The
Mighty Zed
Seriously
Eastcoast
The
intellectual face of Islam
pushes extremists off stage
Too
often, Islam gets a bad rap, as extremists grab media
attention, blocking from public view the rational,
intellectual side of Islam.
On February 21, 2009, I had the privilege to witness the
other side of Islam, at the Scholar in Residence program at
Or Hadash, a Reconstructionist congregation in the suburbs
of the City Between Two Rivers.
The speakers were Rumee Ahmed and Ayesha Chaudhry,
professors at Colgate University. The pair are totally
modern, totally American second generation immigrants.
Their parents came from Pakistan. Ahmed was born in the
Washington, D.C. area. Chaundhry was born in Toronto, and
is here on a green card.
They tackled hard parts of the Qu'ran, interpreting,
tempering and rationalizing passages written as absolutes,
one of which could justify abuse of women.
I left the event with three pearls of understanding:
1.
Tribalism. Violence,
extremism and honor killings, are the result of tribal
behavior rather than religion. Much of the Islamic world is
rural, where tribal affinities prevail over government and
religion. When the people converted to Islam, the religion
was imposed on the existing trial customs, cultures and
lifestyles. Hence the Islam of Tanzania is different from
the Islam of India and the Islam of Indonesia.
2.
Colonialism. The great
universities of classic Islamic philosophy and law were
destroyed by colonialism. The Islamic clergy has declined
in quality and prestige. The best and the brightest Muslims
aspire to other careers. Though colonialism in the Islamic
world officially ended in the two decades after after World
War II, there is great resentment against the West
Colonialism has left a scar in the individual and
collective self-esteem among Muslims.
3.
Integration. There has been
little terrorism in the U.S. Muslim community, due to the
high degree of integration in American life. Islamic
immigrants are generally well educated and socially mobile.
They have good incomes. African-American Muslims have been
in this country for generations. In Europe, by contrast,
Muslim immigrants are enghettoed. There is little social
mobility, with children continuing in the same low paying
occupations as their parents. European Muslims resent
colonialism. France, Britain and Holland were colonial
powers in the Muslim world.
The Scholar in Residence program was sponsored by Joan and
Ben Dickstein who have spent their lives pursuing human
rights, social justice and interfaith dialogue.
I salute Or Hadash for helping me appreciate the diversity
in Islam and lowering walls within the greater American
community
Havana Nocture
Night of the
Drunken Hessians
The Maltese Falcon: How could a
"member" be so "ist"?
The Maltese Falcon: A subtle
and wicked tale
Shopping for Passover with Johnny
Mathis
Passover and the Permanent
Revolution
Severance
Package
Harlem
Renaissance
Face of
Islam
The Blessing of the
Sun
Paul Robeson: The Museum and the
Midrash
