we have been told to do so or because He is the Almighty God. Rather He wants us to see His mesmerizing creation, admire its beauty and understand the depth of His greatness. For example, it astounds me that a single zygote divides millions of times to eventually form a human being or that our DNA can replicate itself so perfectly.
Another part of the Qur’an that I really like is Chapter Ar-Rahman. It is one of my favorite chapters because it is about the balance in the universe (and because its recitation has an enchanting melody).
My other favorite chapter is called Al-Inshirah, the 94^th chapter in the Qur’an. This chapter is considerably short; yet I think it is powerful, and it gives me motivation and power to go on when I am exhausted of studying during the school year:

“Have We not expanded thee thy breast?― (1) And removed from thee thy burden (2) The which did gall thy back?― (3) And raised high the esteem (in which) thou (art held)? (4) So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief: (5) Verily with every difficulty there is relief. (6) Therefore, when thou art free (from thine immediate task), still labour hard (7) And to thy Lord turn (all) thy attention. (8)” (94: 1-8)