Toronto
Star
March 26, 2006
Islamic
studies teacher addresses controversies - Muslim students
surprised by
her modern approach
"When I
was crossing into Gaza, I was asked at the check point
if I was carrying any weapons. I replied, `Oh yes, my
prayer books."
— Mother Teresa of Calcutta
During the height
of the Danish cartoon controversy, Canadian media interviewed male
When Islamic
studies lecturer Reem Meshal first walked into class at the
University of Toronto, some male Muslim students gasped audibly.
I get different
reactions," laughs Meshal, who has been teaching
Introduction to Islam for three years to eclectic groups of
students, some older than she is.
"The
non-Muslim students look relieved that I'm `normal' and there
are mixed reactions from the Muslim students. Some expect a man
or at least a middle-aged woman covered in traditional
garb!"
And when Meshal
recently addressed Muslim youth on the origin and evolution of
women's rights in the economic, marital, educational and
political realms of Islam, as well as the impact of modernity
and the controversies it has generated, she saw astonishment on
the faces of her audience.
"I see
this all the time," Meshal says. "Either because
people come with pre-conceived notions about women in Islam or
because they have difficulty with the origins, development and
evolution of Islamic theological, philosophical and social
thought ... or understanding that the broad controversies that
shape Islamic theology are outlined and linked to developments
in the field of philosophy, law and mysticism."
For Meshal, 34,
this wisdom is her armour as she tries to pass on her
intellectual heritage despite the challenges she faces as a
Muslim woman.
"Without
knowledge, it's easy to become dis-enchanted (as a Muslim
woman). It's instrumental in helping me find a niche and claim
my intellectual and spiritual heritage," she explains.
Meshal remains
unfazed because teaching is her passion. "Some students
take this course expecting an easy `A' because they're Muslim,
and think they know it all. That's the first hurdle they have to
overcome — that I'm not going to give instruction on how to
practice their faith, but to teach them about art and
architecture, law and philosophy, education and history. So
while they're surprised, once they settle in and begin to learn,
they're insatiable."
One of her
Muslim students said, "I love this class because we can't
ask these questions back home."
In many Muslim
countries questions on subjects such as interfaith marriage,
sexual preference or domestic abuse are taboo. Many adults
either don't know the answer or their knowledge is determined by
cultural norms rather than Islam, so the answers remain
unsatisfactory from a religious perspective.
Meshal says
some Pakistani students, for example, are thrilled to be in the
class because religion was shoved down their throat back home,
while here they can explore all aspects of the faith.
As for the
non-Muslim students, many bring myths and stereotypes to class
that must be dealt with before any valuable instruction can take
place, she says. And sometimes non-Muslim students feel
intimidated by the large numbers of Muslims who get into
vociferous arguments with each other about interpretations of
the scripture.
Meshal was born
in Cairo to parents who she says "were culturally
conservative but religiously liberal," and studied in a
Saudi Islamic School. But she learned early on that "it was
mechanical education and there was no depth, so I had to expand
my horizon." She enrolled at the American University at
Cairo where she studied political science and international
development.
At 18, Meshal
came with her family to settle in Halifax, and obtained a
Bachelor's degree in political science from Dalhousie
University. "These disciplines still didn't satisfy me
because I had an avid interest in the Middle East so I thought
that a study of Islamic history will certainly give me a good
grounding."
In 1997, Meshal
completed her Masters in Islamic Studies at McGill
University and this, she says, "was an eye opener and
extremely important for me to understand both my faith and the
Middle East in modern times." She's currently completing
her Ph.D. on the interplay between custom and formal Islamic law
and continues to work on women's issues.
Meshal has also
undertaken unusual research projects. As a research assistant at
Carleton University, she helped research monetary compensation
for women victims of war crimes in the 20th century under
international law and United Nations conventions. The research,
part of a U.N. initiative, was meant to bolster the claims of
Palestinian refugee women seeking compensation for confiscation
of their lands in 1948.
Obviously, with
work like this and her project on the hijab in Canada for the
Canadian Council of Women, which is part of a book called The
Muslim Veil In North America (Womens Press), Meshal remains in
the eye of the storm. What are some controversies she faces as
an educator?
"Homosexuality
is always a hot button," Meshal says. "One student
last year said `they (homosexuals) should be shot as they were
in the past.' So I tell them that the majority of jurists from
the three Sunni schools of law (Shaafi, Hannafi and Maliki)
ignored homosexuality, refused to legislate on it or make it the
business of the state.
"It's sad
to see some youth are confused and don't always accept facts.
They'll argue with me, `But Islam says ...' and I inform them
that Islam is not a monolith. So, I ask, who said it? Where is
it recorded? Which school of thought? And they're lost —
because they've been ingrained in one school of thought at home
and never taught to question or read."
Meshal
understands where her students come from and helps them to see
the light.
"I tell
my students that in theory there can be five correct answers to
every question because there are five legal schools in
Islam," she says.
"In
essence, I teach my class about deen and daulat — state and
religion. I present most of Islamic civilization, but let the
tradition speak for itself so they can form independent,
informed opinions."
While teaching
the origins of Islam, Meshal talked about its ties with Judaism
and Christianity and discovered many Muslim students had no idea
about the similarity of these traditions.
"It's a
challenge. I see students who come entrenched in stereotypes and
prejudice about `the other' and then I see these dislodged as
the class progresses ... so it's a feeling of achievement."
Meshal believes
that religious education by itself puts people in a solitary
tower, so the ideal is to combine it with secular education.
"Take the
misconception about madrassas," she says enthusiastically.
"Few of my students know that the concept of the Western
university, the idea of an educational institution on a campus,
is based on the madrassah model in Islam.
"I try to
empower them to pursue knowledge as a tradition of their
heritage. I tell them that by the 7th century, Muslims had
founded the house of wisdom in Baghdad. It was the centre of
intellectual thought and a cumulative tradition of the Muslim
world."
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