“The Mission of Humanity”
By Elisa Frost
Washington, DC: As a child of the post-9/11 world, debates about the relationship between Islam and the West have plagued the news my entire life. Raised in a rural area with little diversity, I have witnessed the extent
to which such discourses can cultivate a misguided hatred towards an entire faith, which has fueled the US’s approach to the so-called “War on Terror”.
In the heart of Washington, DC, where these conversations turn into policies, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University and former Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, presented the findings of his latest study, Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity, the final component of his quartet of studies on the relationship between the West and Muslim Worlds, at the Cosmos Club’s Library Committee Literary Luncheon on Monday, September 17th.
The Cosmos Club, established in 1878, is a private social club that boasts a “cultivated membership” of individuals who are “distinguished in science, literature and the arts, a learned profession or public service.” They are particularly proud that their membership has included three Presidents, two Vice Presidents, a dozen Supreme Court Justices, 36 Nobel Prize winners, 61 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 55 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At a moment of US History where Islam has been regularly vilified in the media, it was reassuring to
see a banquet room filled to capacity to see a Muslim scholar speak on a weekday afternoon at this Club.
The accomplishments of all members at the Club have made it particularly striking for me the way that Ambassador Ahmed and his work stand out and the way that members reliably meet him with a warm admiration. This sentiment was apparent from my first time visiting the club a year and a half ago when I attended the Cosmos Theatre’s staged reading of his play “Noor”. Members have picked up on the way that both his scholarly and artistic works have promoted humanity. The afternoon of this luncheon, fellow Club member, Dr Mehdi Heravi, a retired professor of Political Science and devoted philanthropist, noted as much, “Ahmed is on a mission, the highest form of mission in life, that is the mission of humanity.”
Welcoming Ambassador Ahmed to speak, Miriam Nisbet, Chair of the Book and Author Events Subcommittee, noted that he was “distinguished in so many fields that one can’t possibly do him justice in this short introduction. Just to name a few of his accomplishments, Dr Ahmed is a diplomat, teacher, poet, playwright, and film producer. He is also a prolific and acclaimed writer who is fresh off a world-wide tour for his latest book, Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity.”
Ahmed explained that he had just moved to the United States to accept his current posting at American University and was teaching a class on Islam when the 9/11 terrorist incident happened. Suddenly, the lack of knowledge about the rest of the world in the US became transparent as he saw not only Islamophobia sweeping across the country, but also anti-Semitism and discrimination against other religious minorities. Ahmed reflected that suddenly he realized that explaining Islam and the Muslim World, “was going to be my role and destiny in my new land.” He explained that when his family came to the United States, “My wife and I found nothing but love and affection, so I felt that if there was any way that I could repay it in a way that would be meaningful to me, I would.”
From the onset, he was determined to conduct field research that would provide “fine-grained information” about the relationship between the Muslims and the West that would be “rigorously neutral” and “backed by young American researchers.” The product was the publication of four books published by Brookings Institute Press: Journey into Islam (2007), Journey into America (2009), The Thistle and the Drone (2013), and Journey into Europe (2018) along with two documentary films that
presented the findings of Journey into America and Journey into Europe.
Looking back on this project that spanned more than a decade, he indicated that the failures weren’t one-sided and acknowledged that Muslims had shown “a strange breakdown of leadership.” He felt that no one would have fallen a victim to the radicalization efforts that have swept the globe when he was a young man, because Muslims knew their own faith and weren’t turning outwards for guidance, which has made young Muslims today vulnerable to corrupted influences. He concluded that “we have a problem” and “unless checked, very quickly, we are galloping towards the precipice.”
The answers to this problem, Ahmed proposed, could be found by turning to the examples and voices of the world’s sages, pointing to figures he interviewed during his latest project in Europe, such as: Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom; former Grand Mufti of Bosnia Herzegovina, Mustafa Cerić; or the legendary Rabbi Bent Melchior, former Chief Rabbi of Denmark. He encouraged the audience to pursue interfaith dialogue and keep in mind that while it was not a magic cure, the imagery is powerful and can open the door for large scale solutions. Finally, he
advocated for an education that valued the broader pursuit of knowledge, something “we’ve lost that” in a materialistic society where education focuses on training for jobs.
Ahmed reflected that his own continued pursuit of knowledge is driven by the Socratic paradox, an awareness of how much he does not yet know. He argued that knowledge itself is “supreme” and it does not benefit us to consider things from a partisan perspective. We share the same problems and a lot can be accomplished when we step back and realize that we are dealing with something bigger.
The audience was critically engaged throughout Ahmed’s talk and posited thoughtful questions about the dynamics of the Muslim world, wanting to learn more about the implications of sectarianism and the possibility of assimilation on the modern world. Ahmed encouraged the audience to consider that these challenges are not unique to Muslims but reflect the instability and violence plaguing Muslims in their home countries. He was unwavering in his critique of militant groups across the region, stating, “I don’t want to mince my words. The chaos, the violence, I want to condemn that in the strongest words possible.”
Tragedies such as those plaguing the Muslim world certainly make it challenging to remain optimistic about the possibility of world harmony. But I am certain that each gesture of friendship between people of different backgrounds is a meaningful step towards a better world as it is much easier to hate what you do not know. This afternoon was no exception as Ambassador Ahmed engaged with members of the Cosmos Club as both a Muslim himself and a scholar of Islam. I admire Ahmed’s tireless commitment to building bridges and providing a different face to Islam than what is offered in the media. I can full heartedly say that I agree with Miriam Nesbitt’s closing remark as she thanked him for his “passionate advocacy of humanity.”
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