Podcasts about Islamic studies

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name "Maryam." The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries (Fortress Press, 2025) examines the varied appearances of Maryam in different Islamic cultural and theological contexts. The chapters in this history extend from Maryam's scriptural mentions in the Qur'an and the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, her appearances in medieval debates regarding prophecy, citations of her virtuous model in Sufi discussions of piety, presentations in art and film, through to her role in modern interfaith relations. Younus Y. Mirza is the Founding Director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an and the shared stories between them Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name "Maryam." The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries (Fortress Press, 2025) examines the varied appearances of Maryam in different Islamic cultural and theological contexts. The chapters in this history extend from Maryam's scriptural mentions in the Qur'an and the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, her appearances in medieval debates regarding prophecy, citations of her virtuous model in Sufi discussions of piety, presentations in art and film, through to her role in modern interfaith relations. Younus Y. Mirza is the Founding Director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an and the shared stories between them Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name "Maryam." The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries (Fortress Press, 2025) examines the varied appearances of Maryam in different Islamic cultural and theological contexts. The chapters in this history extend from Maryam's scriptural mentions in the Qur'an and the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, her appearances in medieval debates regarding prophecy, citations of her virtuous model in Sufi discussions of piety, presentations in art and film, through to her role in modern interfaith relations. Younus Y. Mirza is the Founding Director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an and the shared stories between them Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name "Maryam." The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries (Fortress Press, 2025) examines the varied appearances of Maryam in different Islamic cultural and theological contexts. The chapters in this history extend from Maryam's scriptural mentions in the Qur'an and the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, her appearances in medieval debates regarding prophecy, citations of her virtuous model in Sufi discussions of piety, presentations in art and film, through to her role in modern interfaith relations. Younus Y. Mirza is the Founding Director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an and the shared stories between them Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name "Maryam." The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries (Fortress Press, 2025) examines the varied appearances of Maryam in different Islamic cultural and theological contexts. The chapters in this history extend from Maryam's scriptural mentions in the Qur'an and the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, her appearances in medieval debates regarding prophecy, citations of her virtuous model in Sufi discussions of piety, presentations in art and film, through to her role in modern interfaith relations. Younus Y. Mirza is the Founding Director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an and the shared stories between them Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name "Maryam." The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries (Fortress Press, 2025) examines the varied appearances of Maryam in different Islamic cultural and theological contexts. The chapters in this history extend from Maryam's scriptural mentions in the Qur'an and the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, her appearances in medieval debates regarding prophecy, citations of her virtuous model in Sufi discussions of piety, presentations in art and film, through to her role in modern interfaith relations. Younus Y. Mirza is the Founding Director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an and the shared stories between them Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name "Maryam." The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries (Fortress Press, 2025) examines the varied appearances of Maryam in different Islamic cultural and theological contexts. The chapters in this history extend from Maryam's scriptural mentions in the Qur'an and the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, her appearances in medieval debates regarding prophecy, citations of her virtuous model in Sufi discussions of piety, presentations in art and film, through to her role in modern interfaith relations. Younus Y. Mirza is the Founding Director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an and the shared stories between them Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Josh and Will sit down with Dr. Syed A.H. Zaidi, a scholar of Islamic philosophy, theology, and intellectual history, for a wide-ranging conversation about his personal journey from New York political operative to academic, and what that journey reveals about faith, identity, and politics in America today. Dr. Zaidi traces his path from a politically connected Pakistani-American family in New York, through years working for prominent (and often controversial) Democratic politicians, to a late-in-life pivot toward the study of Islamic philosophy and Sufism. From there, the conversation opens into a broader discussion of what Islam actually teaches, how Sunni and Shia traditions differ, the history of Islamophobia in the U.S., the influence of Saudi-funded Wahhabism on global Islam, and how Muslim Americans navigate hot-button political issues like same-sex marriage ballot measures. The episode closes with a sober reflection on the state of American political life — and a shared hope that today's polarization is a passing phase rather than a permanent condition.Guest BioDr. Syed A.H. Zaidi is a core lecturer in Islamic Studies at Butler University, where his research focuses on Islamic Neoplatonism, Shia thought, Sufism, and the relationship between philosophy and religious revelation. He earned his PhD in Islamic Civilizations from Emory University and is currently working on books examining the Brethren of Purity and the development of Hermetic thought from late antiquity through the medieval Islamic world. He also directs the Muslim Studies Endowment at Butler University.

The modern experience of China is often viewed through a western lens, but its complex history and relationship with the Arab world reveal a much deeper story. Dr. Mohammed Alsudairi challenges the dominant narrative of a growing security footprint and intense US-China competition over the Middle East. Instead, the conversation explores the evolving diplomatic recognition, transactional dynamics, and economic connections that define Sino-Middle Eastern relations. This discussion unpacks why the Chinese experience is often neglected in the Arab intellectual tradition and how the modalities of empire are shifting in the 21st century.   00:00 Introduction 04:33 Escaping the Post 9/11 Paradigm Shift 07:23 Alternative Journeys & Transformative Intellectual Paths 14:22 Dismantling Dominant Narratives on Regional Footprints 17:13 Contextualizing China's Strategic Priorities 26:41 Historical Dimensions & Evolving Diplomatic Ties 34:34 Financial Synergy, Alternatives & Global concessions 37:48 Deconstructing Frameworks & the Myth of the Silk Road 44:40 Projecting Arab Anxieties onto a Cultural Other 52:52 Technological Realities & the Changing Modalities of Power   Mohammed Alsudairi is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations of the Arabic Speaking World at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University. Senior Nonresident Fellow, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies   He holds a PhD in Comparative Politics from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), an MA in International Relations and International History from the London School of Economics and Peking University, and a BSc in International Politics from Georgetown University. Prior to his appointment at CAIS, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at HKU, working on a project examining the intersections between religion and infrastructure in the context of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Since 2015, he oversaw the development of the Asian Studies Program at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2022, he was awarded a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to work on his upcoming book manuscript. He is also a Senior Nonresident Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.   Connect with Mohammed Alsudairi

In this conversation, we are entering an Indian Ocean world connected by steamships, telegraphs, pilgrimage routes, and print. From Bombay and the Gulf to Cairo and Mecca—and onward to Moscow and Geneva—merchants, scholars, activists, and political exiles debated a question that still feels urgent: how can different communities live together without being reduced to permanent majorities and minorities? Bombay sits near the center of our story. Under British rule, it was a major imperial port. But it was also a meeting place where Indian Ocean merchants financed publications, hosted traveling scholars, and helped ideas cross borders. At the same time, British censuses and representative politics produced a striking paradox. South Asia contained the world's largest Muslim population, yet Muslims were increasingly classified as a political minority within India. Dr. Roy Bar Sadeh is a historian of modern South Asia and the broader Islamic world, joining the University of Oxford in September 2026 as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of History and at St Antony's College. He is currently a Lecturer at the University of Manchester. His many articles and forthcoming book with University of Chicago Press,  Muslims and the Minority Question: A Global History of South Asia, 1856–1947, follow the people who refused to accept that minority label as their political destiny. Along the way, we'll talk about food and language, Gulf pearl merchants and printing presses, rival plans for Mecca, an unlikely Soviet-Saudi partnership, and the search for protection beyond the nation-state. Host: Dr. Ahmed Y. AlMaazmi, an assistant professor of history at New York University Abu Dhabi. Co-host: Dr. Mohammed Alsudairi, a Lecturer of Politics and International Relations of the Arabic-speaking world at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this conversation, we are entering an Indian Ocean world connected by steamships, telegraphs, pilgrimage routes, and print. From Bombay and the Gulf to Cairo and Mecca—and onward to Moscow and Geneva—merchants, scholars, activists, and political exiles debated a question that still feels urgent: how can different communities live together without being reduced to permanent majorities and minorities? Bombay sits near the center of our story. Under British rule, it was a major imperial port. But it was also a meeting place where Indian Ocean merchants financed publications, hosted traveling scholars, and helped ideas cross borders. At the same time, British censuses and representative politics produced a striking paradox. South Asia contained the world's largest Muslim population, yet Muslims were increasingly classified as a political minority within India. Dr. Roy Bar Sadeh is a historian of modern South Asia and the broader Islamic world, joining the University of Oxford in September 2026 as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of History and at St Antony's College. He is currently a Lecturer at the University of Manchester. His many articles and forthcoming book with University of Chicago Press,  Muslims and the Minority Question: A Global History of South Asia, 1856–1947, follow the people who refused to accept that minority label as their political destiny. Along the way, we'll talk about food and language, Gulf pearl merchants and printing presses, rival plans for Mecca, an unlikely Soviet-Saudi partnership, and the search for protection beyond the nation-state. Host: Dr. Ahmed Y. AlMaazmi, an assistant professor of history at New York University Abu Dhabi. Co-host: Dr. Mohammed Alsudairi, a Lecturer of Politics and International Relations of the Arabic-speaking world at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

In this conversation, we are entering an Indian Ocean world connected by steamships, telegraphs, pilgrimage routes, and print. From Bombay and the Gulf to Cairo and Mecca—and onward to Moscow and Geneva—merchants, scholars, activists, and political exiles debated a question that still feels urgent: how can different communities live together without being reduced to permanent majorities and minorities? Bombay sits near the center of our story. Under British rule, it was a major imperial port. But it was also a meeting place where Indian Ocean merchants financed publications, hosted traveling scholars, and helped ideas cross borders. At the same time, British censuses and representative politics produced a striking paradox. South Asia contained the world's largest Muslim population, yet Muslims were increasingly classified as a political minority within India. Dr. Roy Bar Sadeh is a historian of modern South Asia and the broader Islamic world, joining the University of Oxford in September 2026 as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of History and at St Antony's College. He is currently a Lecturer at the University of Manchester. His many articles and forthcoming book with University of Chicago Press,  Muslims and the Minority Question: A Global History of South Asia, 1856–1947, follow the people who refused to accept that minority label as their political destiny. Along the way, we'll talk about food and language, Gulf pearl merchants and printing presses, rival plans for Mecca, an unlikely Soviet-Saudi partnership, and the search for protection beyond the nation-state. Host: Dr. Ahmed Y. AlMaazmi, an assistant professor of history at New York University Abu Dhabi. Co-host: Dr. Mohammed Alsudairi, a Lecturer of Politics and International Relations of the Arabic-speaking world at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

In this conversation, we are entering an Indian Ocean world connected by steamships, telegraphs, pilgrimage routes, and print. From Bombay and the Gulf to Cairo and Mecca—and onward to Moscow and Geneva—merchants, scholars, activists, and political exiles debated a question that still feels urgent: how can different communities live together without being reduced to permanent majorities and minorities? Bombay sits near the center of our story. Under British rule, it was a major imperial port. But it was also a meeting place where Indian Ocean merchants financed publications, hosted traveling scholars, and helped ideas cross borders. At the same time, British censuses and representative politics produced a striking paradox. South Asia contained the world's largest Muslim population, yet Muslims were increasingly classified as a political minority within India. Dr. Roy Bar Sadeh is a historian of modern South Asia and the broader Islamic world, joining the University of Oxford in September 2026 as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of History and at St Antony's College. He is currently a Lecturer at the University of Manchester. His many articles and forthcoming book with University of Chicago Press,  Muslims and the Minority Question: A Global History of South Asia, 1856–1947, follow the people who refused to accept that minority label as their political destiny. Along the way, we'll talk about food and language, Gulf pearl merchants and printing presses, rival plans for Mecca, an unlikely Soviet-Saudi partnership, and the search for protection beyond the nation-state. Host: Dr. Ahmed Y. AlMaazmi, an assistant professor of history at New York University Abu Dhabi. Co-host: Dr. Mohammed Alsudairi, a Lecturer of Politics and International Relations of the Arabic-speaking world at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

RevisionThe surah* Al-Baqarah means the cow.* 286 ayat — the longest surah in the Quran.* Nicknamed the peak of the Quran (Sanam al-Quran).* Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Ali Imran are twin surahs. If you read them, study them, memorise them and act on their lessons, they will come on the Day of Judgement as clouds — shade on a day when there is no shade except the shade of Allah.* The surah has nine parts. We are in Part 1: Types of People.Ayah 1 — Alif Lam MimWhat does it mean? There is a meaning, but we do not know it. Our answer is: Wallahu a'lam — Allah knows best.We may not know the meaning, but we can learn the wisdom behind it.1. It is a surprise call.The Prophet ﷺ was unlettered — he did not read or write. A person who does not read or write does not recite alphabets. So the fact that he recited letters was a surprise in itself.There is a second surprise. Listen to Arabs speaking their own language — they do not speak in tajweed. But the Prophet ﷺ recited Alif Lam Mim with full tajweed rules. A strange combination of letters, recited in a way no one spoke. It caught the audience's attention immediately.2. It is a challenge.Poetry was the highest art form of the Arabs at that time. When the Quran came, they refused to accept it was from God — they said Muhammad ﷺ made it up, or learned it from somewhere.So Allah opens with letters: Alif Lam Mim. Alif Lam Ra. Qaf. Ha Mim. Ya Sin. The same alphabet you have. Go and produce something like it.3. It is a gate of humility.There are things our minds can fully understand, and there are things beyond our minds. Before we can receive guidance, we have to accept that limit.Example: Why is Fajr two rak'ah, but Dhuhr and Asr are four? Fajr is at a quiet time when you have space; Dhuhr falls in a rushed 20-minute lunch break at school. Why not make them equal? Wallahu a'lam. We obey.Does “wallahu a'lam” mean we obey blindly? No. We arrive at obedience through reason:* The universe cannot exist without a creator.* That creator cannot himself be created — there must be an uncreated Creator.* A Creator who made a universe this complex and this beautiful must be wise.* When someone infinitely wiser than you tells you to do something — you do it.We accept Allah through revelation and through reason. Once that foundation is in place, obedience follows. That is the gate of humility.And we are still allowed to look for the wisdom. Two rak'ah at Fajr — you are fresh, you do not need much. Four at Dhuhr — you are hungry, tired, and about to become “hangry,” so you stop and reset. Four at Asr — before you carry your work stress home to your family, you offload it onto Allah first. Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in — You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.Who are we asking? The Creator of everything. Next to Allah, how big is our problem? This is why a person of prayer can walk back to their problem and face it — you are not facing it alone.Ayah 2ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ“That is the Book, no doubt in it, guidance for the people of taqwa.”* Dhalika — that* al-Kitab — the Book* la rayba fihi — no doubt in it* hudan lil-muttaqin — guidance for the people of taqwaThe link to Al-Fatihah. In Al-Fatihah we made the du'a: Ihdinas-siratal mustaqim — guide us to the straight path. We asked for guidance. Allah answers immediately: the guidance is in this Book.Guidance for everyone, or only for some? In ayah 185 of this same surah, Allah says the Quran was sent down as guidance for all mankind. Here in ayah 2, it says guidance for the people of taqwa.The offer is open to everyone. The people of taqwa are the ones who take the offer up.New Material: What Is Taqwa?The literal meaningTaqwa comes from the root waw – qaf – ya, which carries the meaning of protection.Because taqwa also contains an element of fear, the literal meaning is: protective fear.Protective fear vs paralysing fear* Fire in the building. Protective fear: you get out. Paralysing fear: you freeze — or you film it for TikTok.* Exam next week. Protective fear: you start studying. Paralysing fear: “que sera sera” — you give up.* The difference. Protective fear moves you to act. Paralysing fear stops you from acting.Note on the snake example from class: standing still is the correct response to an Australian snake, because they are not hunting us — they bite out of fear when they feel threatened. That is a considered decision, not a freeze.Fear on its own is not enough. If you find out at 9pm that there is a test tomorrow morning and you decide there is no point trying, you are still afraid — but the fear has paralysed you.This is why taqwa needs the two wings we studied earlier: fear and love/hope. Without hope you will not move. Taqwa is not just fear — it is fear balanced by love.What are we protecting ourselves from?When Allah uses the word taqwa in the Quran, it means: protect yourself from Allah's anger and His punishment, and move towards His mercy and forgiveness.In practice: what Allah told you not to do — don't do it. What Allah told you to do — do it.Story time: Umar and Ubayy ibn Ka'bWho is Ubayy ibn Ka'b? One of the Companions the Prophet ﷺ named as the best reciters of the Quran — if you want to hear the Quran as Jibril brought it, listen to these people. When Umar ibn al-Khattab established Taraweeh in congregation, he appointed Ubayy as the first Taraweeh imam. Ubayy recited so long that the Companions would lean on the walls and pillars of the masjid, and the prayer would end just in time for a small meal before Fajr.The conversation:Umar ibn al-Khattab asked him, “What is taqwa?”Ubayy answered with a question: “Have you ever walked through a path full of thorns?”Umar said, “Yes.”“How did you do it?”Umar said, “I would lift my garment and walk carefully.”Ubayy said: “That is taqwa.”Arab dress is long and flowing. On a thorny path you gather it in, and you watch every step — so your clothes are not snagged and your feet are not cut.That is life. Every step, you are aware: Is this bringing me closer to Allah, or further away? Would Allah be pleased with this, or angry?The technical meaningLiteral meaning = the dictionary meaning.Technical meaning = the meaning in context.Example: the word site. Literally, a place. Say it to a builder and he means a construction site. Say it to a web developer and she means a website. Same word, different technical meaning depending on context.So for taqwa:* Literal: protective fear* Technical: mindfulness of AllahBeing constantly aware of whether something is beloved to Allah or disliked by Him, and whether a decision takes you towards Him or away from Him.A person of taqwa will be guided by the Quran, because that is where you find what Allah loves, what He dislikes, what He made obligatory and what He made forbidden.Ayah 3 — The Signs of TaqwaTaqwa is in the heart. The Prophet ﷺ said, “At-taqwa ha huna” — taqwa is here — pointing to the chest. You cannot display it. But it produces signs, and the signs can be seen.الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ“Those who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them.”1. They believe in the unseen (yu'minuna bil-ghayb)Every pillar of iman involves something unseen:* Allah — we cannot see Him.* Angels — we cannot see them.* Books — we can hold a mushaf, but we did not see Jibril bring it down. That process is what makes it different from every other book.* Prophets — the Companions could see Muhammad ﷺ the man. What they could not see was him receiving revelation, and that is what made him a prophet.* Day of Judgement — not yet seen.* Divine decree (qadar) — never seen.Remember the three dimensions of the religion — the what, the why, and the how. Iman is the why: the root system. You do what you do because you believe Allah commanded it.2. They establish the prayer (yuqimunas-salah)Belief is invisible. Prayer is what that invisible belief looks like when it comes out.3. They spend from what Allah has given them (wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqun)Not “what they earned” — what We have provided them. The wealth was never theirs to begin with.Next WeekWe continue with the details of ayah 3, and aim to reach ayah 5 — unless our guest speaker joins us, in which case Islamic Studies runs instead.Key Terms* Wallahu a'lam — Allah knows best* Taqwa — literally: protective fear. Technically: mindfulness of Allah* Muttaqin — the people of taqwa* Ghayb — the unseen* Sanam al-Quran — the peak of the QuranQuestions to Test Yourself* What does Al-Baqarah mean, and how many ayat does it have?* Give the three wisdoms behind Alif Lam Mim.* Translate ayah 2 into English.* What is the difference between protective fear and paralysing fear? Give one example of each.* What did Ubayy ibn Ka'b compare taqwa to?* What is the difference between a literal meaning and a technical meaning?* Name the three traits of the people of taqwa mentioned in ayah 3.* Why is belief in the Quran still “belief in the unseen” when you can hold a copy in your hands? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.grounded.day/subscribe

Follow the The Thinking Muslim channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbDYCfV5PO199ImLqZ34Help us expand our Muslim media project here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/membershipDonate to our charity partner Baitulmaal here:http://btml.us/thinkingmuslimCan the Muslim world recover from political decline? What resources does the Islamic tradition offer in times of crisis, and what does genuine regeneration look like?In this episode of The Thinking Muslim, we are joined by Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui to explore how Muslims have historically responded to periods of political collapse, colonialism, and institutional decline. Drawing on the thought of Imam Juḥany and the broader Islamic intellectual tradition, the conversation examines how the Ummah can rebuild from the ground up through scholarship, institutions, and community.The discussion explores the relationship between political authority and religious authority, the enduring independence of Islamic scholarship, the legacy of colonialism, and why the mosque remains central to Muslim life. We also discuss the role of women in institution-building, the emergence of Al Mujadilah Mosque in Qatar, and whether the post-Gaza moment represents the beginning of a new phase of regeneration for the Muslim Ummah.Rather than asking whether decline is inevitable, this conversation asks a more important question: what does Islam teach us about renewal?If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with others. Your support helps us continue producing conversations that matter.About Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui: Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui is a Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at Georgetown University in Qatar and Executive Director of Al-Mujadilah Center & Mosque for Women. Her research focuses on classical Islamic legal theory and political thought, Islamic law under colonialism, contemporary Islamic family law, and questions of gender, authority, and participation in Muslim societies.You can find Dr. Sohaira here:IG: https://www.instagram.com/sohairasiddiqui/?hl=en‎Follow the The Thinking Muslim channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbDYCfV5PO199ImLqZ34Become a member here:https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/membershipOr give your one-off donation here:https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/donateListen to the audio version of the podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vXiAjVFnhNI3T9Gkw636aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-thinking-muslim/id1471798762Purchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merchFind us on:X: https://x.com/thinking_muslimLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-thinking-muslim/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslimBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/thinkingmuslim.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@thinkingmuslimpodcastFind Muhammad Jalal here:X: https://twitter.com/jalalaynInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jalalayns/Sign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comDisclaimer:The views expressed in this video are those of the individual speaker(s) and do not represent the views of the host, producers, platform, or any affiliated organisation. This content is provided for lawful, informational, and analytical purposes only, and should not be taken as professional advice. Viewer discretion is advised. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us Fan MailMagnus, a secular Swede in Big Sur, speaks with Father Cyprian Consiglio — musician, Camaldolese monk, former prior of New Camaldoli, and now Secretary General of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue in Rome — about vocation, music, solitude, Rome, Iran, God, and why real love may simply mean: “I'll be here tomorrow.”>>>>>>>>>Magnus speaks with Father Cyprian as an old Big Sur friend and as a secular Swede trying to understand what Christian depth can mean when inherited church culture has grown thin.The conversation moves from childhood memories of Chicago museums and the upheavals of 1968 to Phoenix rock-and-roll years, crisis, faith, New Camaldoli, chastity, silence, interreligious friendship, Iran, Rome, and love as the choice to stay. Along the way, Father Cyprian reflects on his latest book, Epiphanies of Nature and Grace, the solitude and community of the Camaldolese life, and the one practice he protects wherever he travels: Silent Meditation.Link to episode # 41 with Cyprian Consiglio and Pico Iyer.Link to Animas Ensemble Music>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Places, people, organizations, books, music, and ideas mentioned:Main placesNew Camaldoli Hermitage — Father Cyprian describes it as a Camaldolese hermitage where monks live in separate cells, gather for prayer, share work, and try to live “a contemplative life in community."Sant'Anselmo — the Benedictine house/institution in Rome where Cyprian participates in community life and works near “the boss.” The Vatican / St. Peter's / Vatican Office for Interreligious Dialogue — in current Vatican language this is the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.The Angelicum — Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.St. Charles Borromeo High School / Seminary High School — formative high-school seminary experience.DePaul University — he attended during that Chicago period.St. Meinrad Monastery / Archabbey, Indiana — formative monastic/theological exposure.Mount Madonna — yoga community/center near Watsonville; he mentions doing yoga teacher training there.Tassajara Zen Mountain Center — mentioned as part of California's alternative spiritual/meditative landscape.Tangaza University — a School of Theology and an Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies.People mentioned or strongly impliedFather Bruno / Bruno Barnhart — former prior of New Camaldoli, major Camaldolese thinker and influence on Cyprian's theology. Your research file identifies Barnhart as a decisive source for Rediscovering the Divine.Romuald — The Camaldolese founder Saint Romuald.Robert Hale — former prior of New Camaldoli; Cyprian identifies him as prior when he first arrived.Meister Eckhart — medieval Christian mystic/theologian; Cyprian found his monastic name while reading a book about Eckhart by Cyprian Smith.Cyprian Smith — author/scholar whose book on Meister Eckhart helped trigger Cyprian's choice of name.Bede Griffiths — Benedictine monk central to Hindu-Christian dialogue; major influence on Cyprian.Abhishiktananda / Henri Le Saux — Benedictine monk and Hindu-Christian contemplative pioneer; major influence on Cyprian.Martin Luther King Jr. — childhood memory of his assassination in 1968.Wisława Szymborska — Polish poet quoted by Cyprian; verify the exact poem before show notes.Professor Mohammad Ali Shomali — Shi‘a Muslim scholar involved in Christian-Muslim dialogue. DIM·MID's 2026 page references Professor Mohammed Shomali in relation to Kenya and Shi‘a dialogue.William Skudlarek — Cyprian's predecessor in the DIM·MID role.John Pennington — longtime percussion, music, recording collaborator; OCP lists his collaborations with Cyprian.Aldous Huxley — Cyprian mentions having The Perennial Philosophy in Italian.Organizations / institutionsNew Camaldoli Hermitage — Camaldolese Benedictine monastery in Big Sur.DIM·MID — Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique / Monastic Interreligious Dialogue — Cyprian's current work; as Secretary General for Benedictines and Cistercians worldwide. DIM·MID's website presents current reports from Cyprian as Secretary General.Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue — Vatican office connected to his work.Focolare Movement — hosted/sponsored the Week of Unity event.World Meditation Day Foundation — he mentions helping co-host an event connected to it.European Network of Buddhist-Christian Studies — he was about to travel for this meeting.Tangaza University — Nairobi Catholic university / theology and interreligious context.Orbis Books — publisher of Rediscovering the Divine and Epiphanies of Nature and Grace.Liturgical Press — publisher of Spirit, Soul, Body and other Cyprian books.Support the show_________________________________________________This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think!SEND US AN EMAIL! 

Feedback? Comments? Questions? Send us a text message now! Our guest this week has a PHD in Islamic Studies. We discuss the following the Muslim and Christian view of: God... What's gone wrong with the world... How are we to fix it... Here's Andy's book which comes highly commended. Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?: Amazon.co.uk: Bannister, Dr Andy: 9781789742299: BooksFIND OUT MORE

ABOUT THE EPISODEAre Islam and Christianity separated brothers, mortal enemies, or something in between? History tells the storySponsorThis month, we're talking about how Christians engage with Islam, a conversation Southern Seminary has taken seriously for a long time. As President Al Mohler has put it, you can't prepare a minister for today's world without reckoning with Islam. That conviction is why Southern now offers a PhD in Islamic Studies, and why it's home to the Jenkins Center, a team devoted to helping pastors, missionaries, and everyday believers reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel. To find resources and learn more about degrees, visit sbts.edu/islamicstudies. And be sure to listen to our interview with Dr Ayman Ibrahim, who is the head of the Jenkins Center.Timestamps00:41 - Intro03:20 - Examining Muhammad's Role and Christian Rejection09:32 - Analyzing the Quran's Gnostic Connections and Distorted Narratives18:13 - Unpacking th Quran's Variants and Historical Inaccuracies26:33 - Understanding Abrogation and Muslim Migration to the West31:17 - Navigating Ministry Challenges with Muslim Migrants37:19 - Defining Terms and Learning about Islam for Gospel Outreach44:36 - Responding to Islam's Political Aims and Sharia Law56:27 - Asking the Crucial Question: Do You Have Assurance?Resources to Click“Islam and Christianity: A Brief History” – Tony Costa“Does the Bible Predict the Coming of Muhammad?” – Tony Costa“Jesus in Islam” – Tony Costa“Does the Qur'an Really Deny That Jesus was Crucified an Died on the Cross? Answer May Surprise You” – Tony Costa“Religious Diversity in France: Intergenerational Transmissions and Practices by Origins” – Lucas Drouhot“How Religious Groups' Sizes Changed in Europe, 2010-2020” – Conrad Hackett, et al.Sefaria Library Search Results for “Gabriel”Theme of the Month: Unmasking IslamGive to Support the WorkBooks to ReadEarly Christian Creeds & Hymns – Tony CostaThe Life of Muhammad – Muhammad Ibn IshāqThe History of Al-Tabari, Vol. 6: Muhammad at Mecca – W. Montgomery Watt & M.V. McDonaldTextual Criticism and Qur'an Manuscripts – Keith E. SmallQur'ans: Books of Divine Encounter – Keith E. SmallCorrections in Early Qur'an Manuscripts: Twenty Examples – Daniel Allen BrubakerQuran: The Final Testament: Authorized English VersionThe Sources of Islamic Law: The Islamic Theories of Abrogation – John BurtonThe Meaning of the Glorious Koran – Marmaduke PickthallThe Holy Quran: Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali – Abdullah Yusuf AliMuhammad is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Meaning of the Last Prophet – David S. PowersAnswering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross – Norman L. Geisler and Abdul SaleebThe Integrity of the Bible according to the Qur'an and the Hadith – Ghiyathuddin Adelphi and Ernest HahnThe Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude: Seventh – Twentieth Century – Bat Ye'orBell's Introduction to the Qur'an – W. Montgomery and Richard BellThe Crucifixion and the Qur'an: A Study in the History of Muslim Thought – Todd LawsonThe End of the Journey: An Islamic Perspective on Death and the Afterlife – Abdullah Muhammad KhoujJesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making – James D.G. DunnThe Qur'an: Arabic Text and English Translation – M.H. Shakir

ABOUT THE EPISODEIslam—in all its varieties—has gained a prominent foothold in Great Britain like a Himalayan Balsam flower. And if Christians don't do anything, the West will be overcome by a soft Jihad that conquers through the empty slogans of multiculturalism.SponsorThis month, we're talking about how Christians engage with Islam, a conversation Southern Seminary has taken seriously for a long time. As President Al Mohler has put it, you can't prepare a minister for today's world without reckoning with Islam. That conviction is why Southern now offers a PhD in Islamic Studies, and why it's home to the Jenkins Center, a team devoted to helping pastors, missionaries, and everyday believers reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel. To find resources and learn more about degrees, visit sbts.edu/islamicstudies. And be sure to listen to our interview with Dr Ayman Ibrahim, who is the head of the Jenkins Center.Resources to Click“Soft Jihad: Multiculturalism, Islamic Conquest, and Christianity” – Aaron Edwards“Multiculturalism & Rootlessness” – Aaron Edwards“Multiculturalism, Nation, and Church” – Aaron Edwards“5 Reasons Christians Don't Like to Oppose Immigration” – Aaron Edwards“When the Church Shrinks Back” – Aaron Edwards“In Defence of Christian Britain” – Aaron Edwards“Theocracy, Theonomy, and Civil Society” – Aaron Edwards“Culture and the Kingdom of God” – Aaron Edwards“Episode 10 – How to Be A Christian Dissident” – Pod of the Gaps“Christian Preacher Vindicated After Arrest, Prosecution and ‘Non-Crime Hate Incident' Threat for Questioning Quran” – Christian Concern“People Crossing the English Channel in Small Boats” – The Migration Observatory“Mum Jailed over ‘Racist' Migrant Hotel Tweet after Southport Stabbings Is Denied Temporary Release to See Ailing Husband” – James TapsfieldDavid Atherton Tweet“Record number of rape offences recorded as minister promises ‘urgent action'” – Holly Bancroft & Ian Jones“Sexual Offences in England and Wales Overview: Year Ending March 2025” – Office for National Statistics“Rupert Lowe's 600k grooming gang inquiry hears shock claims of ‘Eid rapes' and police cover-ups: ‘Barbarians!'” – Gabrielle Wilde“National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Expoitation and Abuse” – Baroness Louise Casey“'Imams promote grooming rings', Muslim Leader Claims” – Hayley Dixon“The Rape Gang Inquiry Report” – Rupert Lowe“British Muslims in Numbers: Census Summary Report 2025” – Muslim Council of Britain“UK Mosque Statistics/Masjid Statistics” – MuslimBritain.org“Sharia Law or “One Law For All?” – Denis Mac Eoin“The Truth about Sharia Law in Britain” – Hannah Baldock“Parents are pulling children from RE lessons – so they don't learn about Islam” – Paul Smalley“Watch: Boy Scout Refuses to Bow to Allah During Mosque Visit” – Doug Mainwaring“2021 Census: As UK Population Grows, So Do British Muslim Communities” – Muslim Council of BritainBob (@shariakill) TweetBen Zeisloft Tweet“When Islam Was Called the ‘Religion of Peace'” – Times of India“Is Islam a Religion of Peace?” – Mark Durie“Misunderstanding Islam Is Basically a Slow- Motion Suicide – An Interview with Raymond Ibrahim” – The Hungarian ConservativeMichael Foster TweetTheme of the Month: Unmasking IslamGive to Support the WorkBooks to ReadLive Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents – Rod DreherThe Challenge of Islam: Understanding and Responding to Islam's Increasing Influence in the UK – Tim Dieppe

Was there such a thing as modern Islamic art? In this seminar, delivered at Al-Mahdi Institute on 29th April 2026, Professor Gallois challenges the dominant view that colonialism brought Islamic visual culture to an end. Instead, he argues that the colonial period produced some of the most sophisticated and spiritually rich art in Islamic history — much of it deliberately hidden from imperial eyes.In this seminar, you'll discover:- Why aniconism (the avoidance of the human figure) is largely a 19th-century Western invention, not a timeless feature of Islam- How the Murīdiyya Sufi order in Senegal turned image-making into direct anti-colonial resistance — and why French authorities ordered Islamic engravings destroyed- The hidden fifth dome in a Tunisian watercolour later appropriated by Paul Klee, and what it reveals about the Islamic concept of the bāṭin (the hidden)- Why Muḥammad ʻAbduh's famous 1904 fatwā on images may have narrowed rather than enriched Islamic visual culture- How Muslim artists encoded religious identity in plain sight — in marketplace domes, reverse glass paintings, and devotional imagery — under conditions of empire

ABOUT THE EPISODE:Are Islam and Christianity separated brothers, mortal enemies, or something in between? History tells the story.SponsorThis month, we're talking about how Christians engage with Islam, a conversation Southern Seminary has taken seriously for a long time. As President Al Mohler has put it, you can't prepare a minister for today's world without reckoning with Islam. That conviction is why Southern now offers a PhD in Islamic Studies, and why it's home to the Jenkins Center, a team devoted to helping pastors, missionaries, and everyday believers reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel. To find resources and learn more about degrees, visit sbts.edu/islamicstudies. And be sure to listen to our interview with Dr Ayman Ibrahim, who is the head of the Jenkins Center.Resources to Click“Islam and Christianity: A Brief History” – Tony Costa“Does the Bible Predict the Coming of Muhammad?” – Tony Costa“Jesus in Islam” – Tony Costa“Does the Qur'an Really Deny That Jesus was Crucified an Died on the Cross? Answer May Surprise You” – Tony Costa“Religious Diversity in France: Intergenerational Transmissions and Practices by Origins” – Lucas Drouhot“How Religious Groups' Sizes Changed in Europe, 2010-2020” – Conrad Hackett, et al.Sefaria Library Search Results for “Gabriel”Theme of the Month: Unmasking IslamGive to Support the WorkBooks to ReadEarly Christian Creeds & Hymns – Tony CostaThe Life of Muhammad – Muhammad Ibn IshāqThe History of Al-Tabari, Vol. 6: Muhammad at Mecca – W. Montgomery Watt & M.V. McDonaldTextual Criticism and Qur'an Manuscripts – Keith E. SmallQur'ans: Books of Divine Encounter – Keith E. SmallCorrections in Early Qur'an Manuscripts: Twenty Examples – Daniel Allen BrubakerQuran: The Final Testament: Authorized English VersionThe Sources of Islamic Law: The Islamic Theories of Abrogation – John BurtonThe Meaning of the Glorious Koran – Marmaduke PickthallThe Holy Quran: Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali – Abdullah Yusuf AliMuhammad is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Meaning of the Last Prophet – David S. PowersAnswering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross – Norman L. Geisler and Abdul SaleebThe Integrity of the Bible according to the Qur'an and the Hadith – Ghiyathuddin Adelphi and Ernest HahnThe Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude: Seventh – Twentieth Century – Bat Ye'orBell's Introduction to the Qur'an – W. Montgomery and Richard BellThe Crucifixion and the Qur'an: A Study in the History of Muslim Thought – Todd LawsonThe End of the Journey: An Islamic Perspective on Death and the Afterlife – Abdullah Muhammad KhoujJesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making – James D.G. DunnThe Qur'an: Arabic Text and English Translation – M.H. ShakirThe Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature – Tarif Khalidi

Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific. Asian stocks hovered near record highs in holiday-thinned trading as optimism that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will restore oil flows and curb inflation pressures buoyed risk appetite. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed after five straight days of gains, while the chip-heavy Kospi was the top performer in the region, jumping 2.6%. A gauge of the sector in the US surged more than 6% to an all-time high, led by Intel Corp., after President Donald Trump said the company would work with Apple Inc. to design and manufacture semiconductors in the country. We speak to Lianting Tu, Bloomberg's Managing Editor for Asia Equities. Plus - The US-Iran interim peace deal took effect and shipping started returning to the Strait of Hormuz as the US declared an end to its blockade and a complex negotiating period over Tehran's nuclear program began in earnest. US Vice President JD Vance told reporters Thursday at the White House that the 60-day clock for working out the contentious details in the so-called memorandum of understanding signed late Wednesday had started ticking. He downplayed concerns Iran could eventually impose tolls on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would turn the crucial transport chokepoint — widely considered international waters — into a moneymaker for Tehran. Bloomberg TV hosts Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn speaks to Jessie Moritz, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy -- ANU Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ABOUT THE EPISODEListen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview A.S. Ibrahim on his COA Longform Essay, "Inside the Muslim Mind: Seven Pillars of the Islamic Worldview"SponsorThis month, we're talking about how Christians engage with Islam, a conversation Southern Seminary has taken seriously for a long time. As President Al Mohler has put it, you can't prepare a minister for today's world without reckoning with Islam. That conviction is why Southern now offers a PhD in Islamic Studies, and why it's home to the Jenkins Center, a team devoted to helping pastors, missionaries, and everyday believers reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel. To find resources and learn more about degrees, visit sbts.edu/islamicstudies. And be sure to listen to our interview with Dr Ayman Ibrahim, who is the head of the Jenkins Center.Resources to Click“Inside the Muslim Mind: Seven Pillars of the Islamic Worldview” – A.S. IbrahimTheme of the Month: Unmasking IslamGive to Support the WorkBooks to ReadReaching Your Muslim Neighbor with the Gospel – A.S. Ibrahim

Fundamental to Islamic thought is the idea that there is a way that human beings simply are, by nature or creation. This concept is called fiṭra. In The Politics of Islamic Ethics: Hierarchy and Human Nature in the Philosophical Tradition (Cambridge UP, 2025), rooting her investigation in two central passages in the Qur'an and hadith literature, where it is asserted that God created human beings in a certain way, the author moves beyond discussion of the usual figures who have commented on those texts to look instead at a group of classical Islamic philosophers rarely discussed in conjunction with ethical matters. Tracing the development of fiṭra through this overlooked strand of medieval thinking, von Doetinchem de Rande uses fiṭra as an entrée to wider topics in Islamic ethics. She shows that the notion of fiṭra articulated by al-Fārābī, Ibn Bājja, Ibn Ṭufayl, and Ibn Rushd highlights important issues about organizational hierarchies of human nature. This, she argues, has major implications for contemporary political and legal debates. Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande is Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. Host Yaseen Christian Andrewsen is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, specialising in Islamic intellectual history in West Africa focusing on issues in Sufism, theology, renewal, and authority. Yaseen is a co-host for the New Books in Islamic Studies podcast. He can be reached by email at: christian.andrewsen@pmb.ox.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Fundamental to Islamic thought is the idea that there is a way that human beings simply are, by nature or creation. This concept is called fiṭra. In The Politics of Islamic Ethics: Hierarchy and Human Nature in the Philosophical Tradition (Cambridge UP, 2025), rooting her investigation in two central passages in the Qur'an and hadith literature, where it is asserted that God created human beings in a certain way, the author moves beyond discussion of the usual figures who have commented on those texts to look instead at a group of classical Islamic philosophers rarely discussed in conjunction with ethical matters. Tracing the development of fiṭra through this overlooked strand of medieval thinking, von Doetinchem de Rande uses fiṭra as an entrée to wider topics in Islamic ethics. She shows that the notion of fiṭra articulated by al-Fārābī, Ibn Bājja, Ibn Ṭufayl, and Ibn Rushd highlights important issues about organizational hierarchies of human nature. This, she argues, has major implications for contemporary political and legal debates. Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande is Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. Host Yaseen Christian Andrewsen is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, specialising in Islamic intellectual history in West Africa focusing on issues in Sufism, theology, renewal, and authority. Yaseen is a co-host for the New Books in Islamic Studies podcast. He can be reached by email at: christian.andrewsen@pmb.ox.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

Fundamental to Islamic thought is the idea that there is a way that human beings simply are, by nature or creation. This concept is called fiṭra. In The Politics of Islamic Ethics: Hierarchy and Human Nature in the Philosophical Tradition (Cambridge UP, 2025), rooting her investigation in two central passages in the Qur'an and hadith literature, where it is asserted that God created human beings in a certain way, the author moves beyond discussion of the usual figures who have commented on those texts to look instead at a group of classical Islamic philosophers rarely discussed in conjunction with ethical matters. Tracing the development of fiṭra through this overlooked strand of medieval thinking, von Doetinchem de Rande uses fiṭra as an entrée to wider topics in Islamic ethics. She shows that the notion of fiṭra articulated by al-Fārābī, Ibn Bājja, Ibn Ṭufayl, and Ibn Rushd highlights important issues about organizational hierarchies of human nature. This, she argues, has major implications for contemporary political and legal debates. Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande is Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. Host Yaseen Christian Andrewsen is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, specialising in Islamic intellectual history in West Africa focusing on issues in Sufism, theology, renewal, and authority. Yaseen is a co-host for the New Books in Islamic Studies podcast. He can be reached by email at: christian.andrewsen@pmb.ox.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Fundamental to Islamic thought is the idea that there is a way that human beings simply are, by nature or creation. This concept is called fiṭra. In The Politics of Islamic Ethics: Hierarchy and Human Nature in the Philosophical Tradition (Cambridge UP, 2025), rooting her investigation in two central passages in the Qur'an and hadith literature, where it is asserted that God created human beings in a certain way, the author moves beyond discussion of the usual figures who have commented on those texts to look instead at a group of classical Islamic philosophers rarely discussed in conjunction with ethical matters. Tracing the development of fiṭra through this overlooked strand of medieval thinking, von Doetinchem de Rande uses fiṭra as an entrée to wider topics in Islamic ethics. She shows that the notion of fiṭra articulated by al-Fārābī, Ibn Bājja, Ibn Ṭufayl, and Ibn Rushd highlights important issues about organizational hierarchies of human nature. This, she argues, has major implications for contemporary political and legal debates. Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande is Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. Host Yaseen Christian Andrewsen is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, specialising in Islamic intellectual history in West Africa focusing on issues in Sufism, theology, renewal, and authority. Yaseen is a co-host for the New Books in Islamic Studies podcast. He can be reached by email at: christian.andrewsen@pmb.ox.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Fundamental to Islamic thought is the idea that there is a way that human beings simply are, by nature or creation. This concept is called fiṭra. In The Politics of Islamic Ethics: Hierarchy and Human Nature in the Philosophical Tradition (Cambridge UP, 2025), rooting her investigation in two central passages in the Qur'an and hadith literature, where it is asserted that God created human beings in a certain way, the author moves beyond discussion of the usual figures who have commented on those texts to look instead at a group of classical Islamic philosophers rarely discussed in conjunction with ethical matters. Tracing the development of fiṭra through this overlooked strand of medieval thinking, von Doetinchem de Rande uses fiṭra as an entrée to wider topics in Islamic ethics. She shows that the notion of fiṭra articulated by al-Fārābī, Ibn Bājja, Ibn Ṭufayl, and Ibn Rushd highlights important issues about organizational hierarchies of human nature. This, she argues, has major implications for contemporary political and legal debates. Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande is Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. Host Yaseen Christian Andrewsen is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, specialising in Islamic intellectual history in West Africa focusing on issues in Sufism, theology, renewal, and authority. Yaseen is a co-host for the New Books in Islamic Studies podcast. He can be reached by email at: christian.andrewsen@pmb.ox.ac.uk

ABOUT THE EPISODEIf you want to understand Muslims and how to best share the gospel in light of their worldview, this is for you.SponsorThis month, we're talking about how Christians engage with Islam, a conversation Southern Seminary has taken seriously for a long time. As President Al Mohler has put it, you can't prepare a minister for today's world without reckoning with Islam. That conviction is why Southern now offers a PhD in Islamic Studies, and why it's home to the Jenkins Center, a team devoted to helping pastors, missionaries, and everyday believers reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel. To find resources and learn more about degrees, visit sbts.edu/islamicstudies. And be sure to listen to our interview with Dr Ayman Ibrahim, who is the head of the Jenkins Center.Resources to Click“Inside the Muslim Mind: Seven Pillars of the Islamic Worldview” – A.S. IbrahimTheme of the Month: Unmasking IslamGive to Support the WorkBooks to ReadReaching Your Muslim Neighbor with the Gospel – A.S. Ibrahim

African Islamic modernity is a complex and ongoing historical project—our guest's scholarship illuminates the intricate entanglements between African racial identities, Islamic ways of living, and modernity as the dominant global framework for social, economic, and political organization. Using Senegal as a focal point, Professor Wendell Marsh explores how a society with a millennium of Islamic presence and over five centuries of integration into the global economy—shaped sequentially by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization, and neoliberal structural adjustment—has consistently escaped both Africanist and Orientalist scholarly constructions.  Wendell Marsh's expertise in African-Arabic textuality and the intellectual history of Islam in Africa provides essential insight into how Islamic scholarly traditions in places like Senegal have produced sophisticated theological and political responses to colonial domination and global economic integration. His research on figures like Shaykh Musa Kamara demonstrates how African Muslim intellectuals developed complex theoretical frameworks that simultaneously engaged with global Islamic thought, resisted colonial epistemologies, and articulated distinctly African forms of Islamic modernity. This scholarly approach reveals how African Islamic modernity represents not simply a reaction to Western modernity, but rather an alternative genealogy of modern thought that emerges from the intersection of Islamic intellectual traditions, African social structures, and the historical experience of slavery, colonialism, and contemporary global capitalism. The episode draws on cutting-edge scholarship in Africana Studies that challenges conventional academic boundaries between African Studies, Islamic Studies, and colonial history to reveal how African Islamic societies have created unique pathways to modernity. BiographyWendell Marsh is an Associate Professor of African Humanities at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Ben Guérir, Morocco. He researches and teaches at the intersections of African and diasporic intellectual history, comparative literature, religious studies, and the politics of knowledge production. Professor Marsh's scholarship foregrounds African contributions to global intellectual traditions—especially through Arabic-language sources—and examines how race, religion, and language shape the humanities and public discourse.Recommended ReadingsWendell Marsh, Textual Life: Islam, Africa, and the Fate of the Humanities (Columbia University Press, 2025)#Islam #Africa #IslamicModernity #Muslims #Humanities #Slavery #ColonialismSupport the showSupport the Center for Security, Race and Rights by following us and making a donation:Donate: https://give.rutgersfoundation.org/csrr-support/20046.html Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEbUfYcWGZapBNYvCObiCpp3qtxgH_jFy Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rucsrr Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Threads: https://threads.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/rucsrr Follow us on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/rucsrr 

Is Islam Compatible with Classical Liberalism? | Dr. Samir Mahmoud What is the relationship between Islam and Classical Liberalism? Is there an incompatibility, or just a misunderstanding between manifestations of Islam on the margins?  Dr. Samir Mahmoud is the Education Advisor to the Office of the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. He has a BA (Hons) in Anthropology & Politics with a focus on multicultural theory and comparative religion, and an MA in Architectural History, Theory & Urban Design with a focus on the traditional townscape from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. He also holds an MPhil in Theology & Religious Studies with a focus on comparative philosophy and aesthetics. He completed a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Winter (Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad).

Desi Academia Podcast and BhaJaPod team up for a look at the desi centric online magazine Juggernaut and their recent controversies. They also discuss the LifeofPuja creator Pujarini Pradhan and the discourse around her being an ‘industry plant'. Megh from the Desi Academia Podcast, Amrutha and Richa are joined by the effervescent Dr. Sumaira Nawaz who brings her perspective from teaching young adults into the discussion.Tune in to listen to discussions about desi Kamala Harris discourse, Shilajit's potential use by mountain goats, why people insist on using the word ‘decolonize', authentic Nihari recipes and more.The Desi Academia Podcast is available on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2v6ymNb9uoxMc9gaCKJYLp?si=LirKa0bgTEyozX0mMzWtMwThe Desi Academia Podcast featuring Dr. Sumaira Nawaz @NaTurkNaHindu, S9E4: What is Islamic Studies? Wrong answers only, with Manan and Sumaira is available on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0p888RBXikbjbCTIGbgwgK?si=MS2wmbT_QDuzW3qmUgBlvQ

Persian Poetry, Radical Love, and the Soul of Iran“The path to God goes through that most difficult of beings, the human being.” – Omid SafiRecorded live at a SAND Community Gathering (April 2026). Watch the full conversation on the SAND Website. We are watching, once again, what empire does: not only to bodies, but to the long memory of a people; to the libraries and sacred sites; to art, language, and the ruins that hold the oldest threads of human spiritual inquiry. We are thinking of the civilization that gave us Rumi, Hafez, Omar Khayyam, Forough Farrokhzad — mystics and rebels and lovers of paradox who understood something about the human soul that we are still, centuries later, trying to catch up to. This gathering invited us to come together: to read poetry aloud, to hear from Iranian voices, to sit with grief and beauty together rather than alone. We work with political and moral vocabulary shaped by Iranian thinkers such as Ali Shariati, who wrote against domination, spiritual emptiness, and the violence of imposed power. We make space for what doesn't fit into headlines or talking points—the complexity of empire, the difference between a government and its people, the authoritarian forces at work not only abroad but here at home. We also gather with the political inheritance of those who taught generations to resist domination and spiritual emptiness, including Ali Shariati. Guests Omid Safi is a scholar of the Islamic mystical tradition and professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He is the author of Memories of Muhammad and Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition, and teaches online courses on Muslim mysticism. He leads contemplative journeys to Turkey, Morocco, and Mecca/Medina through Illuminated Courses. Fatemeh Keshavarz is the Roshan Institute Chair in Persian Language and Literature and Director of the Roshan Institute Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland. A poet in Persian and English, she is the author of Reading Mystical Lyric, Recite in the Name of the Red Rose, Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran, and Lyrics of Life: Sa'di on Love, Cosmopolitanism and Care of the Self. She has spoken at the UN General Assembly and received the Peabody Award for her NPR program on Rumi. Mays Imad, PhD (facilitator) is a neuroscientist, educator, and associate professor at Connecticut College whose work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and education. An Iraqi immigrant who lived through wars and displacement, she brings both personal and scholarly depth to the themes of trauma, remembrance, and repair through the embodied nervous system. Timestamps 00:00 — Welcome & framing 00:02 — Mays Imad opens: grief, urgency, and love 00:06 — Introducing Omid Safi & Fatemeh Keshavarz 00:07 — Saadi, Rumi, and the Persian tradition 00:12 — The war on Iran: what is being destroyed 00:21 — Don't bypass grief — the Persian mystics knew this 00:27 — Saadi on truth, power, and interconnection 00:32 — Fatemeh: togetherness, invisibilization, and Iranian resilience 00:38 — Poetry as the Silk Road of imagination 00:52 — War's corruption of language — and poetry as antidote 01:04 — Remembrance as ethical act 01:10 — Intergenerational love & closing Resources & Links Omid Safi Illuminated Courses — books, podcast, courses, tours Duke University faculty page Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition — Yale University Press Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters — HarperOne Podcast: Sufi Heart — Be Here Now Network The Heart of Rumi's Poetry — online course Upcoming events: Evening workshop in London, May 5th — "Islamic Spirituality in an Age of Conflict" Contemplative journey to Turkey, June 1–12 Rumi Retreat in Marrakech, November 22–28 Fatemeh Keshavarz Website Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran Lyrics of Life: Sa'di on Love, Cosmopolitanism and Care of the Self Cowboys and Iranians — poem by Fatemeh Keshavarz (video) Birds Without a Name — poem by Fatemeh Keshavarz, read at ARHU event on Hope & Home (video) Mays Imad Personal website Connecticut College faculty page Music featured Watan (وَطَن — "Homeland") performed by Shaghayegh Amiri, playing the Daf — the ancient Persian frame drum central to Sufi musical tradition Ali Ghamsari — solo on the Kamancheh (Persian bowed string instrument), taught by Hamidreza Afarideh, music teacher in Tehran Poets and texts referenced in depth Rumi (Jalal al-Din Rumi, 1207–1273) — Persian Sufi mystic and poet; his Masnavi opens with pain and grief; central throughout Sa'di Shirazi (1210–1291) — Iranian Sufi poet; his Golestan (Garden of Roses) is where Iranians learn to read and write; complete English translation by Thackston available; Fatemeh's Lyrics of Life goes deeper on Sa'di Hafez (14th century) — Persian lyric poet; Fatemeh discusses his use of the word hush as an example of how poetic language restores meaning Farid ud-Din Attar (born 1150) — author of Mantiq ut-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds / The Parliament of the Fowls) — referenced by Mays in her opening Abu Sa'id (Abu Sa'id Abi'l-Khayr, 967–1049) — Persian Sufi mystic referenced by Omid: "Don't just write down stories — become someone others want to write down what you say" Shams of Tabriz — Rumi's spiritual companion; Fatemeh discusses how Shams urged Rumi to live his knowledge Jamiluddin Aali — Urdu poet whose work was recited in the live chat Historical & contextual references Sharif University of Technology, Tehran — described as "the MIT of the Middle East," bombed during the war Leston Palace, Tehran — UNESCO World Heritage Site, bombed and referenced as a war crime The Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) — Fatemeh's personal reference point for civilian life under bombardment George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 — referenced by Omid in discussion of the corruption of language Next SAND Community Gathering Voices of the Land: Resistance & Solidarity with Lebanon — April 28th Contact SAND podcast@scienceandnonduality.com Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member

The Buddha taught a path of awakened living, but how does that manifest in today's world of constant connectivity and widespread suffering? How do we keep our hearts open without being defined or hardened by the pain that surrounds us, whether personal, collective, or historical? How do we navigate the paradox of holding both pain and joy, without mistaking suffering for punishment or personal failure? Can we infuse our compassion with wisdom and perspective to find the agency to take meaningful action in our communities? In her new series, Engaged Compassion, Sharon delves into these questions and more, engaging in candid conversations with a diverse group of teachers, activists, and changemakers. For the third episode in the series, Sharon speaks with Anu Gupta, marking his fourth appearance on the Metta Hour. Anu Gupta is an educator, lawyer, scientist, and the founder and CEO of Be More with Anu. His work has reached 300+ organizations, trained more than 80,000 professionals, and impacted over 30 million lives. As a gay immigrant of color, Anu came to the work of breaking bias due to lifelong experiences with racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. He is a trained meditation and yoga teacher with over 10,000 hours of meditation practice and has a JD from NYU Law and BA in International Relations and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies. As a peer-reviewed author, Anu has written and spoken extensively, including on the TED stage, the Oprah Conversation, Fast Company, and Newsweek. His first book, “Breaking Bias” came out in 2024 from Hay House and he currently shares his writings via his Substack, Soul Force for the 21st Century.In this conversation, Sharon and Anu speak about:How to cultivate goodwillBearing witness to sufferingWorking with anger and delusionTeachings from the Bhagavad GitaCompassion's near and far enemiesNon-attachment in activismJoseph Goldstein's essential teachingsEquanimity in practiceCombining the spiritual, personal, and political Collective consciousness as an oceanWisdom from Margaret Mead, Gandhi, and MLK Jr.Boundaries around mediaBuddha's five remedies for angerThe lifelines of Sangha (community) Additional ResourcesTo close out the episode, Anu leads a guided meditation. You can learn more about Anu's work right here and check out his Substack writings right here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Quantum Nurse https://graceasagra.com/ Freedom International Livestream Thursday, April 23, 2026 @ 12:00 PM EST Guest: Dr Reza John Vedadi Topic: IRAN RISING: Power, Conflict and Future   Follow:  Instagram, LinkedIn   Bio:   Dr Reza John Vedadi has spent the past 12 years directing, producing, and filming over 50 documentaries on West Asian and Muslim identity and culture. He began his academic journey with a degree in Media Studies from London Guildhall University, followed by master's degrees in film production at London Metropolitan University and Islamic Studies at Middlesex University. In 2023, he earned a PhD from Loughborough University London, specializing in communication, politics, and culture. Dr. Vedadi's research explores the intersection of socio-political dynamics and the representation of West Asian and Muslim identity in Hollywood, as well as US culture and foreign policy. Alongside his filmmaking career, he is an active academic, presenting papers at various international conferences. He also researches and writes about the complex relationship between the film industry, international relations, and the decolonial framework, demonstrating his commitment to enriching understanding in these areas.     Special Guest Hosts: NICK PITRUZELLO (Algo Cowboy)              https://www.youtube.com/@AlgoFactory   Drago Bosnic BRICS portal (infobrics.org) Telegram -CerFunhouse   www.GlobalResearch.Ca Warren Monty Quesnell Facebook – Citizen Journalist   Nikki Watson               https://www.youtube.com/@beyondthelinespodcast1                         Creator Host:   Grace Asagra, RN MA Podcast:  Quantum Nurse: Out of the Rabbit Hole from Stress to Bliss TIP/DONATE LINK for Grace Asagra @ Quantum Nurse Podcast https://patron.podbean.com/QuantumNurse https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=FHUXTQVAVJDPU Venmo - @Grace-Asagra 609-203-5854 WELLNESS RESOURCES Premier Research Labs - https://prlabs.com/customer/account/create/code/59n84f/ - 15% discount - 15%_59N84F_05 Standing Co-Host:   Hartmut Schumacher www.dragonnous.com

A fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran holds - but the information war intensifies. At the centre: the Strait of Hormuz, where competing US and Iranian narratives have collided. During any truce, even when the bombs stop falling, the information war goes on.  Moments like this test journalism. Because the job is not just to report on the messaging coming from all sides - but to decode and debunk it if necessary. Contributors: Abeer Al Najjar – Professor of Media & Journalism, American University of Sharjah Andrew Arsan – Professor of Arab & Global History, University of Cambridge Alireza Doostdar – Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Chicago Nazila Fathi – Former Tehran Correspondent, New York Times On our radar Israel's relations with its European allies are fraying, with increasingly sharp rhetoric from both sides playing out across political and media platforms. Meenakshi Ravi reports. The Iranian diaspora in the media: Interview with Narges Bajoghli The Iranian diaspora contains a wide range of often conflicting views. But judging by its representation in mainstream Western media, one might assume the dominant position is support for the war. We speak to Narges Bajoghli about how diaspora voices are weaponised in coverage of Iran. Featuring: Narges Bajoghli – Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University

The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz started today. Iran has promised retaliation. China has issued direct warnings to Washington — and Trump's Iran war strategy may be heading toward catastrophe. In this episode of The Voices of War, I sit down with Dr. Robert 'Bob' Bowker — 37 years as an Australian diplomat in the Arab world, Ambassador to Jordan and Egypt, intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments, and one of the sharpest minds on Middle East war and geopolitics alive today. What we cover: → What the Hormuz blockade actually means for global oil prices (Brent at $94 — physical oil already trading at $150+) → Why the Islamabad peace talks collapsed and what it signals for the Iran-US conflict → Iran's asymmetric warfare options and retaliation timeline → The China-Iran war dynamic that could escalate a regional crisis into a global confrontation → Trump's Iran war strategy — and exactly where it breaks down → Israel's influence on US foreign policy → The fractures inside the Gulf Cooperation Council → Why this Middle East war is more dangerous than the 1973 oil crisisTwo red flags Bob is watching: Iran cutting regional oil exports — and China placing naval escorts alongside its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. If either happens, this goes global. About Dr. Robert 'Bob' Bowker Dr. Bowker served 37 years as an Australian diplomat in the Arab world — Ambassador to Jordan, Egypt, and non-resident Ambassador to Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and Sudan. He served at the UN's relief agency in Gaza and Jerusalem, spent a decade as an academic at the ANU Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, and worked as an intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments. He is the author of six books on the region, including his memoir Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots.

If you're wondering why Sunni and Shia have been divided and if unity is even possible, this is the interview for you. What caused the Sunni VS Shia divide? What made it religious? Are Shia's Muslims? Can Sunnis and Shias live together? Who did this to us? We're FINALLY going to talk about the dark time in Islamic history no one talks about....the Sahabah Civil War. What happened?! Why?! How?!In this episode, we have on again, Hamza Raza, a graduate of Vanderbilt and Harvard University with a master's degree in Islamic Studies, currently a student at Al Azhar in Egypt, sits down to reveal the real theological differences and political divides that have separated Muslims for centuries. This is the raw, unfiltered truth about what really happened after the Prophet Muhammad's (ﷺ) death.Follow Hamza: https://www.instagram.com/hamzahraza*JOIN OUR YOUTUBE MEMBERSHIP*OR*Support Us on *Patreon:* https://www.patreon.com/theansaripodcast*Ayubi Collective*FREE 10-Part Masterclass “How to Build Your Own Multi-Billion Dollar Business”https://www.ayubi.com/ansari*Provision Capital:* https://www.provisioncapital.com00:00 What's the story between Sunni & Shia?08:40 The different kinds of Shia10:09 Views about the Sahaba13:57 Ad15:36 The Battle of Jabr20:17 The Death of Uthman 27:45 Who Was Right? Ali or Muawiyya?30:05 Why Is this held a secret?33:08 Ad33:59 The Battle of Safeen35:22 Imam Hassan VS Muawiyyah45:56 The Battle of Karbala57:52 The Origin of Shi'ism01:02:00 The Massacre of the Prophet's Family01:09:50 The Ismaili Split01:11:28 Ad01:12:20 Sunni VS Shia Misinformation 01:15:13 What about Modern Politics?01:19:29 Unification of Muslims01:22:34 Final Thoughts#IslamicHistory #IranWar #muslimpodcast #islamicpodcast #shia #sunni *Listen on All Audio Platforms:* https://tr.ee/JeX-ILYSyj*Follow The Ansari Podcast**Instagram:* https://instagram.com/ansaripodcast*TikTok:* https://tiktok.com/@theansaripodcast*Twitter/X:* https://twitter.com/ansaripodcast

Roja Fazaeli, Iranian woman living in Ireland & Professor of Law and Islamic Studies at the University of Galway, gives her reaction to the latest developments in the Middle East.

What happens after liberation? Why do people who witness miracles still fall into misguidance?In this episode of Qur'an Conversations, we reflect on Surah TaHa (20:86–88), when Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) returns to find his people worshipping the golden calf. These verses uncover something deeper than idolatry—they reveal the psychology of post-liberation vulnerability, moral outrage rooted in love, and how deception spreads when accountability collapses We explore the tension between physical freedom and spiritual slavery, the danger of weaponizing religion, and the subtle ways blame-shifting protects the ego from repentance.You will learn:

Support our comrades at these links:https://wedeservebetterfoundation.orghttps://agrimovement.org@safehouse.poddiasporapeoplesplace.org @diaspora.peoplesplacegivebutter.com/nochellahttps://chuffed.org/project/172939-help-feed-lebanons-displaced-communityPlease follow @PeoplesCore  @tvfreepalestine   @habibihousepodcast  Welcome to a Colonial Outcasts/People's Core collaborative Episode. So we're about 5 weeks into the most unpopular war in US history with this being the first war ever where the majority of Americans are consciously siding with the nations we're attacking. After 3 years of Genocide in Gaza, the planet has experienced a level moral cohesion that is unprecedented. This, combined with the revelations coming out of the Epstein files, has set the stage for a level of global solidarity against a common enemy that we have never seen.Iran and Lebanon have shifted the power dynamics through their strategic operations and messaging to the world and in doing so have opened the floodgates of resistance in the region that united Sunni, Shia, Christian and secular, despite the Wahabi and sectarian psyops working overtime to divide. We discuss this unity and the failure of imperial manipulations in the region with a formidable panel of gifted and determined voices from Lebanon and Palestine.Soha Yassine is a guerrilla journalist and narrative podcaster whose work inside the Lebanese hip hop scene — through Safe House Travel Diary — documents resistance, identity, and survival on the ground. She holds a BA in World Religions and an MA in Islamic Studies, with a background in communications for international NGOs. As founder of Diaspora Peoples Place, she empowers diaspora communities through decolonized gatherings like The Peoples Marketplace and NOCHELLA (April 11, 2026).Anthony Sargon is a Lebanese-AmericanYouTuber/Streamer, documentarian, Former TV Writer and creative.Abu Rahss is co founder of the Palestine News Network.Jedi Darwish is American and Lebanese (South) US Army Veteran, former Explosive Ordnance Disposal - Operations Officer with the United Nations, founder of Radio Beirut, activist, humanitarian, brother, father and son.Assad Shalhoub (@assadshal) is a Lebanese Canadian American creative and co-host of the Habibi House podcast, where he helps shape one of the most unapologetic voices of the Arab diaspora in media today. Blending cultural insight with lived experience, Assad navigates conversations at the intersection of identity, politics, and pop culture with clarity and edge.Laith Marouf is a respected film maker, journalist and humanitarian who operates Free Palestine TV.#lebanon #iran #war #epsteinfiles #muslim #christian #solidarity

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel coordinated an unprovoked military attack on the sovereign state of Iran without any credible evidence of an imminent threat posed by Iran or a United Nations Security Council Resolution. On that first day of the war, the Israelis killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials, immediately transforming their attacks into a regional war.  Iran invoked its right to self-defense under international law by launching missiles, drones and proxy attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets in the Persian Gulf and in Israel.  On March 2, 2026, Hezbollah entered the war by attacking Israel in response Ali Khameini's killing, which has led to a major Israeli air and ground escalation in Lebanon.  Also on March 2, 2026, the Iranian government effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which cuts off the 20% of the world's supply of oil and natural gas from the global economy. In this episode, Professor Juan Cole and Professor Mojtaba Mahdavi critically examine the historical, political and economic origins and consequences of Israel and the United States' war on Iran.  Guest BiographiesJuan R. I. Cole is Richard P. Mitchell Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan. Professor Cole has written, edited or translated 21 books and authored over 100 articles and chapters.  Among his recent publications are Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires (Bold Type Books, 2018) and The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East (Simon & Schuster, 2014). Professor Cole edited the volume ' Peace Movements in Islam, and is the author of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: A New Translation from the Persian. He is proprietor of the Informed Comment news and analysis site. Mojtaba Mahdavi is a Professor of Political Science and the ECMC Chair in Islamic Studies at the University of Alberta, Canada. He is the author and editor of numerous works on pos-trevolutionary Iran, contemporary social movements and democratization in the Middle East and North Africa, post-Islamism and modern Islamic political thought. #Iran #Israel #Democracy #MiddleEastSupport the showSupport the Center for Security, Race and Rights by following us and making a donation:Donate: https://give.rutgersfoundation.org/csrr-support/20046.html Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEbUfYcWGZapBNYvCObiCpp3qtxgH_jFy Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rucsrr Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Threads: https://threads.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/rucsrr Follow us on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/rucsrr 

08:00 — Laleh Khalili is Professor at the University of Exeter's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. 33:00 — Harimandir Khalsa is a therapist at Kaiser Walnut Creek.  45:00 — Clara-Sophia Daly is a reporter for Mission Local covering immigration.  The post Iran Will Allow Some Ships Pass Through Strait of Hormuz as War Continues; Plus, Kaiser Mental Health Workers Strike; And, Immigration Arrest at SFO appeared first on KPFA.

Daniel C. Peterson, retired professor of Islamic Studies and founder and editor-in-chief of the Interpreter Foundation, and producer of the film Witnesses, joins Scot and Maurine to explore Moses's profound encounter with the burning bush and the charge he was given to confront Pharoah with the message to “Let my people go.”

On this episode, my guest is Hasan Kerim Güç. Kerim graduated from Istanbul High School in 1992 and from Yildiz Technical University in 1996. Between 1997-2004, he completed his master's degree in Information Systems and Business Administration in Baltimore, USA. He returned to Turkey in 2010. Realizing that the treasure he had been looking for for 14 years was right in his own home, he took the position of Chief Editor at Nefes Publishing House in 2014. Kerim nourishes his business life with Sufi studies and is pursuing a doctoral degree from the Usküdar University Institute for Sufi Studies. He has published four books.Show Notes* Rejecting the American Dream* Anatolian and Sufi Hospitality* Sufis and the Ottomans* Tanri misafiri (“God's guest”)* Togetherness, and the roots of Religion* When we welcome suffering, we make honey out of pain* Submission, servants and the prophet Mohammed* The Conference of the Birds / Stories from the Thirty Birds* Limits to hospitality in the Islamic world* Bereket / Baraka* Rumi's Guest HouseHomework* Kerim Vakfı* Stories from the Thirty Birds* Cemalnur Sargut: A Sufi Life of Love, Suffering, and Divine Union* Cemalnur Sargut Books* Kerim Guc - Instagram* Kyoto University Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies* Ken'an Rifâî Chair of Islamic Studies at Peking University* University of North Carolina (UNC) Ken'an Rifâî Chair in Islamic StudiesTranscriptChris: [00:00:00] Welcome to the End of Tourism podcast, Kerim. Hoș geldiniz.Kerim: Thank you very much for having me.Chris: Yeah, it's my pleasure. Thank you for joining me today. Perhaps you could tell our listeners, where you find yourself and what the world looks like there for you.Kerim: Well, first of all, I'm an immigrant also. I was an immigrant. I lived in the US for a while, and then I came back to to my own country. And things are very different here than there, than it is in US. From the perspective of what I did... I was actually an engineer, and I was working in the IT fields, and I was living the American dream, and then I realized that there was some kind of an emptiness, and this whole thing, and I decided to go back to Turkey and [00:01:00] study Sufism, and since my mother was actually a Sufi teacher. She decided to actually move this whole Sufism into academia. So, she basically established an institute in Istanbul - Üsküdar Istanbul - at the University of Üsküdar. The difference between this institute and the other schools, the people like myself, like engineers, coming from different disciplines, including lawyers and whatnot, they were not able to do their masters or PhDs in Sufism, because in other universities, they require for you to actually have theology backgrounds. But with this new establishment, we were able to educate people from all different disciplines and, [00:02:00] so we basically concentrated on ethics rather than the religion itself.So, a lot of people coming from different areas, especially the white-collar people, living this, like - how do I say that? - it's a world of money and materialism and all kind of that stuff. They're coming to our institute and realizing that money or career is not the only goal for life.And we started to concentrating on things like spirituality more than the materialist world.Chris: Thank you. Well, I'm very much looking forward to exploring these themes with you and a little bit of the work that you do with Kerim Vakfı.Kerim: Sure.Chris: And so for the last season of the podcast, I'm very much interested in focusing on different hospitality traditions and practices from around the [00:03:00] world, as I mentioned to you. And, one of the key themes of the podcast is radical hospitality. Now, the word “radical” comes from Latin and it means “rooted,” or we might even say “local” or “living.”And so. I'm curious if there are any radical hospitality practices that you think are unique to your place, to Istanbul, or to the Sufi community that you might be willing to share with us today?Kerim: Well, Istanbul, actually, is a very metropolitan city. So like the other metropolitan cities, we kind of lost that - what we call the hospitality of Anatolia. Anatolia is basically the Eastern part of Istanbul. And in Istanbul, we have, right now, 25 million people in a very small area. And in older days when the population was smaller, [00:04:00] we were able to show our hospitality, because the Turkish hospitality is very famous, actually. In this area the hospitality is very famous, including the, you know, Greek and Arab hospitality. Usually, it's a little bit different than the western countries.For instance, we welcome people - we used to, and probably still, in the countryside - the people coming from other cities or countries or whatnot. The locals actually helped them out as much as possible. They even invite them to their own houses and let them stay for how long they want to stay. And this was kind of like a regular thing in the old days. It's still going on very much in the eastern side of Turkey, pretty much in the countryside. [00:05:00] But Istanbul, like other cosmopolitan cities, we kinda lost that. You know, neighbourly things. We have a lot of neighbours and we we have always good... we used to have a lot of good relationship with them, but nowadays, again, because of this material world, we kind of lost this hospitality.So from the Sufi point of view, hospitality is very important. It's interesting that you mentioned the “radical.” You were talking about where “radical” come from, but you didn't talk about where “hospitality” comes from. See, there is a relationship between the hospital and the hospitality and the way the Sufis look at things is very much like the illnesses in our body are our guests. So, we don't think that they're bad for you. They're actually [00:06:00] the guests of our house for a time being. So we show them the hospitality as much as we can, and then hopefully we say goodbye to them.Chris: Wow. Wow. That's fascinating. I do know that the term “hospitality,” hospital is part of that, and hospital historically came from these notions of hospitality. I mean, in the western world in, and at least in the Christian world, there's a kind of unauthorized history in which a lot of this hospitality, as you mentioned, that was offered to the stranger, was done by the families or the individual houses or homes within a community. A stranger would come and they would ask for hospitality, ask for food and shelter, and the family would have to decide whether to do that and how to do it. [00:07:00] And then at some point, the institution of the Church kind of stepped in and said, “you know what? You don't have to do this anymore. When the stranger comes to the community, when they show up at your door, just send them to us. Just send them to the church and we'll give them what they need.”And so this did a number of things, but the two most obvious ones, I think, are that the family, the individuals in the family and the community on a grassroots level, slowly ended up losing their ability, their unique kind of familial or personal ability to host the stranger. And at the same time, of course, the church used this as a way to try to convert, the stranger.Kerim: Right.Chris: And so I'm curious if there's anything in that realm that you see in the Islamic world, maybe in the Sufi world... you mentioned that, since the [00:08:00] imposition of modernity and the industrial Revolution in the world, we see less and less possibilities for small-scale, grassroots hospitality between people, in part, because there's so much movement, and of course, because the hospital has its brothers and sisters in the sense of the “hotel” and the “hostel.”Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: So, I'm curious if there's anything like that that comes to mind for you in regards to the Islamic world.Kerim: Well, one thing is about like the Ottomans. The Ottomans, when they were coming from the Anatolia and then started conquering all those places in the Balkan area, Greece and Bulgaria, Hungary and all those places, after they actually conquered, they sent Sufis to those places. And, like in Hungary, there is a person, his name is [00:09:00] Gül Baba, which means “Rose Father.” That's what they call him. He actually has his own tekke (tekke is like a church for Sufis). And this place, it's like a school more, more like a school, but it's a religious school.And in this tekke, he actually finds all those people with needs, and he pretty much helped them out with all those needs. And the people coming from different religions, they actually started liking people like from the Turks' point of view, because the Turks were symbolized by these Sufi movements. And instead of, you know, pushing people to convert or demolishing the churches and rebuilding mosques and stuff. Instead of that, they actually [00:10:00] welcomed people from all over the world, or all over the place, basically, to stay in the tekke, to eat and to get education in the tekke. So this was a great strategy of Ottomans. That's how they actually stayed in Europe for almost like 600 years. So that was very much like, you know, their strategy, I think. And in a good way.Chris: Yeah, you know, in my research I found out that there's still Sufi orders in the Balkans a group called the Bektashi.Kerim: Right.Chris: And of course, with the very little historical understanding that I had, I was very surprised. I had no idea. But of course, when I eventually went to visit the regions that my father is from, I saw churches, synagogues, and mosques, all in the same little neighbourhoods.[00:11:00] So, quite an impressive kind of understanding that the major religions in those places could coexist for so long. And that in the context of someone who grew up in North America, who thought it was the opposite (previously) and such things are so difficult.Kerim: Right. Right.Chris: So, Kerim, a mutual friend of ours has told me, that in the Turkish language, there is a phrase (and excuse my pronunciation). The phrase is tanri misafiri.Kerim: Right.Chris: Which translates into English as something like “God's guest.”Kerim: Right.Chris: Or “the guest sent by God.”Kerim: Right. Right.Chris: And so I'm wondering if you could speak about this phrase, maybe what it means to you and where you think it comes from?Kerim: Well, in Anatolia, it's a very famous phrase. And like I said previously, you know anybody coming from somewhere else, who comes into somebody's [00:12:00] house, is allowed to stay in the house as “the guest of God,” because we believe that God has sent that guest to us and we try to... you know, it's more like making that guest happy means making God happy. So, that's the understanding of older generations.In today's metropolitan areas, I don't think it's possible because of the security problems and everything. But like I said, in the countryside, people are very welcoming when it comes to this, because it is very important that knowing that person is actually coming from God, from Allah, so we have to take care of that person as much as possible to please God, actually.So that's how it is. I still see that in many cities in the [00:13:00] more eastern side of Turkey or south side of Turkey, or even north side of Turkey except in the bigger cities. But in the smaller cities, people are much more welcoming, again because of this specific idiom, actually.Chris: From tanri misafiri?Kerim: Right. Tanri means “God” in our language. In the original Turkish language, it's tanri, and, misafiri means “ the guest.”Chris: Yeah. So beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with us.Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: And so when guests arrive in a home, you know, in English, at least in, in the context of the older traditions, it is said that the guest or the potential guest, the stranger, asks for hospitality. They don't necessarily say “ they ask for food,” which we can imagine that surely they [00:14:00] do. They don't necessarily say that “they ask for shelter” or “accommodation,” which we surely we could imagine they do. But the literature often says they ask for hospitality.And so, when we think of hospitality today, we often think about people sitting around a table eating food together. And so I'm curious if there's a shared understanding among Sufis or at least the community that you live among and in, about the importance of both eating food and eating food together.Kerim: Togetherness is probably one of the most important things in the Islamic religion. Because like even our way of worshiping God - Allah - we try to do that in a union as much as possible. It is very interesting, the words that “religion” comes from.[00:15:00] Re- means “again,” and legion means “union.”So it's almost like “religion” itself means “to recreate the union,” “to reshape the union,” “ to have the union back,” because we have the tendency to be alone. And even you can imagine that in the western countries, in the western world, a lot of people want to be alone.Like, there's a lot of individuals rather than a group of people. And in the eastern world, it's a little bit different. We are more like family-oriented people. We try to do things together. I mean, there are advantages and disadvantages obviously, but there is a difference between them.So, we always had this [notion that] “the more is better,” basically. You know, more people is better. So, we help each other, [00:16:00] we understand each other, we talk about our problems. When we try to solve them, it's easier together. And if there's pain, you know, the pain actually, can be eased with more people, easier, I think, compared to have this pain alone. So, again, we're more family-oriented people.And the Sufi are very much like that. The Sufi always pray together, and they think that it creates a n energy, basically. It produces an energy that basically helps all of them at the same time, in a union.Chris: Hmm hmm. And do you find that sitting down for a meal together also creates that kind of union, or recreates as you were saying?Kerim: I think so. Doing any kind of activities, including eating... eating is basically the most common activity [00:17:00] that we do in our daily life and getting together, to talk about our things together, and discuss things together, all those things - togetherness, when it comes to the idea of togetherness - I think, is beautiful.Chris: Hmm, hmm. Amen. Yeah, I very much agree with that, Kerim.And so, when we think about hospitality, and we think about food, we often imagine big banquet tables and as you said, this sense of togetherness and celebration.But there's also, you know, from what little I've read, there's also this important aspect of the religious life in the Islamic world, and perhaps in the Sufi world as well that points to, maybe not the absence of food, but a different way of being fed, and a different way of feeding that doesn't [00:18:00] include the food we're used to, the kind of material food. And we often refer to this as fasting. And so, there's a beautiful video that you sent me, Kerim, of your mother speaking, and she recalls a phrase in that video from her own mother who said that “when we welcome suffering, we make honey out of pain.”And so, this is a question I very much want to ask you because I've fasted myself quite intensely. I'm curious, what is the honey that comes from fasting? Or, what do you think is the honey that comes from fasting?Kerim: Right? First of all, yeah, fasting is in our religion. So, we basically do that one month in the whole year. It's called Ramadan. In some cases, we actually do that because our Prophet Muhammad, when he [00:19:00] lived, he was fasting every Monday and every Thursday. So it was like a common practice for some of the religious people. And at least we do that one month in the whole year.And obviously, that month is a little bit difficult, you know, because we not only stop eating, we also stopped drinking and all that stuff. In theory, we should not be lying, we should not be telling bad things to other people or gossiping and all that stuff, but usually we do during that time. I mean, in theory, we should not be doing that.So it's like a whole discipline thing - the whole fasting. And at the end of the thirty days, you become a really, really different person. And first of all, one thing that [00:20:00] I feel, is that you understand the people who do not have food. We still have people in the world, unfortunately, in Africa, and all those places, the people, having less access to food as we do, and we feel like, oh yeah we don't actually thank God for all those things that he's giving to us. And this is the time that you start thinking about the reality and start thanking God for actually giving us all that food, twenty-four hours, seven days [a week]. And when you are fasting during that time, you are understanding the feeling of these people, who are like poor and who cannot eat.There are people now, in the social media, we are seeing people, who never had [00:21:00] chocolates in their life. The people living in these countries or in the cities or metropolitan cities, we never think about these things.So, we take these things for granted, and during that time of fasting, you start thinking about these stuff and then you become more thankful, and that's basically honey itself, after the suffering. And I wouldn't say “suffering,” because we don't suffer as much as they do, honestly.And we're just telling our egos, “just stop for a day to do bad things and stop eating,” and all that stuff that ego wants to have. And again, it's at the end of the thirty days, you become a new person because now you have a different mentality. Now, in the other eleven months, you still forget about these things, but [00:22:00] again, it comes through. It's like a cycle.Chris: Yeah. Yeah. I totally agree with you that, you know, gratitude is the honey and...Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: ...I remember the fasting that I did over the course of four years, and I don't know if it was as intense as the fasting that happens during Ramadan, but doing that fasting and trying to feed something other than myself for a time imbued a degree of hospitality and gratitude that I don't think I had ever felt before. And it sticks to me. It sticks to my bones to this day. And it's something that, like you said, I also have to constantly remind myself of those moments when I sit down to eat a meal, because it's so easy to forget.Kerim: Absolutely. Absolutely. And one thing is [00:23:00] basically during that time of fasting, you basically stop feeding your ego, and start feeding your spirit, basically. That's what I think.Chris: That's beautiful. Yeah. I absolutely understand that. Thank you, Kerim.So my next question is around the word “ submission.” So, translated into English, the word “Islam” means “submission.” Now I've read that this word can also be translated to mean “servants of God.” Servants of God.Now in English, the word “servant” can be synonymous with “host.” A servant and a host. Now, there's a book by an author named Mona Siddiqui called Hospitality in Islam. And in that book she writes, it's actually a quote, but she writes,“'What is faith?' The Prophet replied, ‘the giving of [00:24:00] food and the exchange of greetings.' He ends on a most dramatic note saying, “a house which is not entered by guests is not entered by angels.”Kerim: Perfect. Yeah.Chris: And it seems that in this phrase, the Prophet is suggesting that the way we are with guests and strangers has something to do with how we are with the divine, which I think you kind of alluded to a little bit earlier.And so I'm curious, is this something that you've seen in your own days or in those of others that you know? Is hospitality a practice that connects us to the divine?Kerim: Absolutely. Because reaching God, you need to reach people first. To be able to reach God... when I say “reach God,” meaning be in communication with Him, is basically being in a communication [00:25:00] with the people he created. So, to serve the people is basically serving him from the Islamic point of view.So, and that's a hadith that you mentioned in the book. It's a hadith of Prophet Mohammed, like you said. And Prophet Mohammed always... it was a common practice that he was hosting maybe, you know, 10-15 people every night. And he was a poor person, by the way. I mean, he doesn't have much money, much food or anything, but they share. There was a time that... there's a story that somebody, actually, one of his apostles rather, asks him to visit him for a dinner. So he invites him to a dinner.But during his conversation, Prophet Mommed said, “can I bring my friends too?”[00:26:00]And the apostle says, “of course you can bring your friends.” And he brings hundreds of people. Now, the host only have some bread, and maybe a little bit meat, and a little bit rice in the cup.So, he was ashamed because he doesn't have any money, and the Prophet Mohammed is going to bring all those guests together, and he didn't know what to do. But he uses submission, basically.He said, well, if Prophet Mohammed is coming, then something is going to happen. And as he was thinking all those things, Prophet Mohammed puts his hand on top of the rice holder. And every time he was putting rice onto the dishes, the rice never ends, the meat never ends. So he served like 200 people during this invitation and the food never ended.[00:27:00]So he was happy for his submission, basically.Chris: Wow. Beautiful. Thank you, Kerim.Kerim: Of course.Chris: You know, you have this beautiful book - that is still in the mail, unfortunately I haven't got my hands on it yet, but I'm very much looking forward to it - called Stories From the Thirty Birds, which I understand is inspired by The Conference of the Birds, this incredible book from I think the 1300s.And I'm curious if you could tell us a little bit about that book and what, if any inspiration or maybe teachings around hospitality that come from both, The Conference of the Birds and how you've employed it in your book.Kerim: Right. The Conference of the Birds is really a beautiful story of Farid ud-Din Attar who lived in Nishapur, which is in Khorasan, in Iran, today. And he was one of the very famous [00:28:00] Sufis at that time. He was the teacher of Rumi. A lot of people know Rumi. And he wrote this book about birds, millions of birds, who are in the process of going to their king, which is the phoenix (or what we call it simurg). And during that time, during that travel, they go through seven valleys, and in each valley some of the birds get lost, because the valleys actually symbolize things.Like, the first valley is the valley of intention. So, a lot of birds actually don't have the intention to reach their king. The king is basically symbolizing Allah (God), and the birds are symbolizing us very much, and we are getting [00:29:00] lost during the time of life. Like, our intention is basically this world. If our intention is staying in this world, then we stay in this world. And that's the valley of intention.And a lot of birds, like half of them, actually, get lost in this stage.And the second valley is the valley of love. And the birds that get lost in this valley are the ones that actually think the beauty is in this world, rather than they don't see the beauty of God himself. So they see the shadow of that beauty in the world, but they're content with that beauty, and they don't really want to move on.And again, the third valley is the value of wisdom. And the birds that get lost in this valley are the ones who think that knowledge, [00:30:00] in this world, is more important than anything else, and they don't realize the source of the knowledge is actually their king.So on and so forth, they go through the seven valleys and at the end of the seventh valley, only thirty birds remain. And the thirty birds, they're ready to see their king, and they go through this mountain called Qaf, where the  simurg, the phoenix lives (behind the mountain). And it's very difficult to get there, basically. When they get there, they can't find the king over there. They only find a mirror. So, they realize the king is themselves, but more specifically, the union of thirty birds. So simurg - the [00:31:00] phoenix - in Iranian, in Persian means “thirty birds,” actually. Si is “thirty.” “Burg” is “bird,” actually.So from what we understand is, the union of ourselves, what we are seeing, is our reflection, because the king is actually a perfect mirror. But we don't see ourselves, only, we see the union of thirty birds together. So there are birds that we don't think live together. For instance, a hawk doesn't live with a smaller bird together, but in this union, they live together. There in one. And they use whatever advantage they have together. So it's almost like being one and using the characteristics of every single bird [00:32:00] itself.Chris: And I imagine that someone growing up in a culture like that, whether back then or more recently, and hearing this story or hearing it multiple times throughout their life or maybe once a year, that that notion also might arise in the way that they are with others, the way they are with strangers.Kerim: Right.Chris: And so, I have one final question for you, if that's all right?Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: So, before we say farewell I'd like to ask you about Istanbul, and I'd like to ask you about the limits to hospitality. So, last year, on a trip I took to the city I met a friend of a mutual friend of ours, and for a couple of hours we walked around the Karakoy neighbourhood and he spoke to me about how the city has changed quite a bit over the last decade.For many people who grew up in Istanbul, the city [00:33:00] might now appear to be very difficult to live in. He said that the cost of living has skyrocketed. The rents, the rent prices or costs have doubled. And much of this is a combination of tourism and gentrification in the city.Now it seems that many religious traditions speak of the importance of welcoming strangers and offering them hospitality, but they also speak of the limits to such hospitality. In one particular, hadith or saying of the Prophet Mohammed, it is said that “hospitality is for three days. Anything more is charity or sadaqah.”Again, excuse my pronunciation.Kerim: No. That's perfect pronunciation.Chris: And so I'm curious, you mentioned a little bit earlier, in the Sufi community and perhaps in the Islamic communities, there is this notion of togetherness, but also that “more is better.” And so I'm [00:34:00] curious in the context of what's happening in Istanbul and what's happening in many places around the world, do you think there should also be limits to the hospitality that is offered to the guest or stranger?Kerim: Well, of course. I mean, of course we have financial issues here, and it's very difficult for us to actually serve other people as much as we want to. But again, when we are together, even if it's very difficult to live in the city, it's still something, you know?What I see: the rent went up, like you said, so the people try to move into their family houses, the houses there of their families and everything. And in western countries, it's difficult. You usually don't do this kind of stuff, but in our community, it's much easier to do these things. And, you know, the families welcome the children [00:35:00] more than other countries. So that's something I think that's a positive thing.But to the strangers. What do we do for strangers? Obviously, we do as much as possible. We may not be able to serve them as much as we used to, obviously, before this inflation. And we have the highest inflation in the world, or probably the second-highest inflation. So again, it's difficult, and Istanbul became probably one of the most expensive cities in the world. But even that, again, we may not be able to take them to dinner every night, but we serve what we have in the house, like in the Prophet Mohammed's story.Whatever we have, we share. And, we call it bereket, as in Arabic baraka, they call it. Baraka is something [00:36:00] like... we use it for money. It's not “more money.” That's not important. How do I say that? I don't even know how to say it in English, but it's more like “the luck of the money, itself.” Basically, you may be able to buy more stuff with less money based on your luck. That's basically what we call it. Bereket. So the bereket is much more important than the amount of the money or the financial thing. And the bereket always goes up when you share it.Chris: Beautiful. Yeah, I love that. I mean, in English, not to reduce it at all, but in English we say, quality over quantity.”Kerim: Yeah, absolutely.Chris: And you said that, in order to offer hospitality or the hospitality that we would like to offer to our guests, sometimes maybe that means not doing it all the time, [00:37:00] because one simply cannot. Right. It's not possible.Kerim: Right.Chris: But yeah, it's a really beautiful point.Kerim: Rumi is a very important Sufi, probably known by many Americans. Even the world knows him. He wrote a poem, which is about the guests. So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna read that, uh, it's called the Guest House and it goes like:This human life is a guest house. Every dawn, a new visitor arrives.A gladness, a sadness, a pettiness, a flash of insights all come knocking, unannounced.Welcome them all. Make room even if a band of sorrows storms inand clears your rooms of comfort.Still honour every guest.[00:38:00] Perhaps they empty you to prepare you for something brighter.The gloomy thought, the shame, the bitterness,greet them at the door with a smile, and lead them inside.Be thankful for whoever comes, for each is sent as a messenger from the beyond.So that's a poem by Rumi, and I think it pretty much explains the whole hospitality thing.Chris: Yeah, that's a gorgeous, gorgeous poem. I love that. I'll make sure that's up on the End of Tourism website when the episode launches.And so finally, Kerim, uh, I'd like to thank you so very much for being willing to join me today, to be willing to speak in a language that is not your first, or mother tongue, and to share with us some of the beauty that has touched your days. Before we say goodbye, [00:39:00] perhaps you could tell our listeners how they can follow and learn more about Kerim Vakfı, Stories from the 30 Birds, your book, and any other projects you might want them to know about.Kerim: We have a Sufi centre in North Carolina, at the University of North Carolina. We have a centre in China, Beijing University, and another center in Kyoto University in Japan. And my mother's book about the commentary of some Quranic verses is the one. For instance, Yasin is available through Amazon and my book Stories from the 30 Birds is available on Barnes and Noble and all that other places in US.Chris: Beautiful. Well, I'll make sure that those links are all available on the End of Tourism website and on my Substack when the episode comes out. [00:40:00] And on behalf of our listeners, tesekkur, tesekkur.Kerim: I thank you. Get full access to Chris Christou at chrischristou.substack.com/subscribe

Rodger Shanahan joins John Anderson to examine the true objectives behind U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran. Is this about preventing a nuclear capability, dismantling Iran's proxy network, or ultimately forcing regime change? Shanahan argues that while public messaging has been inconsistent, the rhetoric and targeting patterns increasingly point toward regime change — a strategic ambition with a poor historical record when pursued through air power alone.The discussion unpacks Iran's ideological foundations, its history of foreign intervention, the erosion of its “forward defence” strategy, and the real limits of military precision in shaping political outcomes. From contested nuclear claims to the future of the rules-based order, this is a sober, strategic assessment of whether the world will emerge safer — or more unstable.Rodger Shanahan is a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute specialising in Middle East security and strategic affairs. He holds a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Sydney and is a former Australian Army officer with operational deployments to Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan and East Timor, as well as diplomatic postings to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He has also served as an expert witness in more than 30 Australian terrorism cases.

As part of the BBC's AI Unpacked Week, Azim Ahmed and a panel of guests unpack whether Artificial Intelligence belongs in worship. Is there a place for it in our mosques, churches and temples, in our heartfelt prayers or songs of praise?Azim is joined by: Gary Bunt, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David and author of the book “Islamic algorithms”. Professor Beth Singler, Assistant Professor in Digital Religion(s) at the University of Zurich and author of “Religion and AI: An Introduction” Matthew Harvey Sanders, chief executive of Longbeard and the creator of Magisterium AI, who's Catholic Mal Pope, broadcaster, singer songwriter and Christian

Introducing Ilm with AMAU - our five-year, semester-based Islamic Studies programme, developed through years of online teaching and student experience. It is built to take sincere Muslims wanting to study Islam, and guide them into becoming serious, grounded students of knowledge. The programme is shaped by a clear understanding of the challenges online students face: distraction, inconsistency, isolation, and lack of direction. Ilm with AMAU aims to close the gap between online learning and traditional on-site study by restoring clarity, discipline, and purpose to the digital learning space. The journey begins with Semester Zero - a practical foundation focused on mindset, habits, sincerity, and the discipline needed to sustain the path of seeking knowledge before formal study begins. With subjects including Aqeedah, Fiqh, Hadith, Tafseer, Seerah and Tarbiyah, this video offers an inside look into the vision, tone, and methodology of the programme.  If you want a clear sense of what studying with AMAU is like, this is where it starts. Check out this brand-new program here: https://www.amauacademy.com/pages/ilm Check out AMAU Library - a hub of authentic Islamic knowledge made FREE for all: https://library.amauacademy.com/ Sign up now to AMAU Academy: https://www.amauacademy.com/ AMAU Academy: https://www.amauacademy.com/ AMAU Junior: https://amaujunior.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amauofficial/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AMAU Telegram: https://t.me/amauofficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AMAUofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMAUofficial iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/al-madrasatu-al-umariyyah/id1524526782 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/08NJC1pIA0maaF6aKqZL4N Get in Touch: https://amau.org/getintouch BarakAllahu feekum. #AMAU #islamicstudies #seekingknowledge #islamicknowledge #ilm  

Worried you'll only get one student and your online preschool dream will flop?If so, you should listen in to today's Preschool All Stars story!Safaa Elamin started with just 3 family members, and for a while she only had 1 student. But instead of quitting, she listened to her community. They asked for Arabic, then Quran, then Islamic Studies—and Safaa built each class around their needs.Now she teaches 209 students worldwide. She even sells her own Arabic curriculum and fills her classes through referrals alone—no ads required!Want to know how she did it? Listen in to learn:The pay-what-you-can pricing model that made her school explodeHow she turned one parent request into a full curriculum she now sellsThe fastest way to grow your school by saying YES to this one parent requestPlease rate and review us at Apple Podcasts. (We hope we've earned your 5 stars!)GET MY FREE RESOURCES FOR YOUR PRESCHOOL JOURNEY:❤️ Get my FREE “Start Your Preschool” book (+ $7.95 s&h)❤️ Watch my FREE "How to Start a Local or Online Preschool" Workshop❤️ Join my Preschool All Stars membership to get mentorship, support, friendship, and training for every step of your preschool journeyFOLLOW ME ON MY MISSION:

It's Emmajority Report Thursday on the Majority Report On today's program: As members of the Trump administration revive Iraq War–era justifications for an invasion of Venezuela, Trump himself cuts through the spin and openly admits he wants the country's oil. Rep Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) gives an impassioned plea to Congress to stop "sleepwalking" into war with Venezuela. Miles Bryan, senior producer and reporter for Today, Explained, Vox's daily news podcast joins Emma for a conversation about the bipartisan uprising against AI data center construction across America. Khalid Medani, Associate Professor of Political Science and Islamic Studies and Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University joins the show to explain the horrific situation in Sudan. In the Fun Half: Brandon Sutton and Matt Binder join Emma. Bernie Sanders calls for a moratorium on building new data centers due to environmental impact and surge pricing on utilities. Meanwhile China's approach to AI is more efficient, greener, and they are absolute molly whopping the U.S. Brett Weinstein returns Joe Rogan's podcast to share some interesting thoughts on modern day mating. Matt, Emma and Brandon dig into Candace Owens backing off her Charlie Kirk/TPUSA conspiracy theories. All that and more. The Congress switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. You can use this number to connect with either the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives. Check out IceRRT.com to find an ICE rapid response team nearest to you. Follow us on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase Check out today's sponsors: SHOPIFY: To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to NakedWines.com/MAJORITY and use code MAJORITY for both the code AND PASSWORD.   ZBIOTICS: Go to zbiotics.com/MAJORITY to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use MAJORITY at checkout. AURA FRAMES: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/MAJORITY and use promo code MAJORITY at checkout. SUNSET LAKE: Head on over to SunsetLakeCBD.com and use the code WINTER25 to save 35% on their full lineup of CBD Tinctures for people and pets. This sale ends December 21st at 11:59 ᴾᴹ eastern. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech On Instagram: @MrBryanVokey Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on YouTube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com