Muslim Makes Impact On Community

By Carla M. Collado
Staff Writer

In a country where words like “terrorists” and “evil” are thrown around and often associated with Muslims, one Pakistani-born woman is trying to educate people about the consequences of such actions.

“We have to work really hard right now,” said Mehnaz Afridi, a Long Beach resident. “We have to care about our future generations and not leave them with this extreme point of view.”

Afridi, a 36-year-old Muslim, has been teaching at colleges and lecturing at synagogues and other religious centers for eight years. Starting Tuesday, she will share her knowledge of Islam, Judaism and Christianity with others at a public lecture series titled “Ask A Muslim” at the SeaPort Marina Hotel.

The lecture series — which runs through Oct. 24 — will focus on issues regarding Islamic extremism and cover early Islamic history, meanings of prophecy, Muslim women and relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews.

These subjects are no strangers to Afridi. In fact, she’s currently leading another lecture series titled “Contemporary Issues as Viewed by Judaism, Islam and Christianity” at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes.

“My goal and mission in life is to have better relations between Muslims and Jews,” Afridi said.

Although born in Pakistan, Afridi grew up in Zurich, London and Geneva, as well as the Middle East. She said that while her family was Muslim, her parents were very open-minded people. She was raised mostly around Catholics and Jews.

Her desire to study religion grew out of confusion, she said. While she lived in the Middle East, she saw a lot of anti-Jewish sentiment, and when she later moved to New York, she saw a lot of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim sentiments, Afridi explained.

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Religious Studies at Syracuse University, specifically in Judaism and Islam. Since then, she has taught at Antioch University, Loyola Marymount University and National University.

“The majority of people I teach have never even talked to a Muslim,” she said. “The contact level is so low.”

These days, she uses textbooks and government data to teach of the history behind each faith. More importantly, she said, she uses narratives and memoirs of Muslims to foster dialogue and understanding among her audiences.

“It gives them a different perspective,” Afridi said. “It’s not just sensational media, it’s not just political. It’s something that’s more personal. I believe that literature, actually, is the way to dialogue.”

Afridi said more people need to pay attention to current events, Middle Eastern issues and the negative perception of Muslims being spread. She also blamed extremist Muslim clerics for taking advantage of a poor, mostly illiterate Muslim population.

“I don’t think I have absolute answers,” she said. “I don’t have the truth, I don’t have major solutions. But what I can offer is ways of thinking about issues in the world differently.

“Muslims also need to be self-critical. They need to say, ‘Yes, we have a segment of the population that’s creating these extreme and horrible images that are destroying our relationships with Christians and Jews and other countries, and we need to do something about it. It’s not debate, it’s dialogue we need.”

Afridi said she hopes to improve these relations by analyzing the similarities between Judaism, Islam and Christianity with her classes and audiences. For instance, all three religions are monotheistic (believe in one god), all have sacred texts with revelations (the Torah, the Gospels and the Qur’an), and all have incorporated ethics/commandments.

“Ethically, and in terms of our belief in one god, we’re similar, we’re almost identical,” she said. “The way in which we practice, the way in which we image the god or feel that god is different.”

During her years in Long Beach, Afridi said she has noticed a lack of communication and interaction between Muslims and Jews in the community. She said there is a shortage of major synagogues and no real, central mosque in the city.

“For me it would be a good opportunity to start that kind of an exchange and dialogue between Muslims and Jews and Christians (in Long Beach),” Afridi said.

Her four-part lecture series, “Ask A Muslim,” will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays from Oct. 3 to Oct. 24 at the Seaport Marina Hotel at the intersection of Second Street and Pacific Coast Highway. Registration costs $100.

Her current, ongoing six-part lecture series, “Contemporary Issues as Viewed by Judaism, Islam and Christianity,” runs from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursdays now through Oct. 19 at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes. The cost is also $100.

To register, call Afridi at (310) 261-7673. To learn more about the lectures, visit www.mehnazafridi.com/lectureseries.htm.

(top) or (home page) or (downtown page)