From http://truereligiondebate.wordpress.comLast week I had the great good fortune to see the documentary Koran by Heart at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film tracks the lives of several young people who are contestants in “the world’s preeminent Koran recitation competition in Cairo, where Muslim children come from across the globe to perform in front of a panel of prominent judges. Contestants as young as 7 years old are ranked against kids more than twice their age for both their comprehensive memorization of the 600-page text as well as their improvised melodies.” It is a stunning feat to witness. There is one more screening today at the festival – details here.
The film got me thinking about how little I know about the Muslim world, despite my efforts to consume news until my brain can’t hold any more information. It’s so complex with so many layers. Even classifying it as “the Muslim World” is a disservice. The diversity among Muslims is so vast and spans across so many cultures, languages, nations, and factions. I was reminded of Dr. Lu’s saying that “you can’t understand the Eastern world with a Western mind.” The same is true of understanding Islam. It requires us to shrug off our biases and prejudices, and see the religion and its believers in their own light.
Why? Can’t we pretend that our heads of state will take care of this issue? Can’t we go on just living our U.S. focused lives without delving in to this other complicated part of the world that seems incomprehensible to us at first blush? Sure. You could absolutely pretend it’s not there. However, the world of Islam is increasingly becoming tied to our own national security, indeed our global security as a whole. There are as many as 7 million Muslims living in the U.S., and the number is growing – particularly in urban areas. 1.2 billion people around the world practice Islam. That’s a big, big number.
They are a voice in our society and that voice deserves recognition and understanding, just like yours and just like mine. Additionally, the religion at its core is a beautiful way of living. Too often we associate it with extremism and terrorism. It’s so unfortunate. At its heart, it prescribes a peaceful, harmonious existence and has much to teach us whether we follow its belief or not. Understanding the perspective of another always, always helps create a better world, and isn’t that what we’re all after?
But how? How does a well-intentioned, curious, Western mind begin to understand Islam and its place in the world? I wondered, too, and put this list of resources together in the hopes that it may begin to tear down the wall that for too long has existed between us. I hope you find these resources helpful.
4 Resources to Begin Learning About Islam 1.) Leap of Faith by Queen Noor of Jordan
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
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My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
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At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
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As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
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As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
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Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
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2 thoughts on “Beginning: Why and How to Start Understanding the Muslim World”
Christa,
Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. So, you have hit the hammer right on the head of the nail here. You will find many practictioners of Islam (muslims) living in the Big Apple. You may have crossed paths with these people on your way to work: taxi, bus, subway, etc. they are right there.
Indeed, part of the charm of living in the Big Apple is that you get to interact with people from diverse faiths and cultures. In your area, the Muslim population has been projected to grow.
So, this is a golden opportunity for you and others to interact with Muslims and vice versa. I think we all can learn a lot from inter-faith dialogue. Ignorance is not an option because we make too many mistakes due to our unwillingness to learn about the “other.”
I think if Church and Mosque get together and start throwing parties and invitations and reaching out to each other there is a great scope for dialogue. In this day and age, our biases and prejudices should not define us. We can and must make every effort to understand another’s point of view. Cheers.
Agreed, Archan. We have the chance to share so much with one another and in a city like New York City, literally everyone we meet is a teacher to us, and we are teachers to them. To deny ourselves that experience makes our lives less rich.
Christa,
Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. So, you have hit the hammer right on the head of the nail here. You will find many practictioners of Islam (muslims) living in the Big Apple. You may have crossed paths with these people on your way to work: taxi, bus, subway, etc. they are right there.
Indeed, part of the charm of living in the Big Apple is that you get to interact with people from diverse faiths and cultures. In your area, the Muslim population has been projected to grow.
So, this is a golden opportunity for you and others to interact with Muslims and vice versa. I think we all can learn a lot from inter-faith dialogue. Ignorance is not an option because we make too many mistakes due to our unwillingness to learn about the “other.”
I think if Church and Mosque get together and start throwing parties and invitations and reaching out to each other there is a great scope for dialogue. In this day and age, our biases and prejudices should not define us. We can and must make every effort to understand another’s point of view. Cheers.
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Agreed, Archan. We have the chance to share so much with one another and in a city like New York City, literally everyone we meet is a teacher to us, and we are teachers to them. To deny ourselves that experience makes our lives less rich.
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