Day 30: An Encounter With Islam

This evening I had the good fortune to attend a lecture sponsored by Project Interfaith.  The speaker, Tamim Ansary, is an Afghan-American author and the topic of his talk was "An Afghan-American Odyssey: My Bi-Cultural Life in a Post 9-11 World."  He was born in Afghanistan to an Afghan father and American mother but emigrated to the United States in 1964, about the time he was beginning high school.  He did not return again to his native Afghanistan until 2002.

In attendance at the lecture were a number of Muslims, Jews and Christians. While Ansary's observations on the current state of Afghanistan itself may have been bleak, his overall outlook on inter-religious dialog and understanding was very hopeful.  (By way of example, he is a practicing Muslim and his wife is Jewish.)  This is the type of lecture I wish more people took the opportunity to attend.  At a time in history when many in the West are gripped with Islamophobia and see Muslims only through the lens of stereotypes, Ansary put a very human face on the practices of ordinary Muslims in Afghanistan.  His emphasis on the influence of Sufism (his great-great-great grandfather was an influential Afghan Sufi poet) in the life and history of Afghanistan stands in stark contrast to any notion that the Taliban and fundamentalism are indicative of Islam as a whole.

There was much here that nourished the promise that there can be peace and mutual understanding between religions.  He recalled that his father would say that to be a good Muslim one must "be a good neighbor, a good father and a good friend, and not cheat or steal from others," an ethical code which could find a home in all of the world's great religious traditions.  He noted the many similarities between Islam and Judaism (and Christianity, I would add) and that animosities between the Abrahamic faiths tend to be historical and not dogmatic in nature.  He mentioned that the great majority of Muslims feel the same way about Islamic fundamentalists as non-Muslims do.  I often hear critics of Islam say, "Where are the moderate Muslims and why aren't they speaking out?"  Well, I heard a moderate Muslim speak tonight and he was blunt, realistic and optimistic.

I was particularly interested on his thoughts on Ramadan.  He recalled memories of the annual fast in which, while living in Afghanistan as a child, he was too young to participate (although he made attempts, only to find them falter after one or two days).  Fasting created an atmosphere of togetherness within the community.  Rising before sunrise to enjoy breakfast together helped nurture relationships among family members as they shared the experience of Ramadan with one another.  People entered the fast with joy and it was not a "grim ritual."  It became an annual quest for family and neighbors and it was not uncommon to hear Afghans ask one another, "How's the fast going?"  It was a regular topic of conversation even between total strangers.  He remembered sunset when a cannon would fire and signal to everyone that the fast was over.  Together everyone would break the fast by eating a date and then enjoy a feast to such a great extent that it prompted the saying that "everyone gains weight in Ramadan!"

This was truly an evening well spent.  Not only was the topic one which dove-tailed well with my own aspirations for my Lenten Ramadan, but I left with a renewed sense of hope and goodwill.  Perhaps things are not as bad as they typically seem.