IT'S NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK:
by Cassandra Newman
On a warm, sunny day, I settled in my easy chair by the phone and called an old friend. After a few rings, I heard the calm voice of Dr. Mohammed Faghfoory, who taught me History of the Islamic World in Modern Time and History of Islamic Political Thought during my junior year at the University of Mary Washington. A pleasant man whose eyes brimmed with knowledge and kindness, Dr. Faghfoory's lectures had always fascinated me. Having learned that he had recently given presentations on the role of Jesus Christ in Islam, I was eager to discuss with him the commonalities shared by Islam, Judaism and Christianity. However, what I gained from our conversation exceeded my expectations. Contrary to typical arguments regarding the status of Muslim/non-Muslim relations, Dr. Faghfoory's optimism and unwavering belief in the power of human connection made me realize that things may not be as bad as they appear.
Q: Describe your experiences as a Muslim living in America. Have you or your family ever been victims of discrimination?
A: I have been living in this country since 1971. Fortunately, I have never experienced any systematic discrimination. Of course, like any other person living in the states, you come across an angry person who wants to take his anger out on you. [But] any incidents in the South or in Washington, D.C. are isolated [events] and do not reflect a systematic sociological attitude change toward [Muslims or Arab-Americans]. Not all Muslims are the same, and not all Muslims are Arabs, nor are all Arabs Muslim. Different Muslims have different experiences. I am one of the lucky ones and I am sure that there are others who can say the same thing.
Q: Give me a brief profile of yourself. What brought you to America?
A: When I finished my undergraduate studies in the Department of History minoring in Persian Literature and Philosophy at the University of Tehran, I decided to continue [on to graduate school], as was the family tradition. I made several visits to Europe and even considered applying to Oxford. But by chance, I made a trip to the United States and felt very much at home. The rest is history. I have two Master's degrees. The first is from the University of Illinois in Champagne-Urbana and is in History and Middle Eastern Studies. The second is in Political Science, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I also have a Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies with a minor in Political Science. I will have been married 35 years on July 1st. I met [my wife] at the University of Tehran. She is a mental health therapist with a Ph.D. in Educational Studies and occasionally teaches a course at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Faghfoory and his wife have two children, a daughter who practices medicine in Pittsburgh and a son who is in his fourth year of medical school at George Washington University.
Q: What attracted you to the study of history?
A: I was always interested in history, especially intellectual history. I think it's a good field. Everyone should study history, especially [the history of thought]. It was also a very popular field in the 1970s when I was doing my graduate work.
Q: Who are the thinkers, both Islamic and Western, who inspired you the most?
A: Both the Islamic and Western intellectual tradition are so rich, it's hard to name just a few. I can name [some] in the ancient world, like Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. [There's also Persian poet and mystic] Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, [Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammed Hafez-e Shirazi] and [Abu Hamed Mohammed ibn Mohammed al-]Ghazzali in the Islamic world [and] American novelists like John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Irving Stone. Hemingway is my favorite. Note: Hafez Shirazi was a medieval Persian mystic and lyrical poet. Ghazzali was a Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher and mystic.
Q: Why them?
A: Their intellect, their wisdom, spirituality, common sense, care for [others], upholding traditional values, their universalist attitude toward religion-these [things] are predominant in the writings of the individuals I mentioned.
Q: You recently gave a lecture on the role of Jesus Christ in Islam. What role is that and how does it compare to His function in Christianity?
A: Actually, I gave two lectures. One was for a conference in Washington, D.C. in March and the other was for a conference on Rumi in Turkey, where I discussed the place of Jesus Christ in his poetry. Jesus enjoys a very exalted status in Islam. His name is mentioned in the Quran more than 25 times as the spirit of God, God's special messenger, a great healer, a reviver of the dead. All of these qualities are attributed to Christ and Christianity is also reflected in Islam with the exception of one thing not [described] in the Bible-His ability to speak in the cradle. [The story goes that] when Mary was accused of sexual immorality [due to her out-of-wedlock pregnancy], Jesus spoke up as an infant, saying, "I am God's servant and His Prophet." He is called Brother by the Prophet Mohammed and designated as a prophet whose second return will mark the end of time. [Next to Mohammed], no other prophet in Islam is loved as much as Jesus. Islam considers itself a continuation of Christianity and Jesus sets the example par excellence for people searching for higher states of spirituality, especially for Sufis. He's seen as a very upright, moral figure. Note: Sufis are Islamic mystics who believe that meaning can only be attained through a process of truth-seeking and knowledge of the self. Their overall objective is to cultivate a greater relationship with God and purify their souls.
Q: As a Semitic religion, what are some of the similarities between Islam, Judaism and Christianity that many do not know about?
A: Some consider these religions different from each other and therefore separate. In reality, they are members of the Abrahamic [family of] religions. [The Jewish prophet] Abraham is considered to be the archetype of all three religions. They all worship the same God, but with different names. In the realm of meaning and content, they all speak of the same truth, the same God who is Eternal and Infinite and of the need to know Him and be close to Him. God could have made us all the same, but He preferred diversity instead. Since Islam is considered the last religion, [a Muslim] must believe in God's unity, all His prophets, angels and scriptures. One cannot be a Muslim if he does not believe in the line of the Prophets from Abraham to Mohammed that attest to God's unity, beauty and goodness. He must believe in the need to be a messenger not for all Jews, Christians, or Muslims, but for God and all humanity. Note: The line of prophets mentioned by Dr. Faghfoory includes all Hebrew prophets, Noah, Moses and Jesus Christ. Islam is considered the last religion because it represents God's last revelation to mankind through the Quran.
Q: As a professor of Islamic Political Thought, what are your opinions on fundamentalism and how it affects the status of Muslims throughout the world?
A: [Fundamentalism] is a term which historically cannot be applied to Muslims. [It was first used to refer to Christian extremists in the South.] Because the word found its way into journalism and academia, it became popular. [The term] means going back to fundamentals but has taken on a different political meaning. In Islam, [fundamentalism] is an aberration because it seeks to "revive Islam" as if Islam were dead. In a sense, fundamentalism is a reaction to modernism that found its way from the West into the Islamic world. Fundamentalism and modernism are two sides of the same coin. Fundamentalists try to make an ideology out of Islam, so their actions and behaviors are very much ideological. When any revealed religion become ideologized, it deteriorates. Most of the violence associated with fundamentalism is not for Islam but is meant to achieve political ends. Fundamentalism sees Islam as a tool of liberation from perceived or real exploitation and colonialism. Fundamentalism is the voice of a small minority who feel threatened by either real or perceived threats. There is a great deal of error in seeing these ideas as being representative of all Muslims. But the media portrays it as such and therefore fundamentalism has given a bad name to Muslims who have nothing to do with it at all.
Q: In your opinion, what causes Islamic extremism and terrorism?
A: There are a variety of factors. First of all, I should say that Islam itself developed in a gradual process and, [contrary to] what historians say, it did not grow by the sword. It took 300 years to spread into the Persian empire and greater Asia through scholars, Sufis, merchants, intellectuals and others. We must trace the recent extreme reactions to the history of colonialism in the Islamic world. For the last 200 years, most of the governments [in the Islamic world] have been and many still are authoritarian [and supported by the West] and there was no avenue for expressing grievances. So the people saw violence as the only [means for self expression]. When all the avenues are closed, violence and extremism become the only [way]. This does not excuse violence, but many parts of the Islamic world are desperate. Most of these people are not terrorists by nature but undertake [violent] acts out of desperation. Desperate situations lead to desperate actions.
Q: How do you think we can heal the broken Muslim/non-Muslim relationship? Is dialogue the best way or are more incisive measures needed?
A: By and large, I don't think that Muslim/non-Muslim relations are "broken." There are cracks [in the relationship] but I don't think that the majority of Muslims and the majority of non-Muslims resent each other. The cracks [represent] responses to current events and, in the course of history, they must be seen in their proper context. I don't advocate the Clash of Civilizations [idea] as most civilizations have been in peaceful contact most of the time. Even war leads to communication. There has never been a time like now when the Islamic world and the West are in [frequent] communication. What must be eradicated from the relationship are ignorance and pockets of discrimination and hatred. Dialogue is an easy possibility to heal supposedly fractured relations more so now than at any other time.
Note: The Clash of Civilizations idea was first posited by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington in a 1993 article for Foreign Affairs magazine entitled "The Clash of Civilizations?" It proposes that in the post-Cold War world conflict will originate primarily from people's religious and cultural identities. Huntington later expanded his article into a 1996 book called "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order." As for Dr. Faghfoory's statement on war leading to communication, the best example of that is the aftermath of World War II, in which the United States was predominant in Europe's healing and re-development through the Marshall Plan, foreign aid, inter-marriage, etc.
Q: You may have already answered this, but...do you think the current climate of ethno-religious division merely reprises history dominated by a supposed Clash of Civilizations or are there extenuating factors in the decline of Muslim/non-Muslim relations that no one has caught yet?
A: This [climate] is mostly a product of history but I don't think it's dominated by a clash. Ethno-religious divisions exist but they are not as important as we think they are. Tribal, ethnic and religious divisions have always existed in the Islamic wold. There has never been a Holocaust in the Islamic world mainly because Islam urges Muslims to respect Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians and other followers of monotheistic religions as People of the Book. Divisions result in conflict now because of the current history. For example, the Western governments see fit to capitalize on differences between Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds [in Iraq]. But Iraqis will say we have always lived side-by-side and while there have been conflicts, we have always [been able to] resolve [them]. Unfortunately, outside powers have not always played a positive role in the Islamic world as they do now. Colonialism has continued in some form or other and been more pronounced at different times. But it has not disappeared.
Q: How do you think Islamic and Western culture can be reconciled to produce mutual understanding and inter-cultural respect at the grassroots level?
A: Perhaps at no other time has the situation been more promising than what it is today. This statement may not be accepted [by many readers] but I am optimistic [for the following reason]: There has never been this [many] Muslim workers educated in and living in the West and contributing to our society. [Nor have there ever been this many] Westerners choosing to live in the Islamic world, not to speak of a large number of Western-educated Muslims living and working in the Islamic world. The world is getting smaller. Names like Mohammed, Mecca and Istanbul have become household names in the West. It is the same [for common Western terminology] in the Islamic world. This new degree of communication is the best capital that people can invest on to promote dialogue and understanding. It is the Beauty of Creation to be different, but the beauty of relationships is to understand and accept our differences. If we can come to this understanding, then we can live in a world that deserves a 21st century that is sophisticated, civilized, peaceful and tolerant. Otherwise, bigotry and hatred will dominate.
Q: As an educator, what role do you envision yourself playing in the cultural rapprochement? What roles do you hope your students, past and present, will play?
A: As a humble teacher, I have been trying to convey all these ideas as much as I can. I have the experience of living and working in both cultures. I hope to show that it doesn't matter who we are by the place of our birth or religion, but to teach that we are still children of God with common needs. We must know each other as God's [representatives] on earth, spread love and understanding, and co-exist. If I can spread these ideas to students and they can understand in the way that I want them to understand, then that is my greatest achievement. My students are a great source of inspiration and I spend many hours getting to know them so that I can teach contentment, as well as love, respect and [compassion]. When my students [have become] more receptive to each other by the end of the semester, I feel I've done my job.
Our interview at an end, I expressed heartfelt thanks to Dr. Faghfoory for his time generously spent with me and promised to keep in touch. His persistently positive attitude presented a refreshing contrast to the armchair analysts and news reports preaching gloom and doom for our future. If we have the capacity to communicate treachery and hatred, then it stands to reason that words can also serve as a bridge between us. Hope did not seem as far-fetched an endeavor as I thought.
