52/365 Many differences

One of the things I loved about taking Religious Studies courses were the diversity. Instructors from all walks of life and cultures taught there and the students were equally varied. Members of my regular study group included  Jewish man who converted to Christianity, a Muslim guy from Canada, a few atheists and agnostics and a handful of other Christians. 

I loved the conversations we had and the sharing of different view points. I loved it when we realized that one of the tenants of each of our faiths could be found in another persons. 

For the most part this was a very enjoyable time. Everyone treated each other with respect and kindness. We were willing to put away our stereotypes and focus on getting to know others for who they were. 

There was one exception. A teaching assistant grad student who was from Iraq (this was in the late 90's) was asked to be a guest lecturer at one of my classes. He taught well, but choose not to take questions from any female students. We quickly realized that if you wanted your question answered - you had to ask another male student to ask it. This was incredibly frustrating for me and made me feel inferior. I was okay with the fact that he refused to shake hands with women, but not to acknowledge us in the classroom where he was in charge? 

I realized even then - that this was not a representation of a religion, but one persons extreme interpretation of it.