Summer Course

I am presently just outside of Coonoor, Tamil Nadu… in a cool hill station coordinating HMI’s summer course in Islam and Interfaith Relations. I attended the course as a participant last year and am now busy with the day to day details. However, I am able to sit in on most of the sessions and I am very impressed with the faculty this year in their presentations. Even the students are much more open overall, with the capability of discussing deeply the many issues that are brought up.

I remember last year having so many new discoveries about Islam. I knew quite a bit of the basics from my time at Luther Seminary and then visiting Egypt, but this is a very intensive course which gets at much more of the theology and history of the religion. Last year, I discovered that Muslims do debate and wrestle with interpretation of the Qur’an, even though the text is completely set and unchangeable. I remember that being a huge insight for me at the time - and since then, I have met so many Muslims through HMI who hold varying views and come from a wide range of traditions. This year, the participants in the course are from Baptist, Orthodox, Catholic, and the Church of South India (which is made up of a mix of Protestant groups), with two HMI staff participants who are Hindu and two Muslims (one professor and one HMI staff). Just today, I was amazed at how the Christian participants were asking and debating the very same questions about Islam as they do within Christianity (example: does God cause/ allow/ oppose suffering?) It was quite interesting.

Already, the difficulties of how to interpret and be a faithful follower in each religious tradition is coming clear… but more than that, how do the various believers of each religion relate to those from another tradition without over-generalizing or stereotyping. We all can’t be experts on others’ religion. Next week we will address topics like conflict transformation and reconciliation which go deeper than the basic listening and openness themes of this week.

I am happy to be involved in such a course where most of the faculty really pour out their knowledge and beliefs in such a personal and purposeful way for the students. It helps me to feel a part of something and it challenges me to think more critically about my own faith tradition – especially in relation to others, which is stimulating. I have been needing this as my job has become so logistically mundane and stressful in general. At the same time, I still have the mundane and stressful parts of my job to deal with during the course, so it is not easy to do it all.

I am trying to enjoy the beauty of the place and the community atmosphere as well as the intellectual and spiritual stimulation. We are very isolated here. I don’t get to check emails much and my phone usually doesn’t get service. I have not been off-site for several days and there is nothing nearby except lots of tea plantations, some wild animals (although I have not seen them), and beautiful trees and flowers.