I did a friend a favor today and lectured for him in his philosophy class. I talked about the Utilitarians, Bentham and Mills, and briefly discussed Marx. It was a fun morning, we did a lot of discussing and role plays, and I thought they had a good handle of the issues conceptually, even if they did not absorb all of the facts and details. At the end of the class, a young woman approached me and asked if I could tell her more about being a Muslim. I invited her to sit down at a table and we talked for a half hour or so.
She was an Apostolic Evangelical Christian (a very conservative branch of Christianity), and had been very active in our discussions during class. She asked me very politely if I could tell her a little about my religion as she had no other Muslims to talk to. I have recognized lately that I am uniquely poised as an access point for many people here - being White, a teacher, and a Muslim. They find me approachable, and are not embarrassed to expose their ignorance, their true desire to learn buffeted a bit by a familiar face and friendly profession. We sat and began to talk. She asked a simple question, "what does it mean to be a Muslim?" I began with my standard caveat about my recent conversion, my infancy in the details if not the spirit of my faith. I explained my understanding of submission and obedience to God, the expectations of my faith, my love of the constant reminders in my day of my devotion to and faith in God. I also shared other, less conventional perceptions of my religion dealing with some prescribed behaviors and the afterlife. She too admitted that some of her conceptualization of her religion wasn't always standard. We spoke about the need to remain within certain boundaries while maintaining a degree of individuality, yet still being able to lay a legitimate claim to designations of our faith. She had felt repressed in many ways in her youth, and although she had not broken away, she had been on the fringes of some of the tenets of her brand of Christianity. I shared that I supposed that many other Muslims would disagree with some of my interpretations of the Koran and God's will, but that my mind was open, and I truly did want to understand and lead a better spiritual life. We both marveled at the tolerant and intolerant members or our communities, and how often small details were exploited for inappropriate reasons. We both recognized that our respective faiths had often been stereotyped by these excesses, and that it was a shame many people did not want to look past them, to seek the truth or at least a more consistent understanding of something so important at the core of our lives. It was as if I was talking to my mirror image, twenty years younger, more intelligent, much more mature.
Throughout the discussion, she acknowledged what I said and even found many parallels to her faith and her personal walk within it. She was very frank and open, and it was such a wonderful few moments, as our souls transcended labels, geography, and dogma while we shared our experiences, our common intersection with each other, the world, our families, our relationship with God, no longer comparing or contrasting - sharing. It was a beautiful way to end a mediocre lecture! I am blessed.
She was an Apostolic Evangelical Christian (a very conservative branch of Christianity), and had been very active in our discussions during class. She asked me very politely if I could tell her a little about my religion as she had no other Muslims to talk to. I have recognized lately that I am uniquely poised as an access point for many people here - being White, a teacher, and a Muslim. They find me approachable, and are not embarrassed to expose their ignorance, their true desire to learn buffeted a bit by a familiar face and friendly profession. We sat and began to talk. She asked a simple question, "what does it mean to be a Muslim?" I began with my standard caveat about my recent conversion, my infancy in the details if not the spirit of my faith. I explained my understanding of submission and obedience to God, the expectations of my faith, my love of the constant reminders in my day of my devotion to and faith in God. I also shared other, less conventional perceptions of my religion dealing with some prescribed behaviors and the afterlife. She too admitted that some of her conceptualization of her religion wasn't always standard. We spoke about the need to remain within certain boundaries while maintaining a degree of individuality, yet still being able to lay a legitimate claim to designations of our faith. She had felt repressed in many ways in her youth, and although she had not broken away, she had been on the fringes of some of the tenets of her brand of Christianity. I shared that I supposed that many other Muslims would disagree with some of my interpretations of the Koran and God's will, but that my mind was open, and I truly did want to understand and lead a better spiritual life. We both marveled at the tolerant and intolerant members or our communities, and how often small details were exploited for inappropriate reasons. We both recognized that our respective faiths had often been stereotyped by these excesses, and that it was a shame many people did not want to look past them, to seek the truth or at least a more consistent understanding of something so important at the core of our lives. It was as if I was talking to my mirror image, twenty years younger, more intelligent, much more mature.
Throughout the discussion, she acknowledged what I said and even found many parallels to her faith and her personal walk within it. She was very frank and open, and it was such a wonderful few moments, as our souls transcended labels, geography, and dogma while we shared our experiences, our common intersection with each other, the world, our families, our relationship with God, no longer comparing or contrasting - sharing. It was a beautiful way to end a mediocre lecture! I am blessed.
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