Psychological Explorations of the Modern Muslim
My recent shout out to Muslims who have been helped by the work of Jordan Peterson has introduced me to fascinating people . . . and lives. It’s a privilege to peek into personal journeys and cultural dramas. Many young Muslims find themselves ensconced in countries where orthodoxy reigns. Caught in a tug between classic postulates of Islam that can be exclusionary of the rest of the world/wisdom traditions, and radical left ideology which is creeping into institutions everywhere, young adults struggle to sort themselves out.
This is the story of Sikander, a 30-year-old Pakistani who helped me understand the particulars of his struggle and detailed how much Peterson’s work helped him. Sikander (not his real name) is the son of an authoritarian father/military man. He, himself, though, is cut from a different cloth. Soft-spoken and academic, it was hard to live up to his father’s ideal.
The military was not a good fit for this young man but, intent to satisfy his dad, he enrolled at age 17. When his service didn’t work out — for a litany of reasons — his dad felt that that failure brought shame to the family. Sikander lived in the shadow of disappointment.
Leaving the Army necessarily involved a drop in social status. Further, Sikander hadn’t finished high school and didn’t have a degree. He resumed his studies, working through an undergraduate and graduate degree, ultimately landing a job but, simultaneously, flatlining. “I wasn’t taking my life anywhere,” he told me. In fact, he was “getting a bit suicidal, having no purpose in life.”
He entertained the idea of trying for a coveted job in the elite bureaucracy. To achieve this would require rigorous study to outperform the thousands who compete for a few positions — a real long shot. Sikander began the process, taking required courses, though uncertain he was willing to ‘bust the gut’ to get the desired outcome.
Around this time, he discovered Jordan Peterson. The first courses he had to take for this exam included gender studies and had him reading about feminism. Curious about related issues, he came upon Peterson on YouTube and listened to his arguments about Bill C 16.
He found Peterson compelling, reflecting, “the more you are exposed to him, it’s a gravitational thing.” People who follow Peterson know what he means. You listen to one and you have to keep going. In a seven month period, he listened to all the Peterson lectures he found online, then read 12 Rules for Life.
What was the impact? “The chips were falling into place,” he told me. For one thing, the idea of taking responsibility became a battle cry. Taking on the stresses of life, making small changes . . . he started by establishing a reading schedule. From 5 to 6 AM every day he would read.
Secondly, he decided to throw himself into serious study for the exam. He enrolled in a preparatory course where he met a woman whom he dated and later married. That fact was noteworthy. His parents’ turbulent relationship had made him averse to the idea of marriage and the concept of monogamy. Peterson helped him re-envision his relationship goals.
With Peterson’s encouragement, Sikander’s hard work paid off. He passed the exam and landed one of 300 positions. His status changed overnight! Now he locates himself as part of a liberal wave in Pakistan. He teaches Peterson’s ideas at an institute where he lectures on international relations and US history.
He feels he has recalibrated on many levels: revising his premises and degree of adherence to fundamentalist principles and adopting a softened liberal posture regarding matters of faith, reclaiming a better relationship with his father and embracing Peterson, who he refers to as “my spiritual advisor.”
Sikander describes the psychologist as “a modern prophet who provides spiritual and life guidance.” At the same time, he recognizes that he couldn’t dare make such a statement if he was not guaranteed anonymity. He, like many his age, are balancing a delicate tightrope: promoting progress while trying to avoid censure for ‘blasphemy’.
Ironically, it is Peterson that helped Sikander find his place within his current zeitgeist. Sikander had started drifting away from Muslim religion and practice. Peterson “brought moderation into my life.”
I believe we could say, in this example — and other stories I’m hearing -Peterson’s influence facilitates the hero’s journey. Sikander and others are walking the path described by Joseph Campbell:
“where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.”
Annette Poizner, MSW, Ed.D., RSW, is a Registered Social Worker & Psychotherapist working in Toronto. Through her imprint, Lobster University Press, she has explored the opus of Dr. Jordan Peterson, having published a range of books: summaries, commentaries and even a Jordan Peterson coloring book.
