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n this episode of History Speaks, Roshan Iqbal speaks with Cyrus Zargar on the role of storytelling and virtue ethics in the work of Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, the 13th-century jurist, philosopher, poet, and polymath. The conversation delves particularly into the virtue of ‘compassion’ within the context of the story ‘The Tale of the Sufi and the Judge,’ from Maulana Rūmī’s magnum opus, the Mathnawī-i Maʿnawī (“The Rhymed Couplets of Spiritual Signification”).
Dr. Roshan Iqbal hails from a small hamlet of 20 million–Karachi, Pakistan. She received her PhD in Islamic Studies from Georgetown University. Prior to this she read for her MPhil at the University of Cambridge. She has studied in Pakistan, the US, Morocco, Egypt, Jordon, the UK, and Iran. Her research interests include gender and sexuality in the Qur’an, Islamic Law, Film and Media Studies, and modern Muslim intellectuals. Her recent book is titled, ‘Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law: Rethinking Temporary Marriage.’ As an associate professor at Agnes Scott College, she teaches classes in the Religious Studies department and also classes that are cross-listed with Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Film Studies. When she is not working, she loves talking to her family and friends on the phone (thank you, unlimited plans), tracking fashion (sartorial flourishes are such fun), watching films (love! love! love!), reading novels (never enough), painting watercolors (less and less poorly), and cooking new dishes (sometimes successfully).
Cyrus Ali Zargar is Al-Ghazali Distinguished Professor of Islamic Studies and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Central Florida. Zargar’s research interests focus on the metaphysical, aesthetic, and ethical intersections between Sufism and Islamic philosophy. His first book, Sufi Aesthetics: Beauty, Love, and the Human Form in Ibn ʿArabi and ʿIraqi, was published in 2011 by the University of South Carolina Press. His most recent book, The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism, was published in 2017 by Oneworld Press. His forthcoming book concerns Sufi ethics and the theme of self-transformation in the corpus of the Persian poet ʿAṭṭār.
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In this episode of On The Square, Sapelo Square’s Executive Director Latasha Rouseau sits down with Salima Suswell.
Salima is the CEO and President of Evolve Solutions and founder of the Philadelphia Ramadan and Eid Fund.
Salima shares how her upbringing provided the foundation for her love of community and civic engagement. Her father, Imam Asim Abdur-Rashid (may Allah be pleased with him) was the imam for Masjid Mujahideen in Philadelphia until his passing in 2022. Her mother, Majeedah Rashid, has been a community organizer throughout her life. Both were influential in shaping the woman she has become today. A self described daughter of the Dar-ul-Islam movement, Salima draws from her roots steeped in love of faith, activism and community engagement as she moves in the world today. The conversation begins with the question “Who is Salima?” and proceeds to touch on topics pertaining to the history of Black Muslims in America, the importance of remaining civically engaged no matter the obstacles or political climate, voter suppression and the role that everyone must play to achieve the best outcome for all of society. This episode is a reminder that there is strength in community and power in our shared history.
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Juvaria Khan is the founder and executive director of the Appellate Project, a non-profit that strives to empower law students of color to not only work, but thrive in the appellate field. Appellate courts, (also referred to as the court of appeals), review cases that have been appealed to ensure that the initial proceedings were fair and the proper law was applied correctly. These are the highest courts in our nation that make decisions on all aspects of our lives, including healthcare, religion and policing. As you can imagine, communities of color are often disproportionately impacted by many of the rulings that are made due to a lack of diversity within these spaces. In this episode, Latasha Rouseau, executive director of Sapelo Square, speaks with Juvaria about the flaws of the appellate court system but also the opportunities that exist to change its racial makeup, including the lane she has created to lead the way. As you listen, you will realize that Juvaria is no joke. She is knowledgeable and passionate about ensuring that the persons making decisions in our highest courts reflect the people they represent. As we commemorate Black August and honor the political prisoners, activists and freedom fighters, past and present, let us also remember and highlight the persons within our courts fighting to protect the freedoms of those putting their lives on the line so that justice is served to all.
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In episode 10 of the “Islam on the Edges” podcast, Ermin Sinanović talks with Prof. Ingrid Mattson about her recent visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Religious tourism, including the Muslim version of “halal tourism,” has been on the rise all over the world and in all religions. Prof. Mattson reflects on her visit to Bosnia by talking about the ethics of travel, importance of blending the built environment with nature, and Muslim practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Welcome to episode 10 of Islam on the Edges channel of the Maydan Podcast, a project by the Abu Sulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University in Virginia. In this episode, we discuss Prof. Ingrid Mattson’s recent visit to one of the emerging destinations in the Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina. With its rich Islamic history, dating back to the Ottoman era and extending to the present, Bosnia has become an important visit site for Muslims from all over the world, but primarily from the Arab Gulf countries, Turkey, and Western Muslims, including from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Halal tourism, a sub-category of religious tourism, caters to Muslims by providing Muslim-friendly destinations and content, such as prayer spaces, halal food, and Muslim historical sites. According to BBC, “the Muslim travel market is expected to reach $300 billion by 2026.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina is an interesting case. According to the 2013 census, Bosnia is barely a majority Muslim country, with just over 50% of population identifying as Muslim. Yet, they are heavily concentrated in the part of the country that hasn’t been ethnically cleansed by the Serb and (to a lesser extent) Croat paramilitary forces during the brutal aggression in the 1990s. Combining a rich Ottoman legacy with a more recent secular experience under the communist regime, Bosnia and Herzegovina provides an interesting mix of being situated in Europe and having a considerable Muslim presence and legacy.
Prof. Mattson reflects on the ethics of travel, pointing to the huge carbon footprint of air travel. She explains the need for ethical dealing with the environment and the populations one is visiting. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, this is even more sensitive due to the recent memory of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes. Respectful listening and empathy are some of the key elements of the ethics of travel.
While sharing her experiences, Prof. Mattson talks about the beauty of Bosnian mosques and their human proportions. She reflects on female prayer spaces in Bosnian mosques that could serve as a good example of inclusion and spirituality. We hope you will enjoy this episode.
Dr. Ingrid Mattson was born and raised in Canada, earning a BA (hons) in Philosophy and Fine Arts, then moved to the United States to study at the University of Chicago, earning a PhD in Near Eastern Language and Civilizations in 1999. From 1998 to 2012 she was Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut where she developed and directed the first accredited graduate program for Muslim chaplains in North America and served as Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. Since 2012 she has held the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at Western University in London, Canada.
From 2001-2010 Dr. Mattson served as vice-president, then as president of the Indiana-based Islamic Society of North America. In that position she established the Office of Interfaith and Community Engagement in Washington, DC, and facilitated new partnerships with other faith-based communities and civic organizations. Her writings, both academic and public, focus primarily Qur’an interpretation, Islamic theological ethics and interfaith relations. Her book, The Story of the Qur’an, is an academic best-seller and was distributed to...
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On this episode of On The Square, Sapelo Square’s News Editor Dr. Nisa Muhammad speaks with Yaya Fanusie, creator of The Jabbari Lincoln Files. The Jabbari Lincoln Files is an international spy thriller presented in a 10-episode podcast series. The protagonist is a Black Muslim CIA Financial Analyst who takes listeners on the ride of a lifetime through intriguing narratives and audio effects that will have you on the edge of your seat. Fanusie spent seven years as both an economic and counterterrorism analyst in the CIA. He brings his knowledge and background to life through Jabbari Lincoln, weaving the Black experience and Islam into the storyline. Without giving away any spoilers, this podcast will introduce you to your next favorite listen. It’s that good.
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Welcome to episode 9 of Islam on the Edges channel of the Maydan Podcast, a project by the Abu Sulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University in Virginia. I talk to Dr. Asim Qureshi.
It is often said that 9/11 changed everything. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the unindicted war criminal Tony Blair, said after the 7/7/2005 bombings in London, the “rules of the game” have changed. This prompt provided the title for Dr. Asim Qureshi’s first book, “Rules of the Game: Detention, Deportation, Disappearance.”
In this episode, Dr. Qureshi and I discuss how 9/11 and the ensuing atmosphere of anti-Muslim propaganda in Western democracies negatively impacted the rule of law in his native England and worldwide. He chronicles some of the most egregious violations of the rule of law during the so-called “war on terror.” Dr. Qureshi reflects on his work with the CAGE advocacy group in the UK. CAGE “works closely with survivors of abuse and mistreatment across the globe, documenting their abuse and enabling them to take action and access due process.” (CAGE website)
Out of these experiences, Dr. Qureshi developed a strong ethic of advocating for abused and mistreated detainees. He also refuses to play the condemnation game, whereby Muslims are often called to condemn violent acts allegedly perpetrated by other Muslims in the name of Islam. Once, while listening to the Friday prayer sermon or khutbah with his children, he heard the Imam (prayer leader) calling for absolute obedience to authorities, even if they were unjust. This event led him to contemplate the virtue of disobedience in the face of grave injustices.
Dr. Asim Qureshi graduated in Law (LLB Hons, LLM), specializing in International Law and Islamic Law. He completed his Ph.D. in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent. He is the Research Director at the advocacy group CAGE, and since 2003 has specialized in investigating the impact of counterterrorism practices worldwide. He has published a wide range of NGO reports, academic journals and articles. He has written Rules of the Game: Detention, Deportation, Disappearance (Hurst, Columbia UP, 2009), A Virtue of Disobedience (Unbound, 2019), and is the editor of the book I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in Times of National Security (Manchester UP, 2020). His forthcoming book with Dr Walaa Quisay, When Only God Can See (Pluto Press, 2024) will focus on the way Islam is practised by political prisoners under the custody of the US and Egypt. Since 2010, he has been advising legal teams involved in defending terrorism trials in the US and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. -
Dr. Aminah Al-Deen, PI of Black Islam Internationalism Project (BAMI) at GMU's AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies interviews Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali, a faculty member at Zaytuna College and founder of Lamppost Productions on his journey in scholarship, time in Philadelphia, Morocco, and beyond. See more about BAMI at themaydan.com/category/bami/and learn more about Dr. Ali's scholarship at binhamidali.com/
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Dr. Aminah Al-Deen, PI of Black Islam Internationalism Project (BAMI) at GMU's AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies interviews Okolo Rashid, Co-Founder, International Museum of Muslim Cultures on Black Islam in Mississippi and beyond. See more about BAMI at themaydan.com/category/bami/and about the Museum at muslimmuseum.org/
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Prof. Maria Dakake, Professor of Religion and Director of AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University, hosts scholar Dr. Katrin Jomaa for a conversation on her recent title, Ummah: A New Paradigm for A Global World (SUNY Press, 2021).
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In this guest episode of Maydan Podcast, our Editor-in-Chief Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu hosts Dr. Radwan Masmoudi and Dr. Dalia Fahmy from the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID )for a conversation on CSID’s 21st Annual Conference, “Why the US Should Support Democracy in the Muslim World, and How?” taking place in Washington, DC on June 3, 2023. Dr. Masmoudi talks about CSID’s past and present work, and Dr. Fahmy, who serves on the board of CSID and is the Program Chair for the Conference, details the questions and concerns that shaped the star-studded one-day conference.
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In this episode of On The Square, it’s all about our Black boys! Sapelo Square’s Executive Director, Latasha Rouseau, speaks with Atiba Saleem Jones, the founder and Executive Director of SAVE Institute, which offers middle and high school programs to young Black boys as an alternative to a traditional school setting. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the mission of SAVE Institute is “to SAVE black boys from cycles of poverty, crime, incarceration and lack of purpose through engagement in Service, Agriculture, Vocational training and Entrepreneurship”. As you will learn, Atiba has dedicated his life to positively impacting the lives of young men. The conversation flows from Atiba’s roots in Philly, his epiphany while in Syria and his maturation on the campus of Morehouse College. Atiba and Latasha touch on issues that include the school to prison pipeline, mental health, practicing Islam and rites of passage for young Black males. In a society where we are constantly confronted with negative depictions of Black lives, this is a dialogue for anyone ready to be inspired by the work and commitment of a group of men dedicated to seeing Black boys not only succeed, but thrive.
Make sure you stay until the end so you can hear briefly from a very special guest and student at SAVE Institute. -
Aïdah Aliyah Rasheed, Special Projects Lead sits down with Bee Walker, photographer, filmmaker and one-half of Paper Monday. Within this episode, Aïdah and Bee talk about the beginning stages behind the collaborative project between Sapelo Square and Paper Monday, Preserving the Legacy Portraits and Stories Capturing Black Muslim Life.* Bee shares a specific experience that occurred when Aïdah invited her to attend Jumu’ah (Friday prayer service) at Masjid Khalifah in Brooklyn, New York. Additionally the two discuss specifics about the creative process and balancing paying bills while simultaneously honoring their main intentions as creatives in the world, striving to “make art that matters.”
This conversation serves as an encouragement to Black creatives and storytellers who, like most people, have doubts about their abilities, whether they will secure adequate resources for their projects or cultivate an audience who will appreciate their gifts, to continue to push forward when obstacles may seem insurmountable. This episode also touches on the importance of telling our stories with intentionality, having faith and persevering through it all
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Jasmine Soliman is an archivist. She started her work on the Akkasah Photography Archive (now part of the al Mawrid Center for Arab Art at New York University (NYU)-Abu Dhabi) in 2016. Prior to that, she worked as an archivist at the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, beginning in 2013, and formerly was a business development professional working largely in the Middle East. Her work focuses on collection appraisal and management, cataloging and descriptive vocabularies, website UX/UI design, and social media outreach. She collaborates with the al Mawrid team to oversee the physical and digital collections, and works closely with the NYU Digital Library Technology Services Team and the website teams at NYU Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, as well as with the general public as they use the collections. She has presented her work at MELCOM, UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, Sharjah Art Foundation and The British Library. She endeavors to create archives that are inclusive and accessible to all in their design and function, and considerate of socioeconomic status and physical ability.She is the Founder of RepCinema.com which highlights repertory cinema screenings in the UAE and London and highlights of her work can be found at JasmineSoliman.comCredits:
Music: Blue Dot Sessions
Logo: Marwa Yasser Gadallah -
In episode 8 of the “Islam on the Edges” podcast, Ermin Sinanovic talks with Dr. Aliyah Khan and Dr. Kenneth Chitwood about the Muslims of the Caribbean. They discussed the coming of Islam to the region, Muslim diversity, ethnolinguistic differences, material and cultural production, major historical developments, Muslim politics, and knowledge production. Muslims of the Caribbean is a growing community due to the continued conversion to Islam in the region. This wide-ranging episode briefly introduces this Muslim community’s rich history, legacy, and present.
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In episode 7 of the “Islam on the Edges” podcast, Ermin Sinanovic talks to Imam Khalid Griggs about the Islamic Party in North America (IPNA). The episode traces the origins of the IPNA within the African-American Muslim community. It looks at the transnational links with the Muslims in Pakistan, Lybia, and other countries, that have contributed to the development of ideas within the IPNA. Imam Griggs talks about the relationship between the Nation of Islam and IPNA, the importance of Malcolm X, and the connection with the Muslims in the Caribbean. The IPNA was mostly active in the 1970s and the 1980s. It left a lasting influence on a generation of Muslim activists in the African-American community. This episode sheds light on the legacy of the IPNA.
BIO: Imam Khalid Griggs is the Imam of Community Mosque of Winston-Salem (NC), Director of Social Justice and Civic Engagement ICNA Council for Social Justice, Board Member of the Institute for Dismantling Racism, Member Sponsoring Committee Triad Industrial Areas Foundation, and member of Interfaith Winston-Salem.
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In this episode of the Maydan Podcast, our editor-in-chief, Ahmet Tekelioglu speaks with a new GMU faculty member, Dr. Aminah McCloud Al-Deen who joined Mason to lead the Black American Muslim Internationalism Project, supported by the Henry Luce Foundation . They talk about Dr. Al-Deen’s academic journey from Philadelphia to Chicago and the goals of the BAMI Project at Mason’s AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies.
Read more here about the BAMI Project https://islamicstudiescenter.gmu.edu/articles/18039. -
This episode of Knowledge and its Producers talks to Bharti Lalwani, who is a perfumer and art critic as well as the curator of the online exhibition Bagh-e Hind. Throughout the interview, Lalwani tells us about her journey to making perfume and what it is to work as an independent perfumer, not only demonstrating that practice and expertise are intertwined, but what it is to exist outside of institutional structures. Later in the show, we are joined by her collaborator on Bagh-e Hind, Nicolas Roth, to talk about digital exhibition curation and what it is to tell a multi-faceted history of scent.
Credits:
Music: Blue Dot Sessions
Logo: Marwa Yasser Gadallah -
In this episode of History Speaks, Tazeen M. Ali speaks with Edward E. Curtis IV about his recent book, Muslims of the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest (NYU Press, 2022). They discuss the often-forgotten history of early Arab Muslim migration to the United States, the racialization of Islam, and mythmaking narratives that paint the American Midwest as homogenously white. They also discuss Curtis' wide-ranging scholarship on Islam in America, as well as his book and documentary, Arab Indianapolis.
Tazeen M. Ali is a scholar of Islam and gender in the United States and assistant professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. She is the author of The Women’s Mosque of America: Authority & Community in US Islam (New York University Press 2022).
Edward E Curtis IV is a publicly-engaged scholar of Muslim American, African American, and Arab American history and life. He is the William M. and Gail M. Plater Chai... -
In this solo episode, Rahina Muazu discusses Qur’an recitation and female reciters in Nigeria. She touches briefly on the history of Islam and Islamic knowledge in west Africa, particularly in Hausaland (what is today northern Nigeria and some parts of southern Niger), the presence of the female sound of recitation in the public space and the debates surrounding perception of women’s voices as part of their nakedness (ʿawra).
Rahina Muazu is a scholar of Islam and gender and a visiting lecturer and research associate at the Harvard Divinity School. She holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from Freie University, Berlin and MA in Muslim Cultures from the Aga Khan University London and BA in Islamic Studies from the university of Jos, Nigeria. She has authored several articles, the most recent is ‘Why invite her here? Her voice is ʿawra!’: vocal nudity debates and Muslim female preachers in northern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
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In this episode of Maydan Podcast, Wikke Jansen speaks with Ken Chitwood about his latest book, The Muslims of Latin America and the Caribbean (Lynne Rienner, 2021). They discuss the role of Muslims in the history and present of the Americas and tracing their various legacies back to sixteenth-century Andalusian Spain, the coming of the colonizers and conquistadores to Americas. Reflecting on the book, the conversation shines a light on how Muslims have shaped not only Latin America and the Caribbean, but the story of “global Islam” in general - from enslaved Muslims and indentured servants from India and Indonesia, and migrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa, to contemporary convert communities and the halal economy.
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