We live in a world of nearly instantaneous communication. Visual and oral media reports are crossing linguistic and cultural boundaries with a speed and impact that written texts cannot. Public and political conversations increasingly use a variety of abbreviated and formulaic means of communication that only hint at complex social, economic and political issues worldwide.

As we veer from one crisis to another with the Muslim world, there are a number of topics one needs familiarity with in order to make sense of events. To mention just a few, there is the history of the creation of the state of Israel and the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Then there is the history of the rest of the Middle East. There is the history of the economic, military and political pacts between the US and Saudi Arabia. The list goes on. How many of us are well read on European history and the current situation of its immigrant communities? How about the timeline and details of European and US military interventions in the Muslim world?

How many of us understand global economics? How many non-Muslims are familiar with the basic texts, practices and interpretations of Islam and Muslim history?

Faced with the challenge of comprehending the many historical and contemporary factors leading up to current events, it is little wonder that we all gravitate toward the simplicity of images, symbols and slogans that encapsulate what might otherwise seem too exhausting to even contemplate. The uproar that followed the published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad is a case in point that reflects the failure of common political conversations. In an increasingly interdependent world, we are faced with the necessity of making sense of complicated situations that demand extremely difficult and painful decisions.

What is needed in this avalanche of images and sound bites is a greater emphasis on low-tech, unglamorous and labour-intensive education. Teaching Islamic studies post-9/11, as I have, is much more challenging than in previous years. Although my non-Muslim students freely acknowledge their ignorance of Islam and the Muslim world at the beginning of my classes, they carry with them the baggage of years of media images portraying the “veils and violence” of Islam.

It takes time and patience to avoid apologetics, to avoid Islam bashing, and to demonstrate instead, example by example, the richness and variety of Muslim cultures and people, past and present. It takes time to learn foreign languages. It takes time to encourage critical thinking, not only of written texts, but also of visual and multimedia products. It takes time to address the complexities of the relationships between religious, ethnic and political communities.

Creating an environment conducive to dialogue, debate and deliberate action requires patience and persistence. It may not be as spectacular as the controversies that periodically grab our attention, but it works, one student at a time. — The Christian Science Monitor