This realization opened me up to a larger inquiry: Who has the authority to set a definition for a word, and how can intercultural dialogue be successful if our definitions of key concepts are different? I reflected specifically on the importance of subsidiarity in reaching a definition, the necessity of sustained dialogue between cultures, and the ways in which the Madrasa Discourses project at the University of Notre Dame attempts to tackle these issues. In the days following this discussion, the question followed me: Am I really living in a free society? The Oxford Dictionary Online defines freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.” According to this definition, Haya may have a better understanding of the word “freedom” than I do. In my eyes, laws are in place to protect our larger freedoms, such as religious practice, private property, and self-expression, not to take away our agency. At first, I thought Haya simply did not understand the true meaning of freedom. My conversation with Haya opened my eyes to the ways that cultural and experiential differences can lead to varying conceptualizations of the same word. In these discourses, all participants come to a better understanding of each other’s worldviews and the peace that can be brought about through sustained dialogue and reflection. We also benefit from engaging with questions related to freedom, culture, and identity during these intercultural conversations and from forming meaningful relationships with students living across the world. The cohort from the United States consists of undergraduate students at Notre Dame, such as myself. This project also requires intercultural conversation in discussion groups comprised of participants from India, Pakistan, and the United States. Madrasa Discourses encourages the graduates to arrive at their own carefully reasoned definitions, rather than blindly accept those handed to them. They are forced to see their own definitions and belief systems from an outsider’s perspective in order to better defend those beliefs or adapt them to modern circumstances. By bringing traditional Islamic learning into conversation with new knowledge, ideas grounded in the students’ madrasa education are challenged. The madrasa graduates, all from India and Pakistan, participate in several weekly classes and discussion groups, as well as onsite intensive programs during the summer and winter. The Madrasa Discourses Project is a three year course that encourages madrasa-educated students to recover methodologies and perspectives from their own tradition to face modern challenges, invites them to question why they hold certain beliefs, and fosters conversation with members of other cultures in an open-minded way. This exchange occurred in the context of a dialogue group for the Madrasa Discourses Peace Lab that I am participating in at the University of Notre Dame. Ebrahim Moosa Presents the Madrasa Discourses project in February 2018, with video conference in background. This statement made me wonder: is greater individual agency indicative of freedom or anarchy? Perhaps more importantly, do socially-enforced norms impact the freedom of citizens more than the few legal codes that are in place? Photo by Peter Ringenberg/University of Notre Dame: Dr. She replied by saying that the United States has so many laws and fines, citing speed limits as a specific example, but in Pakistan citizens can largely live according to their own rules. Generally, citizens of the United States pride ourselves on our freedoms, boasting of the liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution, but are these the most crucial aspects of freedom? I probed her further, asking how she saw Pakistan as a freer society. My experiences studying in a male-dominated science field and traveling the world independently have shown me the expanse of my freedom in comparison to women in previous generations and individuals living under more repressive governments. I am in my third year of studies at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Neuroscience and Peace Studies. I was expecting answers related to Pakistan’s religious society compared to the secularity of the United States, differing gender roles, or notorious Western values, but one female student, Haya, took me entirely by surprise by saying, “In Pakistan, we are much more free.” As a young woman in the United States, I could not imagine that I was living in a more restrictive society than my peers in Pakistan. “What do you think is the biggest difference between Pakistan and the United States?” I asked my weekly discussion group of young Islamic studies scholars in the Madrasa Discourses project. Photo Credit: Alan Turkus, “Speed Limit 10” in New Jersey, USA.
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