Our world is filled with so many stereotypes. I don't know if we were born so stereotypical or if it was something we learned from our environment. I attempt to not judge someone based on their looks but sometimes an occasional comment will surface from my lips. One stereotype that I had in common with most Americans after 9/11 was against men that looked as if they were Muslim. I found myself searching the faces of individuals when I walked through airports and when I boarded planes. I remember a flight I took to California last Christmas, and I just happen to be sitting to man who was Middle Eastern. Before the plane took off, I recall praying to God and asking him to make sure my family and friends knew how much I loved them if something bad happened. Of course with the tight and tedious security at airports now, I knew that it would be very rare that a copycat of 9/11 was likely. In the back of my mind, I knew that you cannot fully trust security so thats why I said my prayer. That was not one of proudest moments because it showed that I can be a hypocrite. I am one that likes to judge people based on their personality and not on their looks.
The Qur'an and related readings emphasized the idea of not being close-minded, to open myself to all possibilities. The image of an open head illustrates how I should process my brain to be more complex and how I should be more considerate of other's beliefs. Another stereotype that is perceived all over the world is the dominance of men over women. Men are seen as stronger and having an advantage over women mentally, which is believed because women tend to be more emotional than men. Women are seen as the person that takes care of the children and does the housework. It has gotten to the point where people say "Oh, their father is babysitting them." How does a man babysit his own children? Raising children is seen as a woman's job and not as a combined effort between a man and a woman. Theses same roles are applied when thinking about the contents of the Bible or other religious texts. There is just this impression of a masculine God; I believe that God is a male figure, but the Qur'an suggests that there is a more feminine side to their beliefs and there's value to the presence of a woman. A philosopher named Muid ad-Din ibn al-Arabi "believed that women were the most potent icons of the sacred, because they inspired a love in men which must ultimately be directed to God, the only true object of love" (Donovan, 322). This belief portrays the importance of women to God and that they are of vital importance to men. It seems as if men's faithful relationship with God is dependent on women teaching men to love. I really like this statement because there is a sense of equality between the sexes in relation to God. Afterall the Qur'an explains that "their Lord answered them, 'I am never unmindful of the work of a worker among you, male or female. You are from each other.'" (Qur'an 3:195) This gives the idea that in order for one sex to be in existence, it is dependent on the existence of the other, which can be illustrated by the proponents of reproduction; men and women both have to contribute something in order for the conception of a child to happen.
Recognizing the equality of sexes in the Qur'an gives hope that we, humans on earth, will be more tolerant of the importance of both sexes and the influence one has on the other. It goes hand in hand when individuals debate over religion. We are so caught up in being the best that we fail to realize the possibility that there can be truth on both sides. "The Koran clearly states in several passages that any person who lives a life of holy reverence is welcomed into paradise regardless of their religion" (Donovan, 320). If everyone actually believed in the words previously stated, then we would live in a perfect world where everyone's beliefs were respected. I would not expect the Koran to say this, but that is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It is nice that the Muslim religion respects the beliefs of other religions.
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