| Interview | |
| 28 Jun 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com |
| Creating Opportunities for Muslim Engagement: An interview with Farah Pandith | ||
 There’s no one-size-fits-all. Something that’s a tradition for me may be very different from your family norm. I grew up in Massachusetts and was the only Muslim student in my school. I grew up very integrated; the Western values and Islam [were] handled side-by-side. I saw no difference between being Muslim and being Western. There’s a way to find a balance in your identity that makes sense for you and the way you were brought up. So I don’t have the right to comment on how anybody should live. Because Islam is made up of more than eighty different ethnicities in America, there is not one monolith approach that all Muslims must use. One of the things that troubles me greatly, not just for women but for youth as well, is that they don’t have the kind of alternative narratives available to them online that offer them that a diversity of thought on particular issues. I’m not talking about the typical conversations of hijab versus non-hijab, do you drink, do you not drink, do you date, do you not date - that happens all the time – but to talk about the choices you make and why you make them and how you live them. -- Farah Pandith, Special Representative to Muslim Communities by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in an interview with Asma T. Uddin and Sarah Jawaid | ||
| Creating Opportunities for Muslim Engagement: An interview with Farah Pandith | |
By Asma T. Uddin and Sarah Jawaid
APRIL 19, 2010
It’s almost been a year since Farah Pandith was appointed Special Representative to Muslim Communities by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The office, housed in the US State Department plays an important role in creating opportunities for people across varying opinions to engage in crucial dialogue. We sat down with Pandith to discuss the role she sees her office playing in connecting the Muslim community with each other and a broader audience, both aboard as well as in the US.
What is your office doing to develop US-Muslim engagement?
Farah Pandith: Our new strategy of engagement recognizes that our office has an opportunity to complement traditional programming with innovation centered around civil society. The secretary has asked me to work with our embassies around the world to engage with the next generation of Muslims by taking the grassroots ideas of civil society organizations that have their finger on the pulse of what is happening on the ground and moving these ideas forward. This relationship between the US government and civil societies in Muslim countries across the globe will be based on a foundation of mutual interest and mutual respect and will bring people to the table that do not typically connect.
What role does the American Muslim community play in that?
The American Muslim community, individuals as well as organizations and companies, have an interest in what goes on overseas so it is important for our office to understand the community’s perspective and priorities. In addition, I use the American Muslim community for counsel. I have “wisdom sessions” where I bring smart people around a subject to get their feedback on what I’ve been doing and on other partners I want to bring to the table. I speak to many types of people, whether it is Rami Nashashibi, Eboo Patel or Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.
Tell me about reaching out to the Facebook generation.
Right now our Facebook platform is used to share information on where I’ve gone and what I’ve done. I want people to be able to read speeches and get the names of groups and connect in that way. I would like to see as many forums as possible to share the real deal about what is going on. Share ideas with me. If you know I am going on a trip, ask me to do a blog. We’d be thrilled to be able to help connect. If I’m meeting with people who ask to learn more about life in America for Muslim women, I would be thrilled to share Altmuslimah’s name.
It seems like you are trying to connect youth, new media and women’s rights.
I would describe it a little bit differently. I’m definitely connected with the next generation – so the youth demographic is essential. The next piece is really the networks – the building of networks of like-minded thinkers. New media is a tool that you use for both connecting youth and building networks. When I look at the issue of women and girls, we work very closely with Melanne’s Verveer’s office. She is the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and her work hits countries that have very significant Muslim populations. That is an important point I want to raise in terms of the ways we’re approaching engagement. It’s unbelievably important to us that we are diversifying how we’re looking at Islam – that a Muslim in São Paolo is as important to us as is a Muslim in Cairo, as is a Muslim in Jakarta, as is a Muslim in New Delhi. We cannot engage in just one region of the world.
How do you feel your position compares to that of the newly appointed US envoy to the Muslim world, Rashad Hussein?
He is going to be working with the Organization of the Islamic Conference [an association of 56 Islamic states promoting Muslim solidarity in economic, social and political affairs]. He will be working on a government to government level with countries that are part of the OIC. I am working on a people to people level, collaborating with civil societies and communities through our embassies. So they are two very different positions and are compatible which each other.
You recently visited Pakistan and spoke about a series of solutions: social entrepreneurship, innovation, and capacity building. Do you believe that these ideas reconcile well with the daily issues that Pakistanis face of corruption, food and security?
I was in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore, and the majority of my time was spent with civil society. There are some serious things going on in Pakistan today that Pakistanis in civil society have to deal with; you named several of them and there are many more. The idea that we only can do one thing at one time is quite limiting. Just because issues haven’t been solved in every capacity doesn’t mean you ignore the other things that can be happening simultaneously. So I do believe that you can do more to bring up social entrepreneurship, invest in microfinance loans, and bringing young Pakistanis into the global conversation on relevant issues. It is all concurrent.
(Second Part of the Interview)
Muslim women leading the way: An interview with Farah Pandith
BY ASMA T. UDDIN AND SARAH JAWAID,
APRIL 21, 2010
Which of the challenges you face in your job are unique to your being a woman?
Farah Pandith: When you are a seasoned professional and have a body of work behind you and a solid reputation, then you are not seen as woman or man of South Asian descent. I had a powerful role model in my mother who was from a culture that had very traditional role models for what women do with their professions and she broke out of that to become a doctor. I also attended an all-women’s college where leadership and being active and engaged in your community as a female was central to the way in which I lived my life.
As a Muslim female who serves as a representative of this country to Muslim communities across the world and vice versa, how do you manage personal criticisms regarding modesty?
You have to be respectful and culturally sensitive, but you also have to be true to yourself. I am an American and I was raised in this country. I learned about Islam in America. Being an American diplomat, I am somebody who has had the privilege of traveling to dozens of countries around the world, and I understand very well the societal norms that you must adhere to. Modesty is an important piece of that; there are places you go where you must be more modestly dressed than others. The choice of covering my hair is a personal choice. When I am in a mosque, of course I cover my hair as that is fundamental to the way in which you pray, but I have found that I have had very dignified, respectable meetings in which I am in Western dress. I’ve always been treated with respect. I’ve always been listened to. I’ve always had the capacity to engage in good conversation. If you are transparent in terms of what you are trying to achieve, it is simply a human to human interaction. Sometimes I will plan separate meetings with women and girls, and separate meetings with men. It creates a more comfortable environment and you hear different things come out of the two types of gatherings.
What advice do you have for Muslim Americans on how to deal with questions regarding gender relations and sexuality?
You’re putting your finger on a very important issue that is happening globally: how you navigate being both modern and Muslim. I think you honor the traditions that are important for your family and your faith. There’s no one-size-fits-all. Something that’s a tradition for me may be very different from your family norm. I grew up in Massachusetts and was the only Muslim student in my school. I grew up very integrated; the Western values and Islam [were] handled side-by-side. I saw no difference between being Muslim and being Western. There’s a way to find a balance in your identity that makes sense for you and the way you were brought up. So I don’t have the right to comment on how anybody should live. Because Islam is made up of more than eighty different ethnicities in America, there is not one monolith approach that all Muslims must use.
Issues of personal choice are really important as well. One of the things that troubles me greatly, not just for women but for youth as well, is that they don’t have the kind of alternative narratives available to them online that offer them that a diversity of thought on particular issues. I’m not talking about the typical conversations of hijab versus non-hijab, do you drink, do you not drink, do you date, do you not date - that happens all the time – but to talk about the choices you make and why you make them and how you live them. It seems from the questions you’re asking that Altmuslimah is concerned with how Muslim women can lead. And I would love to inspire other girls to consider a career in government and diplomacy because that will make a tremendous difference in the future.
A genuine approach to engaging religious actors often entails understanding their religious or cultural values. How do you plan on working with traditional gender values when promoting women’s rights?
There are channels within in the State department that work on women’s rights issues. My office is not directly responsible for promoting human or women’s rights. When I engage with community actors and they bring up issues that are of concern to them or they want help in various ways, I am responsible for making sure that what I am hearing is addressed by those in the State department. We often conduct specific meetings with young women and female activists to hear what’s going on the ground and to be supportive by relaying their points of view to the US government.
Can you talk a bit about how you balance your professional and personal lives?
“Balancing?” I’m not sure I know what that word means. I don’t lead that balanced a life. I spend eighty percent of my time overseas in this job, and when I’m here in Washington, the majority of my time is [spent] working at the State Department. I grew up with family coming first. I am not married and don’t have children, but my extended family, my mother and brother and other parts of my family are very important to me. I spend a lot of time with them but it’s definitely not a balanced life. I definitely give a whole lot more to my work than I do my personal [life].
What advice do you have for aspiring Muslim leaders, specifically women, who seek to defy stereotypes?
I think it’s tremendously important that you find what makes you happy and you follow that path. Find a passion that is soulful for you, that actually makes a difference in which you are. Develop the skill set [that] you can bring to the table that will help you find joy in what you do.
Special thanks to Nouf Bazaz, Adam Sitte and Zehra Rizavi for transcribing and editing this interview.
Asma T. Uddin is Editor-in-Chief of Altmuslimah. Sarah Jawaid is Associate Editor of Altmuslimah.
Source: Altmuslimah
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10:17 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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