Islam talk for extra credit

I went to the talk by Dr. Shabana Mir on Thursday, October 25. I went into the talk not knowing what she was going to talk about other than the broad topic of interpreting the Koran. Coming out to the talk, I knew exactly what her point was, which was a refreshing difference form how many speakers dance around a central message. She talked about the prominent place that woman scholars had in the Koran and how over time, their became fewer scholars. She addressed this topic with the intent of proving how people today who claim to want to go back to traditional roles of women actually do not want to go back to the original tradition of the Koran times. The new ideas I learned about Islam were that the times closer to when the profit lived were considered holier. She proclaimed herself as a traditionalist, but one in the correct sense of the word- wanting to emulate the times closest to the prophet. Also, I learned about Muslim woman scholars, Ayshe and various others, who were called upon after the prophet's death to make religious judgments and decisions.

I didn't find much that I could directly apply to understanding the milieu of Roar, but the talk did help me understand the different distinctions between Muslims (traditionalist, modern) which is made mostly on the basis of how each Muslim believes the Koran and the religious laws should be interpreted.