ISP and Interfaith Discussions

We've been in "ISP Period" for a bit now, so I should probably get around to explaining what that means. For the last month that we're in Oman, we all stop classes, go out and interview people about a subject and then write a paper about it at the end of the month.

Overall, it's pretty good fun. My topic is a bit complicated, which has created some difficulties (not that they can't be surmounted). Succinctly, I'm trying to research Omani opinions about the disparities between Sharia law and UN definitions of human rights. This sound a bit touchy, but really doesn't need to be. My thought process starts out with the fact that a lot of people say there is conflict between the two. If there is, it's not necessarily evidence that one opinion is inferior. It's a case of conflicting values. Based on the way I understand the nature of morality, there are some things that contextually specific and there are others that are absolute.

So the question first of all is: Is there conflict between these two bodies of literature according to Omanis? If so, do they view this as a culturally specific thing, or is there indeed a clash of values/worldviews going on here? Some people in the west think that Sharia can be re-interpreted (by looking at the Quran and Sunna through modern perspectives)so that it could be completely in line with UN ideas of human rights. Is that what's happening? Is that what people want? Or are calls for re-interpretation just a form of neo-colonialism...forcing secularism on the rest of the world? If we're dealing with just concretely different and conflicting view on some issues, will the Muslim world push for a global consensus (by maybe pushing the west to no longer say that equality in inheritance laws is a human right, for example). After all, everyone still agrees on a lot of things.

My goal in the interview is to discern what the Omani response to the issue is more than whether they agree with certain perspectives or not.

What makes this hard is that I typically want to interview people who know Sharia well...which is a pretty small section of the population...a part of the population with a smaller percentage of English speakers than the rest of the educated population. So it's a challenge finding people to interview, but some of the interviews have been quite rewarding (as has "chill" time with some of the individuals). That's really what I came here for: good conversations about God, so I've been content with what I've gotten so far. I just need to keep putting myself out there to make contacts and follow up with them, which doesn't always come easily to me. The subject can be somewhat sensitive, but I really think those I interview have nothing to fear. My aim is to just bring out what people are thinking. I'm obviously no expert, but a lot of stuff I've read glazes past points of disagreement.

The word "human rights" has immense normative power, though, and if I don't explain what I'm doing well on the first go around people can become very defensive. It may seem surprising, but nearly everyone I talk to insists that there are more human rights in the Islamic world than in the west, and that women have more rights than men in Islam.

And that's the point--it's not like the west is sitting there saying "hey, this human rights stuff...get your act together" and the Islamic world is sitting there with a sheepish look on their faces. The point is that there are different ways of viewing the world, of viewing what it means to be human. There are indeed different worldviews interacting here, and that certainly justifies a call for dialogue, understanding. etc. (insert Brown cliches). It's true, though. True dialogue and meaningful dialogue comes when you're dealing with people who actually think that there is a right answer, yet respect, talk with, and even love those who are "wrong" anyways.

http://acommonword.com/index.php?lang=en

If two groups at least agree that the most important thing is to love God and the second is to love others, you'd expect they they'd have a lot to talk about.

Enough from me. Peace.