Diversity in Islam -- where are our teaching tools?

[Shava Nerad]

One of the greatest surprises, I find, among people I talk to about Islam is the diversity of cultures and denominations/"flavors" of Islam are out in the world. With most Americans having Sunni and Shi'a linked to factional violence rather than religion, there's not even a sense of curiosity to learn about belief systems. Sunni, Shi'a, Sufi, Wahabi, Qtubism, moderate Islam -- none of these terms even have definitions (or in some cases, exposure) to many "mainstream Americans."

In Portland, Oregon, I knew a rather urbane couple, refugees from Sarajevo -- he was struggling to re-establish his credentials as an engineer; she and their daughter wore a headscarf, but modern modest clothing. After 9/11, she asked (like any two American neighbors, we are speaking, leaning on the back fence), "Should I send my daughter to school tomorrow?"

I want to live in an America where I know that it would be safe to tell her, "Yes." But then, I could not.

We need educational tools, we need stories, we need to reach the hearts of people who have put Islam into a world of mythical beings, like ogres, demons, whatnot -- not people, not peers, not families, not real.