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"Double
Vision," by Faiza Shereen, Director of Center for International
Programs, University of Dayton
In a recent Op-Ed posted on the University
of Dayton website, Faiza Shereen provides entrée to a
diverse Muslim world mostly invisible to Americans. She begins,
"No expert on Islam, I grew up in a culture where being Muslim
was the norm. Islamic tradition shaped much of the business of daily
life—for Muslim as well as non-Muslims. And so that tradition
was taken for granted, respected, assumed to be the path of the
good.
I lived my entire adult life in America, and here, being Christian
was the norm. The Christian tradition informs our moral values—for
Christians and non-Christians alike. And so this tradition and its
values are taken for granted, respected, assumed to be the path
of the good. This insular complacency was shaken by the events of
September 11."
Beliefs and practices in the Muslim world differ markedly, "from
strictly fundamentalist Saudi Arabia, where a woman can be harassed
for not veiling, to aggressively secular Turkey, where a woman who
chooses to cover her head is barred from Parliament, university
podiums and government employment. Sadly this diversity is not visible
to the American public."
Unfortunately, she asserts, our view of Muslims is largely shaped
by images of "veiled women" and "bearded fundamentalists,"
and distortions of the meaning of the word "jihad." Defined
essentially in the Qur'an as the "daily struggle within the
self, between good and evil," jihad even in times of war is
a struggle against aggression, "but do not transgress limits."
(Qur'an 2:190)
Separation of religious and political authority seems to go against
the grain of Islam because of Islam's historic mission of social
reform in formulating legal and philosophical systems intended to
promote peace, justice and prosperity. Thus, these "limits"
are very specific rules to protect women, crops, civilians, buildings,
and water supply in order to maintain the infrastructure of the
community. "And even in times of war, the Muslim is commanded
to seek peaceful solutions, fighting must be a last resort."
President
Hal Wilde on the Meaning of ANAC Membership for North Central College
The September 2002 issue of North Central Now, the college's
alumni magazine, contains an article on ANAC's June Senior Leadership
Conference held at North Central and President Hal Wilde devotes
most of his column to North Central's membership in ANAC. Here are
excerpts from President Wilde:
"What drew the ANAC schools together, more than anything else,
was a sense that these very good institutions, because they did
not fit into neat categories (e.g., liberal arts colleges, research
universities), had a tendency to get overlooked—by foundations,
the education press, college guides—in the national dialogue
on higher education. Unlike research universities, our model of
education remains student- and learning-centered, with small classes;
and every faculty member is first and foremost a teacher. Unlike
liberal arts colleges, we are as committed to the teaching and learning
of adult, transfer and pre-professional students as traditional-age
undergraduates … while embracing our community.
As fellow ANAC schools such as Valparaiso, Hamline,
Drury, and Elon—and their students—would
attest, it is a model that works, and works well. These comprehensive
liberal arts colleges are increasingly visible on the American educational
landscape… as we were reminded when presidents, deans, and
chief financial and student affairs officers from 16 of them met
on our campus in June. The ANAC schools have produced a book—A
New Academic Compact: Revisioning the Relationship between Faculty
and Their Institutions—that addresses the special characteristics
of our faculties' professional lives. The schools regularly exchange
data, which allows us to benchmark each other; because most of us
are not direct competitors, there is an unusual level of candor
as we discuss common issues and concerns. We are making joint calls
on foundations and influential publications such as U.S. News
& World Report. And we are regularly bringing faculty and
other staff together—again, to learn from each other."
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