INTERVIEW

Sahil Badruddin: As part of Harvard's Religious Literacy Project and a current Professor of Islamic Studies, you've noted that religious literacy, particularly of Islam and Eastern religions, is essentially absent in the public discourse and in educational curricula, say in elementary, middle, and high schools.

Why is it in the global interest to have populations be better informed about world religions and more specifically about Muslim and Eastern cultures?

Dr. Ali Asani: The primary reason for promoting literacy about religion relates to the nature of human society. Human society is marked by all kinds of differences: ethnic, racial, political, religious, cultural, and so on. Our education systems have failed in many cases to provide students the opportunities and tools to engage across and with these differences.

Religion is one of the major markers of difference in our world today. It wasn't always so, but it's become a very important marker. The inability to understand the nature of religion has created an environment that is intellectually incapacitating. It has created an environment which breeds prejudice and fear of people who are religiously different, leading in many cases to physical and psychological abuse and violation of civil rights.

Religious illiteracy has also fundamentally undermined the nature of democracy and negatively impacted intercultural and international relations, not to mention interfaith relations. For all these reasons, it is important for there to be greater engagement and understanding about the nature of religion and the promotion of literacy about religion.

SB: What factors might be overwhelming or even negating attempts to get religious studies or civilizational cultural content in school curricula? Again, I'm not referring to theological or devotional content.

Dr. Asani: In the United States there is content in school curriculum about world religions, including Islam, within the context of the study of world civilizations. However, the frameworks in which this material is presented does not engender religious literacy. Many teachers are not trained to teach about religion in a manner that provides students the tools to critically engage with the nature of religion; specifically, creating awareness that religion as a cultural phenomenon deeply embedded in political, economic, social, literary, artistic, other kinds of contexts. These contexts shape how people understand religion, and as they change, interpretations of religion change. Religion is thus dynamic in its formulation.

The current curricula in many schools concerning world religions are very often reductionist. For example, religion is equated simply with rituals and doctrines. "Muslims pray five times a day, they to go on the Hajj." A common way of talking about religion is listing the different facts about each religion. Religion by the numbers, I call it. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, The Christian Trinity and so on. This type of knowledge is of limited significance and does not constitute religious literacy.

If we are going to be studying world civilizations and looking at the role of religion at any depth, we have to talk about religion as integral to political, economic and social processes. Religion does not exist in a vacuum. You have to think about religion as something that is dynamic and constantly changing along with the contexts in which it is being practiced and interpreted.

Also, you need to talk about diversity of interpretations within a tradition. So that when a person reads or hears something about Christianity, or Judaism, or any other religion, they immediately ask "Which Christianity? Whose Christianity? Who is defining it? In which contexts? Drawing on what authority? “

The same is applicable in the case of Islam. When a student encounters a statement about Islam, they should seek to contextualize it. What are the contexts that have shaped this interpretation and understanding of Islam? Since no single person can represent the entire tradition, contextualizing every expression of faith becomes very important. Through that contextualization, a person realizes Islam can have many different interpretations, some of which may contradict each other.

For example, some people, on account of the political and social situations they face, will interpret religious doctrines and concepts to justify violence. Others, drawing on verses from the same scriptures, will talk about peace-making. It's not really about what scriptures say, it's about how contexts shape the meanings that people read into scriptures.

Creating awareness that religious traditions are internally diverse and that people construct them according to the lived realities of their lives makes a student less likely and hesitant to accept broad sweeping statements such as “Islam is a violent religion” or “Buddhism is a peaceful religion.” From my perspective, such statements reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of religion and its inherent diversity.

The other notion to keep in mind, one that is missing in the curriculum in the schools, is the assumption that religions have agency, that religions do and say things. I often tell my students that nobody has ever seen Islam say or do anything. Islam is a concept, it's an idea. It does not do anything. People have agency and do things in the name of religion. So a person should be able to identify that it's not about religion per se, it's about people doing things based on their interpretations of religion.

SB: To help the situation, through Harvard's Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), you taught a course on “Islam through its Scriptures.” This was said to have an enrollment of over 25,000 students from 170 countries. Could you share your experience, the impact, and effectiveness of the course itself?

Dr. Asani: This was actually my first attempt to teach a massive online course. It was part of a larger project at Harvard to provide courses focusing on improving religious literacy for different religious traditions. This particular course, “Islam through its Scriptures,” was focused on providing literacy about the Qur’an and the nature of the revelation in Islam, emphasizing many different ways in which these have been understood.

It emphasizes that the Qur’an is not just a book or a source of law or theology. It represents an aesthetic experience at the heart of Islam. In the seventh century, when the Prophet Muhammad began receiving revelations, he recited them aloud, he performed them for his followers, rather than writing them down. Hence the name Qur’an, the Recitation. People were struck by the beauty of what he recited and were often moved to tears. It was the beauty of this text that actually convinced people that what Prophet Muhammad was reciting was something really unique and different, and its beauty was proof of its divine origin. The form of revelation as sacred sound was shaped by the context of Arab poetic culture and Arab sensibilities to the spoken word.

The course looks at the different ways in which the Qur’an has been shaped and influenced by differing contexts. How has it been used in so many different ways? How does it come to written down? What are the implications of it being codified and put into the form of a book? How does the emergence of the written form disenfranchise or marginalize the illiterate; those who can't read and write? On what basis does a literate class of specialists claim power to interpret the book?

Through the notion of the Qur’an and revelation, the course explores many different dimensions, beyond the theological and doctrine, such as the artistic, literary, and performative aspects. It shows that the current discourses prevalent in Islamophobic circles about the Qur’an being a violent text are based on decontextualized and inaccurate readings of the text by those with little or no knowledge of its history, the Arabic language and its evolution.

Even though I had 25,000 students, I would say probably 5,000 completed the course. The comments were overwhelmingly positive. Because the course provided a platform for non-Muslim and Muslim students to engage with each other through peer facilitated learning discussion forums, it helped develop a more informed perception about the Qur’an and about Islam. Many Muslims in particular were intrigued by the approach because this is not the way they had thought about the Qur’an. They found this to be a useful way of improving their own understanding, improving their own literacy about Islam. Also being exposed to ideas, interpretations about the Qur’an from communities other than their own was informative for them.

The fact that, for example, there are traditions of esoteric interpretations of the Qur’an that come from the mystical traditions such as the Ismaili tradition was eye- opening. Most students in the course didn't even know this existed. Overall it was a very positive experience for me, with positive evaluations from students.

To engage students in a more active form of learning, the course did not use the recorded long lecture format. I have short 5 to 10 minute videos in which I comment on material being discussed in a module followed by a variety of interactive, online exercises for the students to engage in. It was a lot of work to put the course together—nearly two years.

It was something that I am glad that I developed. It’s archived and available for future students to use, free of cost. I hope that it will become a helpful resource for people to engage with. I also hope that there will be future reiterations of the course.

SB: What role do you think online learning and the internet has to play in assisting people to become more open and pluralistic, and what are their drawbacks?

Dr. Asani: As it is well known, there are both positive and negative kinds of aspects to online education. It certainly democratizes access to knowledge as – it doesn't matter what part of the world you're in, what your income level is – so long as you have access to the internet, you can access education. The democratization of knowledge and the opening up of educational opportunities is a very good thing for it leads to more inclusive societies.

However, in my opinion, online courses especially those that involve students watching recorded lecture videos exclusively have limited effectiveness. The most pedagogically effective part of my experiment with online education was having groups of students in the course interacting with each other around specific course material through live chat rooms. They would converse with each other in these chat groups as they responded to questions I had posed on readings. Through this form of interaction, students learned from each other. Several students remarked that it was educational just to read through the responses of their colleagues and learn from the different perspectives they presented. I believe engaging in participatory learning results in a deeper form of learning.

SB: In a previous interview on religious literacy with The Harvard Crimson, you spoke about diversity and pluralism:

"People think diversity is a problem. I actually think that diversity is not a problem, it is an opportunity for us to embrace and get to know one another, to get to know fellow human beings. Diversity is not meant to create walls, it's actually meant to create bridges."

So to add to that, diversity is more than color, race, faith, and includes the diversity of lifestyle, ideas, and even worldviews. But recognition of diversity doesn't actually lead to social inclusion, or even participation or engagement; for that, dynamic pluralism, I would say, is required.

How do we move society towards a truly pluralistic one, where it seems that the current policy seems to stigmatize, marginalize, and aim to exclude certain groups, communities or new approaches?

Dr. Asani: The fundamental issue here involves engagement with difference. When people encounter difference they frequently do not understand it and, therefore, recoil from it. Fear leads to prejudice so individuals or groups who are perceived to be different find themselves marginalized, targeted and excluded. The antidote to fear and prejudice is finding ways to help people engage across difference whether it's ethnic or social or whatever type of difference. Such engagement entails understanding perspectives other than one’s own. Respectful engagement with those are different requires understanding another person’s perspective but more importantly recognizing their humanity. That’s important.

You may disagree with somebody who is totally different but acknowledging their humanity and their right to be different is crucial. Engaging with people on that basis is a reflective process as it helps you understand yourself better. In the process of understanding someone else’s perspectives, you reflect on your assumptions and your presumptions.

Very often people assume that accepting diversity means giving up differences and specific identities so that it doesn't really matter whether you are Shia or Sunni or Catholic or Protestant. That is not what I mean by engaged pluralism. Engaged pluralism is when you engage across differences, understand differences but also retain the right to be different. You have the right to express your viewpoint, but you also have to respect the rights of other people to be different.

I'm using the word “respect” deliberately as it connotes the right of people to be respected for or on account their differences. More fashionable in some circles is the word “tolerance.” However, when you tolerate, you are implying the existence of a power dynamic and hierarchical relationship – that is people in power tolerating people who are less powerful than themselves. Respect develops when you acknowledge that those who are different are your equals.

So ultimately, engaged diversity means engaging across differences and recognizing the humanity of other people. This becomes a basis or principle on which you can build inclusive societies.

I want to add that educational institutions such as public schools and universities provide important opportunities for students from very different backgrounds to engage across differences. If properly managed, the diversity in these educational institutions can play a significant role in people coming to know one another. As students meet each other on a daily basis, they build friendships that cut across religious divides, racial divides. Sometimes these relationships continue long after they graduate and some may get married. Not surprisingly, interracial, interfaith families are on the rise in the United States. Interfaith organizations and movements are also growing rapidly and helping to create a very strong fabric of relationships between different communities at the grassroots.

SB: How do you see diversity and pluralism play out in intra-Muslim relationships?

Dr. Asani: Currently, it is not headed in a good direction. I would say one of the biggest challenges for Islam in the 21st century is Muslims recognizing the rights of other Muslims to have different interpretations of their faith. Over its 1400 years of history, Islam and Muslim societies have been marked by difference. There have been attempts to engage with diversity in various ways, including recognizing that differences in interpretation cannot be eliminated. This is the reason why in Sunni Islam the four major schools of fiqh came to be considered equally “orthodox” after centuries of conflict.

However, this engagement has not always been positive. Sometimes Muslims have regarded each other as heretics or infidels, Kafir, but there have been strategies, where people have tried to come up with different frameworks of thinking about this.

For example, you may be familiar with this school called the Murji'ites. This group felt that people can't really decide who is a Muslim. Only God can do so and that decisions like this have to be postponed. The Murji'a are very interesting because by saying that you can't judge another Muslim's faith they recognize the fallibility of human judgment.

Another example regards Qur’anic interpretation. Traditionally scholars recognized that the Qur’an could be interpreted in so many different ways. As a result, in some Qur’anic commentaries, you see commentators engaging with others who differed in their interpretations. Faced with this diversity, they always end their commentary with the statement, “Allahu A'alam” – “God Knows Best”. This is, again, an acknowledgment that human beings are ultimately fallible and on account of their limited knowledge they cannot make a definitive judgment about matters of faith.

What has been lost in contemporary Islam, especially with the politicization of Islam by various nation-states and their opponents—is humility. It has been replaced by arrogance. Islam has come to be associated with the power of the nation-state or groups like ISIS. These new political actors disregard traditional formulations of Islam and engagement with diversity and difference because they are counter to the ideologies of exclusivism they seek to impose. We have to address socio-political and economic factors that have led to the rise of militant gangs like ISIS and Taliban as well as nation-states seeking to control people through “theological colonialism.”

A single monolithic interpretation of Islam being forced upon a diverse population of Muslims for fostering nationalism is never going to create stability. The sooner people recognize the fact that ultimately understandings of Islam are human and do not want to arrogantly impose their interpretations on others, especially as a way to assert hegemony, the sooner we will be able to address issues related to intra-Muslim pluralism. Depoliticization of Islam is an important pre-requisite for this process.

SB: What advice would you give to those struggling with this issue to look at their own religious traditions themselves in a different light?

Dr. Asani: In any religious tradition, you find ideological formulations developed and safeguarded by religious and sometimes political elites who determine what correct and incorrect interpretations are and define clear boundaries between faith and infidelity. I call this religion as an ideology of differences. You also find religion as an expression of individual faith, and by this, I mean individuals engaging in a relationship with the transcendent or the divine in personal ways.

For ordinary believers communing with the divine, with the transcendent, is a personal experience in which the sound arts, the literary arts, the visual arts play an essential part in their devotional life. Examples would be Qur’an recitation, the Gregorian chant, exquisite mosques, and cathedrals or devotional hymns and poems.

Every religious tradition has this aesthetic dimension. Some of the great works of visual art, music, and architecture have been inspired by this religious impulse. Sometimes this religious impulse is appropriated by the hegemonic discourse of empire or state to create works of art that are meant to legitimize and symbolize power.

I would say that if you want to discover the animating roots of a tradition, it's best to look at its aesthetic dimension. In many traditions, the aesthetics embodied in the sound arts, visual arts and literary arts are often a means to an experience of self-transcendence. This is where we encounter traditions of spirituality in which people seek to personally experience the transcendent or the divine.

Islam, for example, began as an aesthetic tradition based on the personal spiritual experience of the Prophet Muhammad. He was inspired with revelations so beautiful that they caused people to weep when he recited them. Their unparalleled beauty was acclaimed as proof of their divine origin. Around this aesthetic and experiential core at the heart of the tradition crystallized the more institutionalized legal, theological, philosophical forms. In the institutionalization phase, Prophet Muhammad’s recitations were written down, codified as the Qur’an by the newly emergent state with a class of scholars eventually claiming a monopoly over the text.

Religious literacy makes us aware of the diverse manifestations of religion from the theological and political to the aesthetic. If there are institutionalized manifestations that we find disconcerting as they seem overly concerned with power, hegemony and enforcing conformity, there are also aesthetic manifestations through the arts which can have deep emotional impact and inspire even an atheist.

SB: You don't hear many people talking about aesthetics. Why is that?

Dr. Asani: In the academy, generally speaking, the study of religion is predominantly focused on textual, historical, and ethnographic analysis. Though the devotional or experiential aspects of faith as embodied in the arts are acknowledged, they are not often incorporated into the curriculum because they are seen as emotive, personal, and subjective. Therefore, they cannot be rigorously studied with any degree of objectivity. The overwhelmingly secular environment in the academy also impedes an appreciation of the multisensory faith experiences in the classroom.

In the case of Islam, such biases have led to the story of tradition being represented by the histories of various dynasties, thus depicting the religion primarily as an ideology of power and hegemony. By privileging and highlighting elitist constructions, these narratives show almost no concern for how the majority of Muslims engage with their faith. Thus, even though for most Muslims Islam is primarily a multisensory experience in which the arts play such a central role, the bias against the aesthetic has meant that there are very few introductory textbooks or courses utilizing this approach.

In fact, in response to my assertions that Islam emerged as an aesthetic tradition, a prominent scholar of Islam remarked: “The arts are the icing on the cake.” This statement is ironic as for most Muslims the arts are “the cake!!” The exclusion of certain experiences and voices is also apparent when the story of Islam is primarily identified with the Middle East.

SB: As very Arab?

Dr. Asani: Yes, it's very Arab-centered. Regions such as South and Southeast Asia with close to 70% of the world’s Muslim populations hardly figure in any popular discourse about Islam. As a result of these biases, even majority groups get marginalized.

In the case of Islam in the United States, African Americans constitute 30 to 40% of the Muslim population, if not higher. Where are their voices in the story of Islam? We know that the voices exist, and they are vocal, but you don't see them reflected in popular and public understandings of Islam. These African American voices have been silenced because they are not convenient for those who insist on “othering” Muslims in the US by representing them as immigrants.

SB: Going back to the non-affiliated, given your experience with working with Muslims and the youth, do you see the phenomenon of the non-affiliated prevalent among people born in American Muslim families?

Dr. Asani: Yes, definitely so. Several traditions that have developed in America have also adopted ecumenical non-sectarian outlooks. We can already see emerging an ecumenical Islam with young people are saying, "Well, I'm not Shia or I'm not Sunni, I'm just Muslim.” There are a few mosques that are non-denominational. Some of these ecumenical spaces have also encouraged equality of participation for women.

These formulations of Islam are challenging the sectarian and the hegemonic patriarchal discourses found in many different parts of the world. It's too early to tell what will happen to these non-denominational perspectives, but they are an interesting development that may well have implications for the trajectory for Islam in America and perhaps globally as well.

SB: You were speaking about Muslim voices, so I wanted to talk about the perception of Islam. In the past decade, especially Muslims have engaged in efforts and initiatives to help correct the perception of Islam in the west, in the world generally.

Fortunately, today, we're seeing more Muslims on television, and in films, but if we look at the general perception of Islam, it would seem we still have a long way to go. What aspects might be, again, overwhelming or negating progress to help change this perception of Islam?

Dr. Asani: It depends on what part of the world you're discussing. Certainly, in America and some western countries, certain politicians, to gain populist support, have shamelessly peddled on fear and portrayed Islam and Muslims as the other, the enemy of the nation, unleashing a rhetoric of hate. Once that kind of exclusionary discourse is accepted and popularized, it's poisonous. It can be and has been used to justify violence against Muslims or anyone perceived to be Muslim.

The other problem is, of course, the media. Many journalists, unfortunately, lack literacy about religion. As a result, in their reporting, they frequently make facile statements or assumptions about a particular religion or a particular community, perpetuating stereotypes. These can have dangerous consequences especially when they can spread so fast over the internet. To be fair in their reporting, it is crucial for journalists to be religiously literate. In this regard, the religious literacy project at Harvard has sponsored programs to provide such training for not only journalists but also for other professionals as well. Indeed, it is important for any professional who works with diverse populations, be it a doctor or a journalist, a social worker, or an entrepreneur to be religiously literate.

SB: In the west and the world generally, how do we change perceptions? Are there ways to change it more quickly, perhaps through popular culture, arts, aesthetics, stories, TV, etc.?

Dr. Asani: Every society needs to recognize that the age of monolithic nation-states in which one racial or religious group dominates the nation is over. Societies the world over have become diverse in nature and increasingly so. Nation-states need to engage with diversity in meaningful ways and engage in bridge building between people who are very different.

You mentioned TV shows and cultural initiatives involving the arts and aesthetics – all of these could be examples of building bridges across difference.

Literature is one of the most powerful ways by which you can build bridges. For example, I teach a seminar at Harvard, called “Muslim Voices in Contemporary World Literatures.” We read stories and novels from different parts of the world, of course. In selecting these stories, I try to represent Muslim voices from diverse geographic and cultural locations, presenting different perspectives. I frequently include prominent Muslim authors who through their stories reflect on some of the problems their societies face.

When people read a short story or a novel, they will often identify with certain characters and put themselves into the shoes of those characters. This is why these literary genres can be very powerful vehicles for transforming worldviews. Through literature and the arts, you address not just a knowledge gap but also an empathy gap. By putting yourself in someone else’s shoes you develop an empathy for a culture that is not your own and you universalize or humanize it.

SB: Talking specifically of the world today, and even the more distant future, you've expressed that nationalism, particularly religious nationalism, is one of the most pressing challenges that the world faces today. Why do you think that is?

Dr. Asani: Nationalism is an ideology which emerged in Europe and based on the notion that the nation consists of people who are homogeneous – they speak the same language, share the same culture – and they define themselves against the other, those who are different. They form boundaries to separate themselves from the other. Considering the many wars that have been fought in the name of nationalism, and people who have had been killed, this ideology has been fatal.

When nation-states began to appropriate religion as a way of defining themselves and of controlling the population, nationalism becomes even more devastating because people who do not belong to the majority religion become second-class citizens or, even worse, become the other, the enemy of the nation. Think about Jews in Nazi Germany, the partition of South Asia, or Bosnian Muslims after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The concept of nationalism as it has traditionally evolved has to be challenged, is a major obstacle to world peace. It created havoc during the two world wars and continues to create havoc today. It's high time we think of other ways of organizing societies. Clearly, this ideology has outlived its usefulness in an increasingly multicultural, multi-religious, multiracial and multiethnic world in which we live. We need to re-think a way of defining nations; a way that doesn't exclude people. There are nations, for example, Canada, that have been deliberating on this due to their own experiences. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canada is a post-nationalist nation, one that has transcended the idea of defining itself against the other. Rather, the other is us. A person can be Canadian in many different ways, and Canada as a nation-state, welcomes this multiplicity of identity.

This is an interesting formulation. The creation of the European Union was an attempt to transcend narrow kind of nationalism, but it has run into problems because some member nations don't want to give up their national sovereignty because they fear they would be inundated by immigrants and lose jobs. You see a similar phenomenon in the United States as well.

SB: Nationalism and even tribalism continue in parts of the Muslim world today. Generally, Muslims in the West – especially American and Canadian Muslims – have an appreciation for pluralism and experience with numerous religious traditions. Do you see them as offering examples to the world about cooperation and coexistence?

Dr. Asani: Absolutely. I mentioned earlier that there's a type of ecumenical non-denominational Islam that is emerging in America, that is embedded in diversity within America and premised on getting along with people are who very different from oneself. It's not just about engaging with Christians and Jews, but also with Muslims from different theological backgrounds.

America has become the crucible where ideas on intra-Muslim pluralism are being worked out and may perhaps impact attitudes in Muslim majority countries. This certainly seems to be a positive role that Muslims in America can play in shaping the future course of Islam.

SB: Going back to your work at Harvard, you've taught courses on Shi’ism, particularly on Ismaili Muslim History & Thought, and also on Ismaili Ginans and Devotional Music & Literature. These courses actually illustrate the diversity of Muslim traditions.

How were they received, and did you find them effective in changing perceptions of Islam as a monolith within the classroom and even perhaps elsewhere?

Dr. Asani: I would say they were received really well. I was surprised by the number of students who were interested in enrolling. Including courses on Shia Islam in the curriculum is particularly important because it expands the diversity of voices and enriches the educational experience. While explaining the importance of this inclusion to a university administrator, I explained it's like saying, "We will teach Christianity, but we only teach about Protestants, we don't teach about Catholics."

And so it's very important that this happens. I'm particularly glad that at an institution like Harvard, which has one of the oldest Islamic studies programs in the United States, we have been able to diversify the curriculum to include not only different groups like the Shia but also perspectives from the arts and aesthetics.

These initiatives are an important aspect of the university’s overall engagement with diversity. You cannot build inclusive communities on campus if your curriculum does not reflect diverse voices. Students who come from a Shia background should see themselves being reflected in the curriculum. Why should their voices not be represented? By providing room for all perspectives you create an inclusive community and foster excellence.

SB: Any advice or even ideas you would give to other universities and organizations to start their own courses on similar subject matters or topics, maybe even on Shi’ism?

Dr. Asani: Yes, the most important piece of advice I would offer is to create a diverse faculty. If you diversify your faculty, a more inclusive curriculum will most likely follow. A diverse faculty not just in terms of gender, race and ethnicity and so on, but also perspectives. Very often at universities there can be a lot of inbreeding and course offerings with very similar perspectives and approaches. Once you get a diverse faculty, not only will your curriculum become diverse, but you will recruit diverse students.

SB: Could you name specific objectives, perhaps you can see the world achieve, let's say in 25 years, and what insights or even suggestions would you give to help them address and even achieve this vision?

Dr. Asani: I think that the most important thing that we need to recognize are the complexities of being human. We have multiple identities – religious, political, economic, social, all kinds of identities. When you reduce this identity to a uni-dimensional or mono-dimensional one, you are actually stripping a person of their humanity, creating what Amartya Sen terms “a haziness of vision which can be exploited by champions of violence.”

It’s very important for people to be able to engage with each other without being obstructed by labels. “You label jars, not humans.” I read this somewhere. I cannot recall where but this remark resonated with me. You can't label human beings. They are far too complex to be labeled. You have to understand them in all their complexities. How can this be done? I have mentioned the importance of education, promoting critical thinking about religion, the role that the literature and the arts can play in humanizing what political discourses have dehumanized, the interaction that takes place at schools and universities. Ultimately, having people in neighborhoods building a strong social fabric through mutual engagement is important. Coming to know your neighbors or people who are different is an effective way of dismantling labels.

SB: Dr. Asani, thank you for this interview.

Dr. Asani: You're welcome.

ABOUT ALI ASANI

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Ali Asani attended Harvard College, with a concentration in the Comparative Study of Religion, graduating summa cum laude in 1977. He continued his graduate work at Harvard in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization (NELC), receiving his Ph.D. in 1984. He holds a joint appointment between the Committee on the Study of Religion and NELC. He also serves on the faculty of the Departments of South Asian Studies and African and African-American Studies. He has taught at Harvard since 1983, offering instruction in a variety of South Asian and African languages and literatures as well as courses on various aspects of the Islamic tradition including Understanding Islam and Contemporary Muslim Societies, Religion, Literature and the Arts in Muslim Cultures, Muslim Voices in Contemporary World Literatures, Introduction to Islamic Mysticism (Sufism), Ismaili History and Thought. and Muslim Societies in South Asia: Religion, Culture and Identity.

A specialist of Islam in South Asia, Professor Asani's research focuses on Shia and Sufi devotional traditions in the region. In addition, he studies popular or folk forms of Muslim devotional life, and Muslim communities in the West. His books include The Bujh Niranjan: An Ismaili Mystical Poem; The Harvard Collection of Ismaili Literature in Indic Literatures: A Descriptive Catalog and Finding Aid; Celebrating Muhammad: Images of the Prophet in Muslim Devotional Poetry (co-author); Al-Ummah: A Handbook for an Identity Development Program for North American Muslim Youth; and Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literatures of South Asia.

Professor Asani has been active post-Sept 11 in improving the understanding of Islam and its role in Muslim societies by conducting workshops for high school and college educators as well as making presentations at various public forums. He is particularly interested in the arts, broadly defined, as the primary means by which Muslims have experienced their faith and their potential as pedagogic bridges to foster a better understanding of the Islamic tradition. Professor Asani is the recipient of the Harvard Foundation medal for his outstanding contributions to improving intercultural and race relations and the Petra T. Shattuck Award for Excellence in Teaching.

ABOUT SAHIL BADRUDDIN

Sahil Badruddin is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with degrees in Chemical Engineering, Religious Studies, and History. He conducts interviews with influencers, leaders, and intellectuals for various platforms to discuss their insights on contemporary issues. Some of his recent interview guests, among others, include Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Karen Armstrong, Shainool Jiwa, Ali Velshi, and Hasan Minhaj.