Islam- Interfaith Series- Article #1

It’s Term 3 and we are nearing the half way point in our journey.  One thing about this program that I love is how we’ve all been able to learn from each on so many different aspects.  It’s not just when someone raises their hand in class to share something, but conversations at dinner or breakfast, or even a crazy taxi ride.  Some of those conversations relate to business or skills we’re learning in our MBA, and some just have to do with learning more about people.

In CCL we learn about economic, social, and political tensions in each region we visit.  Something I’ve noticed is that no matter where you go religion in a given region, or even lack of religion, plays a role in each of the three tensions.  Because of the unique framework of the CCMBA and the diverse class we have a wonderful opportunity to ask and answer questions about a topic that is often avoided in a business setting, but undoubtedly plays a role…religion.

Our classmate Andy Domenico hosts an Interfaith dinner at each residency, and I had the opportunity to join while we were in Dubai.  The dialogue and discourse of all the different faiths is amazing.  Just at our dinner table alone we had Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists.  I am firmly convinced that if 20 or more of the CCMBA class can sit around and share each other’s faiths calmly then there is some hope out there for the rest of the world to do the same.

With that in mind I reached out to some of our classmates to see if they would share some information about their religion with the class.  What I think we’ll all see with this series is that there is so much we all have in common.  No matter where you go, no matter what your beliefs, we can all learn a little bit from each other.

To start off we have Tarick Gamay sharing with us about Islam.

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Delhi, Day 7: The Culture Dash

Day seven found (now) Section 1, Team six (-pack) wandering around the city, video cameras in tow, for the”Culture Dash” that’s at the center of each residency’s CCL learning.  Given the choice of observing economic landmarks, political landmarks, or societal (religious) landmarks, the team chose to observe several religious landmarks around Delhi.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple

Sikh temple Delhi

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple

For the first stop on our ‘dash’, the team visited the Sikh Temple (left).  The religion, as I understand it, is somewhat of a hybrid of Islamic principles and Hindu principles, and most visibly observed as gentlemen wearing turbans with longish beards tied/twisted into various knots or curls.

Given the removing of shoes/foot bath requirement, as well as the need for visitors to be wearing a head-covering, the team decided to use the temple as a means of finding Sikh’s who would be willing to discuss their beliefs with us as part of the filmed interview process.  However, upon scouring the Internet for background information about the temple, I now realize what a boneheaded move I made by not going inside!  Seriously, visit the link above if you’re the type of person who likes majestic, historical buildings.  The outside, having scaffolding on the outside, fooled me into thinking that the temple wouldn’t be that impressive.  Stupid assumption!  Just goes to show, I still haven’t found the proper amount of preparation when I visit these countries.

Perhaps I should chance ‘Delhi Belly‘ again some time in the future so I can re-visit this temple.

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