Prior to starting my Bachelors of Education degree at Lakehead University, I had prior experience in the fields of community organizing, capacity building and conflict resolution. The following excerpts speak to my passion and reason for engagement in each of those fields.
Who am I and what was my entry point into the field of dialogue and deliberation?
My name is Fatima Ahmed and I’m an immigrant to North America. When my father retired from the Pakistani military, my entire family migrated to Canada as independent class immigrants in 2000. The reason behind the move was economic – we are what you would call economic migrants. While we had a good life in Pakistan, the increasing political instability and dwindling economic options made migration a very plausible option. To add to this, most of my extended paternal and maternal family was already in North America or Europe, so when the option presented itself, we chose to follow many others in their choice to migrate from their native countries to Canada.
It was in Pakistan that I first started developing an interest in peace and conflict studies – while I did not know that an academic discipline such as that existed, I was always curious to understand why people fought. While we lived in a safe, secure neighborhood, ever so often we heard of violence between the Shia and Sunni sects – one group attacked the worshipers at one mosque, so this group retaliated and attacked the worshipers at the opposing mosque. I did not understand why or how people could fight so badly, and how they could kill each other in the process.
So, when I did not find academic success in my engineering program at the University of Waterloo, I decided to switch gears and spent close to a decade studying why people fought. That’s how I came to major in Peace & conflict studies. During my time at the university, I spent most of my time engaged with on and off campus activities, often to the detriment of my studies. After experimenting with various methods of influencing opinion (such as campaigning, protesting, infotainment in the form of street theater, community presentations, community cafes and informal conversations), I found the most effective and personally-fulfilling form of change-making to be through structured dialogue programs. Thus, I arrived upon the dialogue and deliberation field through a lot of trial and error and through years of lived experience and reflective exercises.
What is my motivation for engaging in dialogue?
As someone who actively identifies as Muslim, I find a lot of my motivation through the Quran. I would like to share with you a verse of the Quran and the correlating exegesis or explanation of that verse, we refer to this exegesis as “tafseer” in Arabic. The big idea behind this verse and its explanation is that we were made different so that we could get to know each other, thus conversation or dialogue can be considered a religious imperative so that we can actualize the wisdom due to which God made us in different appearances, temperaments, and choices.
The verse occurs in the chapter called al-Hujurat, meaning the Private Apartments. Chapter number 49, verse number 13 states, “O humankind! Truly We create you from a male and a female, and We made you peoples and tribes that you may come to know one another. Surely the most noble of you before God are the most reverent of you. Truly God is Knowing, Aware.” The exegesis states the following: “This is among the most famous verses of the Quran. From a male and a female can be understood as a reference to Adam and Eve, but also the creation of each human being from the fluid of a man and a woman. That people have been divided into diverse peoples and tribes that they may come to know one another indicates the manner in which differences in tribe, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, and religion can be sources through which human beings gain a deeper appreciation for the reality of the human condition. In this regard, the Prophet Mohammad has said, “God does not look at your bodies, nor at your forms. He looks at your hearts.” In another hadith or saying of the Prophet, the heart is presented as the reality that determines all other dimensions of one’s being. “There is in man (or woman) a clump of flesh. If it is pure, the whole body is pure. If it is polluted, the whole body is polluted. It is the heart.” The outward diversity that divides human beings is thus one of the greatest tests that human beings confront in the lift of this world, as in chapter 5, verse 48, “And had God willed, He would have made you one community, but, [He willed otherwise], that He might try you in that which he has given you. So compete with one another in good deeds. Unto God shall be your return all together, and He will inform you of that wherein you differ.“ This late Madinan verse thus signals a revamping of the moral order of Arabic to one in which true worth is no longer determined by lineage nationality and grandiose displays of valor and generosity, but by the depth of faith and piety. In this vein, the Prophet reported to have said, “Truly God has ennobled those who were lowly during the Age of Ignorance. Through Islam, God removed the zealotry of the Age of Ignorance and its custom of vainglorious boasting regarding kinsfolk and noble descent. Today, all the people, by they white, black, Qurayshi, Arab or non-Arab, are seen to be descendants of Adam. And Assuredly, God created Adam from clay, and the people most beloved by God on the Day of Resurrection will be the most obedient and most reverent among them.”
Personal philosophy on adult education
Often, a great amount of support is afforded to youth in their development phases. However, post the 25-year (or 30-year, or 35-year) mark, many may feel thrown into an area where vocational training may abound, yet deeply-transformational experiences do not. To believe that one’s world view are not significantly challenged except through art and film and that a significant stagnation in intellectual and personal development can happen is a scary and disappointing realization; this lack of developmental opportunity is especially worrisome for those who, due to lack of access, marginalization or any other cause, were unable to make the most of learning opportunities during adolescent and youth years. If there is one desire or goal I have for adult education, it is to make available the same kinds of transformational experiences that are characteristically assigned to earlier formative years, even if the intensity or frequency cannot be matched due to the current framework, perceptions, thoughts and past experiences that adults bring to any learning experience. I am especially interested in the wounds and trauma an adult may have experienced during childhood, adolescence or adult life. Thus, my (evolving) personal philosophy on adult education would always have as a corner-stone the acknowledgement of these behavior-defining experiences and the consequent need for behavior change methodologies that sufficiently address the unique needs of adults. As a teacher candidate for the Primary/Junior grades, I hope to learn about and apply the special methodologies as applicable to 4 - 12 year olds.
Who am I and what was my entry point into the field of dialogue and deliberation?
My name is Fatima Ahmed and I’m an immigrant to North America. When my father retired from the Pakistani military, my entire family migrated to Canada as independent class immigrants in 2000. The reason behind the move was economic – we are what you would call economic migrants. While we had a good life in Pakistan, the increasing political instability and dwindling economic options made migration a very plausible option. To add to this, most of my extended paternal and maternal family was already in North America or Europe, so when the option presented itself, we chose to follow many others in their choice to migrate from their native countries to Canada.
It was in Pakistan that I first started developing an interest in peace and conflict studies – while I did not know that an academic discipline such as that existed, I was always curious to understand why people fought. While we lived in a safe, secure neighborhood, ever so often we heard of violence between the Shia and Sunni sects – one group attacked the worshipers at one mosque, so this group retaliated and attacked the worshipers at the opposing mosque. I did not understand why or how people could fight so badly, and how they could kill each other in the process.
So, when I did not find academic success in my engineering program at the University of Waterloo, I decided to switch gears and spent close to a decade studying why people fought. That’s how I came to major in Peace & conflict studies. During my time at the university, I spent most of my time engaged with on and off campus activities, often to the detriment of my studies. After experimenting with various methods of influencing opinion (such as campaigning, protesting, infotainment in the form of street theater, community presentations, community cafes and informal conversations), I found the most effective and personally-fulfilling form of change-making to be through structured dialogue programs. Thus, I arrived upon the dialogue and deliberation field through a lot of trial and error and through years of lived experience and reflective exercises.
What is my motivation for engaging in dialogue?
As someone who actively identifies as Muslim, I find a lot of my motivation through the Quran. I would like to share with you a verse of the Quran and the correlating exegesis or explanation of that verse, we refer to this exegesis as “tafseer” in Arabic. The big idea behind this verse and its explanation is that we were made different so that we could get to know each other, thus conversation or dialogue can be considered a religious imperative so that we can actualize the wisdom due to which God made us in different appearances, temperaments, and choices.
The verse occurs in the chapter called al-Hujurat, meaning the Private Apartments. Chapter number 49, verse number 13 states, “O humankind! Truly We create you from a male and a female, and We made you peoples and tribes that you may come to know one another. Surely the most noble of you before God are the most reverent of you. Truly God is Knowing, Aware.” The exegesis states the following: “This is among the most famous verses of the Quran. From a male and a female can be understood as a reference to Adam and Eve, but also the creation of each human being from the fluid of a man and a woman. That people have been divided into diverse peoples and tribes that they may come to know one another indicates the manner in which differences in tribe, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, and religion can be sources through which human beings gain a deeper appreciation for the reality of the human condition. In this regard, the Prophet Mohammad has said, “God does not look at your bodies, nor at your forms. He looks at your hearts.” In another hadith or saying of the Prophet, the heart is presented as the reality that determines all other dimensions of one’s being. “There is in man (or woman) a clump of flesh. If it is pure, the whole body is pure. If it is polluted, the whole body is polluted. It is the heart.” The outward diversity that divides human beings is thus one of the greatest tests that human beings confront in the lift of this world, as in chapter 5, verse 48, “And had God willed, He would have made you one community, but, [He willed otherwise], that He might try you in that which he has given you. So compete with one another in good deeds. Unto God shall be your return all together, and He will inform you of that wherein you differ.“ This late Madinan verse thus signals a revamping of the moral order of Arabic to one in which true worth is no longer determined by lineage nationality and grandiose displays of valor and generosity, but by the depth of faith and piety. In this vein, the Prophet reported to have said, “Truly God has ennobled those who were lowly during the Age of Ignorance. Through Islam, God removed the zealotry of the Age of Ignorance and its custom of vainglorious boasting regarding kinsfolk and noble descent. Today, all the people, by they white, black, Qurayshi, Arab or non-Arab, are seen to be descendants of Adam. And Assuredly, God created Adam from clay, and the people most beloved by God on the Day of Resurrection will be the most obedient and most reverent among them.”
Personal philosophy on adult education
Often, a great amount of support is afforded to youth in their development phases. However, post the 25-year (or 30-year, or 35-year) mark, many may feel thrown into an area where vocational training may abound, yet deeply-transformational experiences do not. To believe that one’s world view are not significantly challenged except through art and film and that a significant stagnation in intellectual and personal development can happen is a scary and disappointing realization; this lack of developmental opportunity is especially worrisome for those who, due to lack of access, marginalization or any other cause, were unable to make the most of learning opportunities during adolescent and youth years. If there is one desire or goal I have for adult education, it is to make available the same kinds of transformational experiences that are characteristically assigned to earlier formative years, even if the intensity or frequency cannot be matched due to the current framework, perceptions, thoughts and past experiences that adults bring to any learning experience. I am especially interested in the wounds and trauma an adult may have experienced during childhood, adolescence or adult life. Thus, my (evolving) personal philosophy on adult education would always have as a corner-stone the acknowledgement of these behavior-defining experiences and the consequent need for behavior change methodologies that sufficiently address the unique needs of adults. As a teacher candidate for the Primary/Junior grades, I hope to learn about and apply the special methodologies as applicable to 4 - 12 year olds.