The discussion leader, David Ramezani, took participants through a journey of the history of Iran and the sometimes seeming dichotomy between national identity and religion.
There were lots of challenging considerations about the importance of balancing one's religion and national identity and the ability to balance both sides.
A quote by Amina Wadud, speaking to the struggles of France to balance religion and national identity, helps to bring perspective to the conversation:
"I was glad to be in the United States, where the idea of secularism is wedded to the first amendment idea of freedom of religious practice. In France, no such complementary relation between secular and religious freedom exists. Laïcité is the kind of secularism that is anti-religion, anti-religious expression, and anti-religious identity. They are the ones that give secularism such a bad name in most parts of the world that still consider religion a part of identity."
National identity does not have to be abandoned for the sake of religion, but there are many places in the world where there is a black and white approach to the topic. As Americans, there must be consideration of the presence of such environments when discussing multiple identities. When approaching those who have had unfavorable experiences when trying to mix national identity and religion, it is important to use the example of the United States and show how the ability to mix many identities at once is at the core of the Constitution, but also something residents of the U.S. might not readily acknowledge or understand is not necessarily part of all societies.
The conversation was left with many questions still brewing in the minds of participants that will hopefully lead to a continual dialog on the matter.
Kelly
American Islamic Fellowship
blog@americanislamicfellowship.com
Quranic verse:
Read in the name of your Sustainer, who has
created humanity out of a single cell
Read for your Magnanimous Sustainer
who instilled the knowledge of how to use the pen
taught humanity what was not known!
Humanity becomes extremely arrogant
whenever it believes it is self-sufficient:
for all will return to the Sustainer.
Have you ever considered the person who tries to prevent
a servant of God from praying?
Have you considered whether the person is on the right way,
or is concerned with God-consciousness?
Have you considered whether the person may be lying and abandoning the truth?
If the person does not stop, God will drag the person down on the forehead
the lying, rebellious forehead!
and then let the person summon the counsels of personal wisdom,
God will summon the forces of heavenly chastisement!
No, pay no heed to the person, but prostrate yourself and draw close!
Quran 96 (The Cell - 'Alaq')
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