Webster University
College of Arts & Sciences
470 E. Lockwood Ave.
St. Louis, Missouri 63119
314.968.7160
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Conway-Long Takes “Islam 101” to McConnell AFB
To say that many Americans are misinformed about Islam may be an understatement.
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| Don Conway-Long addresses McConnell AFB personnel. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Jessica Lockoski) |
Don Conway-Long, associate professor and chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, recently helped more than 400 McConnell Air Force Base personnel clarify their understanding of this world religion with a 70-minute presentation he called “Islam 101.” Conway-Long is an expert on Islam, particularly Islamic masculinity.
Chris Heilman, senior director of Webster’s McConnell Air Force Base campus, said Conway-Long’s talk, part of the base’s Guest Speaker Series on Islam, was “very well received.”
“We could not have picked a better speaker to open our series on Islam,” added Colonel Richard L. Wesche, Commander of the 22nd Mission Support Group.
“While nearly to summarize in an hour, Dr. Conway-Long’s ability to provide a brief history of Islam and offer some objective thoughts concerning Islam and the teachings of the Holy Qur’an were perfect to help our Team McConnell warriors understand a little more about the people and cultures we are defending in Southwest Asia,” Wesche said.
Another indication of the success of Conway-Long’s talk may be that the post-lecture Q&A session lasted 50 minutes and stopped only because he had to catch a flight from Wichita back to St. Louis.
Covering the basics of this major religion, which has 1.3 billion followers worldwide (cf. 1.5 billion Christians), in little more than an hour meant that Conway-Long had to move quickly. He spoke about Islam’s important concepts, history, and political implications, and ended with some thoughts about its future.
Conway-Long said non-Muslims may not know that the word Islam is derived from “salaam,” Arabic for “peace,” and that Islam promotes harmony, acceptance, and submission to Allah.
He said the Islamic concept of “shura,” or the use of deliberative consultation to make decisions, could easily be interpreted to mean that Islam supported democratic beliefs long before they caught hold in the West.
Another concept, “jihad,” means to strive with all one’s might and has two categories. Conway-Long explained to his McConnell audience that “greater jihad” pertained to one’s personal struggles; “lesser jihad” referred to struggles with outside forces such as a state power or tyrannical army.
Westerners sometimes criticize the treatment of Muslim women. As Conway-Long pointed out, however, “Muslim women had the right to own property long before those in the Western world.”
Responding to an audience comment that “hijab,” the wearing of a headscarf, made Muslim women appear oppressed, Conway-Long told the group that Muslims see hijab as protection against men as well as a mark of a woman’s piety and opposition to the whims of fashion.
Conway-Long discussed how modern history has molded today’s Islam. Events such as the fall of the Islamic Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, the 1967 Arab-Israeli Six Day War, and the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran were among those he mentioned as crucial in shaping 21st-century Islam.
Conway-Long also touched on “Islamism,” the idea of Islam as a political system as well as a religion, and briefly explained its many variants. In addition, he told the group that many Muslims consider Islam to be compatible with democracy. His review of the types of political systems of Muslim countries showed that, indeed, democracies were just as prevalent as autocratic forms of government.
Some see the rift between Islam and the West as unbridgeable, but Conway-Long expressed hope to base personnel that radical Islamism has passed its peak and more cooperation with non-Islamic countries will follow.
Seventy minutes of instruction about Islam is only a start, however. Conway-Long strongly suggested that Jews, Christians, and Muslims engage in dialogue with each other on a regular basis. He said he was heartened by outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s announcement that he would like to create a foundation to bring religions together to discuss issues.
“People should be reaching out,” he commented.
Having contact with a Muslim is not as difficult as some Americans would believe.
“Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the U.S. as well as the rest of the world,” Conway-Long said. “There are plenty of people here to learn from.”
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