Partly sunny skies gave way to clouds and chilly winds off Lake Mendota as UW-Madison students gathered on the Library Mall to protest the military actions in Gaza and the funds the university has invested in Israeli interests. By the standards of campus protests from UCLA to Columbia University the turnout in Madison was small. But as I walked around and chatted with people it was clear though there was a low turnout that was made up for in passion and conviction.
Tents were slowly being erected with small camplike chairs arranged for sitting. There was a table of food with water arranged for what some predicted would be a many-day demonstration. As I turned on a sidewalk and was about to venture in another direction a man dressed in Islamic attire passed me, stopped, and asked what was happening? I gave the obvious one-sentence explanation, and he interrupted and said, “No. I mean do they need to leave by 6 PM? I heard the administration had said there was a deadline.”
I had not heard that news, but since he was friendly and dressed in a thawb and a kufi I asked what brought him to the campus. He lived in Madison, told me he was a Muslim, and had a deep concern for the Palestinians. I mentioned how dismaying it is to see countless Arab governments who give only lip service to the people in Gaza and the West Bank. We had already talked for five minutes, and it was very clear he was a devout Muslim, having been of the faith for 22 years. He would say the name of Allah in our conversation, but always added, (I believe) with the words, “Blessings of Allah be upon him”. With that, I knew it would be fine to broach a topic that has intrigued me for many years.
I told him about 15 years ago having read No God But God by Reza Aslan, and mentioned it was a profoundly interesting book where the arguments are that Islam is going through its own reformation. What were his views of such an argument? That is when, had a camera been trained on my face, large eyes and a stunned countenance would have been clearly seen.
“I was a part of the reformation.” In less than a minute I knew I was talking with Joshua Van Haften, who made headlines aplenty around the nation and Wisconsin.
He briefly told of being arrested by federal authorities at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in 2015 after returning from Turkey. He had flown to the Syrian border to try to join the Islamic State terrorist organization. News reports at the time added that he was apparently swindled by middlemen who only wanted his money. They dumped him on a dusty road, but his intentions were a federal crime that he admitted committing.
I was so surprised by who I was talking with I miserably failed the Number One lesson Dan Rather said was the number one rule for journalists. That being the follow-up question is key! I should have asked what he meant by being a part of the reformation; was he hoping to encourage it, or rather intent on reversing it? Sitting at my desk this evening and recalling his prediction that the caliphate was coming and it would be centered in Jerusalem, means that we were not examining the Islamic reformation, if that is what the long-term process is all about, from the same page. But, throughout our 20-minute discussion, he was forthcoming, conversational, accessible, and an engaging personality.
Once his identity had been made known I noticed my conversational tone had changed from chit-chatty to pressing for answers. I did not want to sound hard-edged so I told him about my radio reporter years and political background. I let him know I found him of interest before continuing. I told him he was clearly a bright man, living in the modern world, I spread my arm across the mall area and added a world of diversity around us. “So, if the religion of Islam is universal how is this a place you feel comfortable but others of the faith in this country or around the world would not abide this modernity? For instance, women without head coverings?”
I was not trying to tackle his faith in any manner, but Aslan and other writers note the war in Islam is with modernity. He stated it was impossible to know which women in the crowd were of the Islamic faith. That did not address the larger core question, but I did not press him. Midwestern sensibilities of being polite rule my life.
It was the last question I asked him that might have been the most important, however, given the rancor and shouting over Gaza, Israel, and well, everything in our land. “Why did you start talking with me, given all the others you could have struck up a conversation with?” He seemed unsure what I meant and then said I was heading in one direction, and he was coming my way and we both said hello and started talking. The world needs more such conversations. We do not need to agree or even have a bevy of questions from an overly curious mind to toss into the back-and-forth. Really all that is required is to talk in a low-volume polite way and discover the ideas and views of another. Upon parting Joshua and I shook hands, we each smiled, and I thanked him for his time.
I do not know if the warmer temperatures and abundant sunshine will ramp up the number of protesters at UW-Madison this week. I hope that each person giving their views about an important international event finds another person they might not otherwise talk with and spend some time talking and learning something politely. After all, everyone is a stranger until we say hello.
