The 2021 Notre Dame College Abrahamic Lecture featured guest speaker Asma Afsaruddin, Ph.D., professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington, who opened the eyes of the Notre Dame College community to a broader view of Islam today.
Author of “Contemporary Issues in Islam,” Afsaruddin, discussed the value of a religious tradition in one’s life and in her life. She addressed important elements like prayer, names for God in Islam, the development of Islam, sacred texts and passages and the role of community.
The lecture was delivered online in an interview format with questions posed by Sr. Carol Ziegler, SND, Ph.D., the executive director of Notre Dame’s Abrahamic Center, and Roneil Reynolds, a Notre Dame College graduate. The lecture is available for public viewing: YouTube.com/NotreDameCollege at https://youtu.be/vIPvy92cXXQ.
“It sits at the heart of the mission of an institution like Notre Dame College to foster opportunities to have these kinds of conversations so that we can learn from each other and develop an appreciation for the rich history that all of these traditions bring,” said Notre Dame President J. Michael Pressimone. Dr. Pressimone pointed out that when study the Abrahamic traditions, we come to understand how much these traditions have in common. Personal and communal prayer is a common touchstone.
Zeki Saritoprak, the Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University led an opening prayer for the lecture. Saritoprak, invited those present to enter a deep and fervent Muslim prayer calling for blessings from “messengers of God,” including Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus.
The Importance of Religious Tradition
For Afsaruddin, who was raised as a Muslim, daily religious and cultural practices helped shape her understanding of prayer, scripture and traditional core values such as alms-giving, honesty and respect for all living beings.
Realizing she had an audience of many first-year students at the College, Afsaruddin shared the fact that as she matured, she began to question her faith, became detached and viewed the Islamic faith more critically. This questioning of one’s faith is common as young adults search for their identity in religious traditions. Afsaruddin then studied Arabic and came to read the sacred texts more carefully recognizing the nuances of certain words within their context. Her formal exploration of the Qur’an led her to find her calling.
“There is magic, and I mean that in a very positive sense. There is profundity in the words that I encountered and so my own exploration of the Islamic tradition, its history, its trajectory of rich and dynamic growth through the centuries, led me back in many ways but led me back in a way that was much more personally meaningful to me,” she said.
Names for God in Islam
Afsaruddin engaged readily in the question regarding the multiple names for God in Islam. While the Abrahamic traditions share an understanding of a one, holy, almighty God, “Allah” is used primarily by Muslims in addressing God. At the same time in Islam, Allah has 99 epithets, including “the most compassionate,” “the most merciful,” “the protector,” “the sustainer,” “the one who gives life,” “the one who causes us to die,” “the one who is just” and “the one who is all-knowing.”
These many different names indicate the power, the importance and the many roles of the holy one. According to Afsaruddin, the names may differ among religious traditions, but the idea is the same: that there is one being who created and will always protect everything and everyone in the universe.
The Development of Islam
The lecturer discussed how Islam underwent many changes as it expanded over time. Often different geographical regions cling to specific interpretations and rules. In some areas, as people study the original Arabic, also may explore nuances of the language. Many traditional practices, however, are the same throughout the world. According to Afsaruddin Islamic prayers will always be the same regardless of location. The faith tradition will always consist of Muslims praying daily; facing Mecca when they pray; and observing the same holidays, like Ramadan.
“There’s a core of beliefs that everyone subscribes to, but there can be also huge variety in the way people seek to observe some of those practices,” she said.
Afsaruddin also mentioned the importance of the pilgrimage to Mecca, called the “hajj,” a call to one’s spirituality. The tradition was challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic when government authorities prohibited the journey. While many Muslims were disappointed, the lecturer said the decision was moral because Islam emphasizes the importance of living things and Allah protecting his creations with care for each other or the community.
Sacred Texts and Passages
Passages of the Quran have touched Afsaruddin personally, and she believes that probing the meaning of the text is important.
Chapter 9 Verse 71 describes men and women as “awliya,” or partners of equal status. The Qur’an gives women the right to own property and to acquire knowledge, among other liberties.
“You’re just completely blown away by the absolute equality that is stressed between men and women and that there’s absolutely no distinction in the worth of their actions,” Afsaruddin said. “The Qur’an doesn’t recognize any gender difference when it comes to piety and righteousness, but over time male interpreters of the Qur’an have imposed such gender differences. This is something that we see throughout history in other faith traditions.”
According to Afsaruddin, Chapter 49 Verse 13 advocates a vision for a world of tolerance and pluralism: Allah “made you into peoples and tribes so that you may get to know one another.”
Sense of Community
This sense of community is very important to Islamic tradition, like in Christianity and Judaism. The lecturer discussed how Muslims come together as a congregation on a special day of the week, Friday, for daily noon prayers and a sermon. This tradition emphasizes togetherness.
“Get to know one another is a powerful command, and I think it really speaks to a modern situation, and especially now when we find that in American society, we are getting more polarized rather than coming together,” she said.
Notre Dame’s Abrahamic Center develops educational programs for the College and the Greater Cleveland community fostering mutual respect among all peoples and celebrating religious, racial and cultural diversity. The initiative honors Abraham’s status as patriarch of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
“If we are truly going to live in a world of peace and harmony, we are going to need to better understand the points of views of others,” Pressimone said.
The center is a direct outgrowth of the innovative work of the College’s Tolerance Resource Center, which has provided significant opportunities for research, outreach and education on the Holocaust, anti-bias issues and diversity for more than 20 years.
November 2021
Cindy Pelley contributed to this story.
About Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts college in South Euclid, Ohio, committed to teaching students how to make a good living and live a good life. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. For more information, visit NotreDameCollege.edu.