For two women from an Islamic seminary in Iran, one of the best parts about attending the 2014 at 91短视频 is experiencing an interactive style of teaching, where lengthy lectures are rare and role-playing is common.
鈥淲e do lots of exercises, many projects, in this class,鈥� said Sabereh Ahmadi Movaghar, referring to 鈥�鈥� taught as a seven-day intensive by , PhD, and Roxann 鈥淩oxy鈥� Allen Kioko 鈥�04, MA 鈥�07.
Movaghar holds two master鈥檚 degrees 鈥� one in Shi鈥檃 Islam studies and the other in Islamic jurisprudence 鈥� which took a total of four years to earn. 鈥淚 love studying; I am hungry to know,鈥� she said by way of explaining her hope of continuing through a PhD and then teaching. For this reason, she has been an alert observer of the teaching methods employed in her current class at SPI and her previous one, 鈥�,鈥� taught by , a Mennonite scholar and pastor.
Movaghar also praises 鈥渢he very good friends I have made here, who I鈥檝e invited to come to Iran,鈥� as well as the opportunity to learn more about conflicts in the world, along with post-conflict reconciliation processes, especially those occurring in Africa.
Movaghar is one of nine women from Qom, Iran, who are taking classes at 91短视频鈥檚 annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI). Their home institution, Jamiat al-Zahra, is the world鈥檚 largest Islamic seminary for women, with 5,000 Iranian students, 1,000 international students and 10,000 enrolled in distance learning. The nine students at SPI are all linked to the postgraduate section of the seminary鈥檚 international department.
聽鈥淭hese women are excellent, diligent students,鈥� said executive director of 91短视频鈥檚 . 鈥淭hey are devoutly religious as well as delightful 鈥� with great personalities, warm laughs, and deep insights. The friendships being built are priceless.鈥�
The group is led by , an internationally known scholar of Islam and dean of postgraduate students at Jamiat al-Zahra. Shomali has designated the women鈥檚 English-language instructor, who wishes to be known as 鈥淶ainab,鈥� as the coordinator for the women when he is not present.
Reflecting on her methods of teaching English at the Iranian seminary, Zainab cited the 鈥減ractical strategies used at SPI鈥� as a key take-away from her two SPI classes. She said she also appreciates the 鈥渞ich experiences鈥� enabled by having highly diverse classmates from different parts of the world. The atmosphere at SPI is 鈥渨arm, open, and friendly,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone is respectful of everyone鈥檚 beliefs.鈥�
Zainab is often mistaken as one who comes from outside the United States, given her fully covered appearance in loose black clothing, except for her face. Actually, though, she is an American of Lebanese heritage, who completed most of her foundational education in public schools in Michigan. She holds a bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degree in English from the University of Michigan, plus a teaching certificate.
In addition to directing the English as a Second Language program at Jamiat al-Zahra 鈥� in which about 45 women are enrolled each year 鈥� Zainab is completing a PhD. For her dissertation, she is working on a textbook that will use religiously and culturally appropriate text as the basis for teaching English to non-native speakers within the Shi鈥檃 Islamic tradition.
In her first SPI class, 鈥�鈥� taught by Dr. , Zainab joined participants from 10 other countries to explore the social, psychological, neurobiological, physical, and spiritual processes of moving from violence to healing and transforming trauma. 鈥淚鈥檝e studied sociology before, but never with a focus on the psychosocial aspects of trauma,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd rarely in a class as filled with activities. 鈥� Al was a great professor.鈥� 窜补颈苍补产鈥檚 second class was 鈥�鈥� taught by , PhD, and , MA 鈥�09.
Movaghar and Zainab were part of two earlier educational trips to another Mennonite institution, Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg. In the summer of 2011, they took a one-week course on Christian understandings of peace and justice, followed by 鈥淚ntroduction to Christianity鈥� in June 2012.
These women are the latest in a chain of Muslim-Mennonite interactions that goes back to 1991, when responded to a devastating earthquake in Iran. Educational exchanges followed that first contact.
Relations have grown to be highly collaborative. For instance, Shomali was a guest instructor in 鈥淔aith-based Peacebuilding,鈥� which focused on identifying sources of conflict and resources for peacebuilding found in several faith communities and traditions, along with interfaith engagement.
During a break between SPI sessions, Shomali and most of the women went to Washington D.C., where they visited the , met with some Muslim women lawyers at the office of the , and had a meeting at organized by CJP graduate Rasoul Naqavi. They also visited the Capitol Hill offices of Mennonite Central Committee.
, director of the at 91短视频, has visited Iran more than two dozen times since 1991 and will be returning to Iran later this month for the 6th Mennonite-Shi鈥檃 dialogue. In addition to Martin, the 91短视频 delegation includes Christian Early, a professor of philosophy and theology, and several students.
On an earlier two-day trip, they visited MCC’s headquarters in Akron, Pennsylvania, met with an Amish bishop, and attended a service and Sunday school class at in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Shomali told an 91短视频 reporter that he hoped for better relations between the people of Iran and people of the United States and noted聽similarities between Quranic and Christian teachings about the importance of peace. 鈥淕od says about the Quran in the Quran itself that God guides with the Qur鈥檃n those who seek His pleasure to the ways of peace (5:15).鈥� There are 鈥渓ots of things we can learn from each other,鈥� he added. Iranians are rational people and 鈥渨hen you are rational, you tend to dialogue with people of other faiths and other cultures.鈥�
Shomali welcomed more exchanges of Americans and Iranians from a variety of fields, including artists and professionals.聽He said that to reduce mutual misperceptions and encourage peace,聽鈥淣othing can replace face-to-face encounters. Our first Imam, Imam Ali, is quoted as saying: 鈥楶eople become hostile towards what they don鈥檛 know.鈥欌��