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Hamza Perez is an imam in Pittsburgh, PA. He is of Puerto Rican descent and is a former hip hop artist. Hamza is currently leading the development of a Muslim community on the north side of Pittsburgh composed primarily of converts to Islam. He gained notoriety in 2009 with the PBS documentary called “New Muslim Cool”. In 2010, he was ranked as one of the top 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center for his commitment to youth work. If you are enjoying the content, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/SultansandSneakers. Every dollar helps! In addition to Patreon, please continue to support Sultans and Sneakers by following me on my various social media channels, leaving a 5 star review and letting your friends know about the show. I have a website now as well and you can access that at: https://sultansandsneakers.com/ You can also follow the show on our respective social media: IG: www.instagram.com/SultansandSneakers Facebook: www.facebook.com/SultansandSneakers Twitter: https://twitter.com/SultansNSnkrs TikTok: @sultans_and_sneakers YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC8nN9RSnLs08M87yEZppwaA My personal social media links: IG: www.instagram.com/mahinthepodcaster Twitter: https://twitter.com/MahinDaPodcastr
“God writes straight with crooked lines” is a popular adage that has been used to describe the journey of Hamza Perez, and he good naturedly agrees. With a life story that’s movie script-worthy, Hamza has walked his path with humor, humility, music and openness. He is founder of the YA-NE (Youth Alliance of Networking and Empowerment) at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, co-founder of Light of the Age Mosque and a spiritual advisor for communities in Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA. In this conversation, he shares why Emma González is the future, tackles the role of race in our country’s drug epidemic, and is clear on why understanding the difference between “old” and “elder” is key to our progress on the arc of justice. Named one of the world’s 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Strategic Islamic Center, he is smart, funny and hopeful – and he’s making a difference in how many perceive Muslims in the world today. From his Catholic upbringing in Brooklyn to his present-day youth leadership in the Muslim community in Pittsburgh – with stops along the way as a drug dealer with his own apartment by age 18, and in rap duo M-Team with brother Suliman – Hamza has made defying perceptions his life’s work. Hamza’s route from a Puerto Rican Catholic family to a Muslim leader in the Mid-Atlantic has been one with many turns, and that is just what makes him – and his work – so engaging. His life thus far has been about overcoming perceptions – of what he could become, where he could go, what he should believe – of family, friends and in some instances a suspicious and hostile world. Hamza is the subject of a PBS film New Muslim Cool, and he is a positive and hopeful force in our world. “We Can Be” is hosted by The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music is composed by John Dziuban, with incidental music by Josh Slifkin.
Jim Eellermeyer continues his discussion with Imam Hamza Perez as we visit the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh as we discuss the common misconceptions of muslims and the religion of Islam. We discuss the connections with Christianity, the true meaning of Jihad, the power of women scholars in Islam, the concept of covering everything from your body to items in the religion, and more. Find out more about our guest in the feature "New Muslim Cool" on PBS, and learn more about the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh at www.icp-pgh.org. Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher! Also, check us out streaming on The River's Edge online radio! Intro music: “Life” by Tobu.
Jim Eellermeyer continues his discussion with Imam Hamza Perez as we visit the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh as we discuss the common misconceptions of muslims and the religion of Islam. We discuss the connections with Christianity, the true meaning of Jihad, the power of women scholars in Islam, the concept of covering everything from your body to items in the religion, and more. Find out more about our guest in the feature "New Muslim Cool" on PBS, and learn more about the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh at www.icp-pgh.org. Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher! Also, check us out streaming on The River's Edge online radio! Intro music: “Life” by Tobu.
For the next few weeks, we visit the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh and have a chat with Imam Hamza Perez about his upbringing from Puerto Rico to Worcester, MA. We discuss his experiences growing up with some hardships and how that applies to his youth services. We discuss the examples that Prophet Muhammad sets for modeling behavior, and his conversion to Islam. We look at the idea of a corrupted religion background, the ego, and how he keeps it in check. Find out more about our guest in the feature "New Muslim Cool" on PBS, and learn more about the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh at www.icp-pgh.org. Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher! Also, check us out streaming on The River's Edge online radio! Intro music: “Life” by Tobu.
For the next few weeks, we visit the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh and have a chat with Imam Hamza Perez about his upbringing from Puerto Rico to Worcester, MA. We discuss his experiences growing up with some hardships and how that applies to his youth services. We discuss the examples that Prophet Muhammad sets for modeling behavior, and his conversion to Islam. We look at the idea of a corrupted religion background, the ego, and how he keeps it in check. Find out more about our guest in the feature "New Muslim Cool" on PBS, and learn more about the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh at www.icp-pgh.org. Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher! Also, check us out streaming on The River's Edge online radio! Intro music: “Life” by Tobu.
New Muslim Cool director, Jennifer Taylor and subject, Hamza Perez are first guests in the studio. The program today is turning into a film festival highlights, with Lisa Gray also in the studio with her film, Life Sentence, one of the San Francisco Black Film Festival features June 2008. She will be joined by subjects as well. We have Dr. Lorraine Bonner in the studio speaking about her latest exhibit with Susan Almazol in Oakland, "Landscapes of Our Souls," which will be on exhibit through June 29m, at Joyce Gordon Galley. She and Susan have an artist talk, Thursday, June 18, 6-8 p.m. We are also speaking to Rudwaan Amen Ra Lumumba, founder of "A Time to Laugh and a Time to Mourn" (he cancelled). The idea of Time to Mourn is that it is time for the spirit of all Africans throughout the world to collectively mourn the traumatic experience(s) of the Maafa so that we can be fully functioning beings as our Ancestors were prior to that experience (Living Maat). The day is June 19, 12:00 midnight to June 20, 11:59 p.m. There is no public gathering and there is no specific time, just that it happen on this day.