"Around an appearance, one common model, we grow up
many. Else how is it,
if we remain the same…
To be in different states without change
is not a possibility…"
Insightful verses such as these from Charles Olson’s The Kingfishers are that which most inspire Fulbright Scholar Mohammed Sharafuddin. An aficionado of American writers dating as far back as 17th-century poet Ann Bradstreet, Sharafuddin’s passion for the written word was born of an intimate study of American history and literature during his college days in Yemen and later during further study at the University of Kansas.
“The words we see printed on the pages were written to tell stories and lessons that sprang from the hearts of those who wrote them,” said Sharafuddin, who extended his nine-month Fulbright grant to twelve months. “In every American poem and every story I read, I feel its author wanted me to pass its contents and its meanings to others. The experience remains American, but its usefulness and efficacy is universal.”
 |
This desire to impart a message that speaks to the ties that bind us as a people fueled Sharafuddin’s work as a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University. As a visiting professor in the Department of Classical Languages and Literatures teaching Arabic language and literature, as well as a course on Islamic literature, Sharafuddin found the experience to be “a great opportunity for me to be able to introduce Arabic and Islamic literature, while examining its reception among American students, and so becoming aware of the cultures’ commonalities. Even in areas where there are differences, it remains a rich experience to be able to notice such differences and study their emergence to explain and try to interpret them through the eyes of others.”
The thematic concepts of understanding and appreciating differences have actually been threaded throughout Sharafuddin’s work with the Fulbright Scholar Program over the years. In 1994 he wrote Islam and Romantic Orientalism, a book that examined the positive ways in which Western writers approach Islam and its culture.
“Western writers, in general, have tried their best to know about Islam and its culture and to transfer its messages to people. There are, however, some instances when such representation turned into misrepresentation,” he offered candidly. “History, whether that of non-Muslims or Muslims, is fraught with misrepresentation. Yet, we need not expect to have full ‘truthful’ representation because, as we have learned from recent history, ‘truth’ is relative when it is dogmatically perceived. I do, nevertheless, believe time is essential in determining when real and genuine change of image can take place. With time, of course, comes experience and the emergence of new cultural paradigms that are affected by both sides of the exchange.
“Having said that, I also feel that there is presently a gradual process of change towards a better and more informed knowledge of Islam and its subtleties. It is wrong to assume that cultures have to influence each other in order to become one and the same. This is no longer understanding; it is appropriation of the other. The West is reaching remarkable stages of knowledge of Islam and others in a way that seeks to adopt whatever is good, attractive and adaptable, and rejecting that which is evil, repulsive and rigid.”
Sharafuddin has contributed personally to this ever-evolving state of understanding. As part of the Occasional Lecturer Program, the Fulbright scholar was invited to speak to a number of different colleges and universities about Arabic culture and Islam. “I was able to explain to my American audience how many Muslims felt about the 9/11 tragedy. The exchange was extremely rich and informative; I realized the importance of speaking to people and not standing still,” he said.
When the decision of who would address the Institute of International Education (IIE) during its special convocation marking the anniversary of the tragic events of September 11 had to be made, the choice was clear. Sharafuddin spoke eloquently to the IIE community about his experience living in post-September 11 America and how he strives to find ways to repair the damage done to relations between Islam and the West.
Sharafuddin readily admitted that the Fulbright experience guided him through the outskirts of an uncomfortable time in history. More specifically, “The Fulbright Program offered me chances to express myself in a way that helped revive within me ideas and feelings that I was able to explore and examine very objectively. Overall, the experience enriched and enhanced my views of myself as a humanist and helped me shape some perspectives in my life that are inspired by the Fulbright vision.”
At a time when the world is so endangered by lack of understanding, Sharafuddin, who is presently writing a new book that focuses on Orientalism in American literature, credits the Fulbright Program as being the true connector between home and abroad.
Please contact
us if you would like to submit your own story
and/or photographs.
"International education
exchange is the most significant current project
designed to continue the process of humanizing
mankind to the point, we would hope, that
nations can learn to live in peace"
--J. William Fulbright |
|
