Parvez and Omar welcome Professor Mohammad Fadel to discuss the current political climate in light of COVID-19, the recent Supreme Court decisions involving various hot button issues, and the upcoming election, which is less than four months away. Mohammad Fadel is a Professor and Toronto Research Chair for the Law and Economics of Islamic Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
Jul 28, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Season 7Ep. 96
Co-hosts Parvez Ahmed and Omar Ansari are joined by a very special guest, former NBA player, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, for an in-depth conversation covering his early days as a youth in Mississippi to his ascension to the NBA, his acceptance of Islam, the national anthem controversy, current events, and his future plans. Join us for this long-awaited conversation!
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 53 min•Season 7Ep. 95
Co-hosts Parvez Ahmed and Omar Ansari are joined by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, founder of SeekersGuidance. They dive deep into what Ramadan will look like this year, given the stay at home orders, and Shaykh Faraz shares his thoughts on, among many things, how to take advantage of the month's blessing despite the disruption.
Apr 24, 2020•1 hr 53 min•Season 7Ep. 94
Co-hosts Parvez Ahmed and Omar Ansari are joined by Dr. Umair Shah and Dr. Mir Alikhan in a discussion covering the public health impact of the coronavirus crisis. Dr. Shah is Executive Director and Local Health Authority for Harris County Public Health (HCPH) – a nationally recognized $100 million agency serving the nation’s 3rd largest county (4.7 million). Dr. Alikhan is a private practice pulmonary & critical care physician on staff at Houston Methodist West Hospital and Houston Methodis...
Apr 12, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 7Ep. 93
Join hosts Parvez Ahmed and Omar Ansari as they sit down with Ahsan Syed to hear about his journey from India to the United States half a century ago, and all the ups and downs that came with being an immigrant in America. This is the first in a series of episodes where we'll hear the stories of Muslim immigrants to the United States. Please note that this episode was recorded prior to the COVID-19 crisis.
Apr 09, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 7Ep. 92
Join Parvez Ahmed and Omar Ansari as they catch up (virtually) from their homes in the bay area to discuss their experiences self-isolating and socially distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mar 31, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Season 7Ep. 91
Diffused Congruence begins 2020 with a new co-host! Listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com ....
Mar 05, 2020•50 min•Season 7Ep. 90
Happy New Year! Diffused Congruence celebrates 2020 by taking a look at the latest film in the storied Star Wars saga with special guest Omar Ansari for a deep dive into the close of this latest trilogy. Listen as Zaki, Parvez, and Omar discuss what they liked, what they didn't, and just generally geek out over their shared love for this beloved franchise. Plus: An announcement about the future of the show! Check it all out via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ). As always, please hit ...
Jan 01, 2020•1 hr 50 min•Season 7Ep. 89
Our guest this episode is Kalia Abiade, Managing Director for Strategy and Partnerships at the Pillars Fund . Ms. Abiade joins us for an engrossing discussion about the nature of her work and why it serves an important function within and without the Muslim community. Listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com ....
Dec 03, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 62
We're joined this episode by renowned photographer Peter Sanders for a fascinating dive into his personal journey to Islam and what he's learned during his five decades capturing indelible and iconic images. Listen via the embed below (or at iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com....
Oct 31, 2019•52 min•Ep. 61
We're joined this episode by filmmaker Justin Mashouf, who discusses his engrossing new documentary The Honest Struggle, as well as the path he followed to pursue a career in filmmaking. It's a conversation we're confident you'll find educational and insightful, and you can check it out via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ). As always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com....
Oct 09, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 60
We're joined this episode by author Asma T. Uddin to discuss her new book When Islam is Not a Religion, as well as her reflections on the rise of the Muslim community in her native Florida, and much more. It's a fascinating and insightful conversation about a topic that's extremely important and relevant. You can listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com ....
Sep 27, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 59
We're joined this month by special guest Youssef Ismail, sharing his expertise with the science of moon sighting as we prepare to celebrate Eid-ul-Adha. In addition, he also tells the story of his time in the Bay Area during the early days of what would become Zaytuna College, and being "present at the birth," so to speak. Listen via the embed below (or at iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail....
Aug 10, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 58
Our special guest this month is famed chef and restaurateur Lisa Ahmad, who shares her heartfelt and inspiring story of coming to Islam, and how she founded Fremont, California's renowned Mirchi Cafe . It's a veritable feast for the senses in this episode, and you hear it via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com....
Jul 20, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 57
For this episode of the show we're joined by poet Amir Sulaiman, who shares his story, spanning his journey from growing up in Rochester, New York to his time on the stage for HBO's Def Poetry Jam. He also closes the show with a reading of some of his incredible work. It's an engrossing and lively hour of conversation, and you can listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruen...
Jul 01, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 56
Our guest for this episode is Dr. Evelyn Alsultany, a leading expert on the history of representations of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. media and on forms of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism, and an Associate Professor in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Dr. Alsultany joins us for a wide-ranging and very engaging conversation about the nature of representation for Middle Eastern and Muslim characters in television and film,...
Jun 05, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 55
This month we’re joined by world renowned fitness expert Zainab Ismail , who tells us the remarkable story of her journey to Islam, as well as the best nutrition practices to get the most out of fasting in Ramadan! Listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com....
May 13, 2019•58 min•Ep. 54
For the second of our two live episodes recorded during Diffused Congruence's Michigan tour, we were honored to be joined by a roundtable of MI luminaries -- Najah Bazzy of Zaman International, Mark Crain of DREAM of Detroit, and Imam Dawud Walid, Executive Director CAIR Michigan -- for a rousing and informative conversation about the role of sacred activism in the American Muslim community. Listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook...
Apr 29, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 53
Our guest this month joined us for our special live show from the University of Michigan campus: Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer discussing her fascinating story as well as her book Muslim Cool, documenting the linkage between Islam and hip-hop music. Listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com ....
Apr 10, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 52
This month we're joined by special guest Danish Qasim, founder of the website In Shaykh's Clothing and a counselor to victims of spiritual abuse. We tackle a lot of heavy topics in this discussion, but it's necessary and important, and we hope you'll give it a listen. You can hear it through the embed below or via iTunes or Stitcher , and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com ....
Mar 19, 2019•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 51
For this episode we're joined by special guest Sundiata Al Rashid, Emir of the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, CA, for a wide-ranging discussion about his journey to Islam, and how the face of Islam in the Bay Area has changed over the last three decades. You can listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com....
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 50
We inaugurate a new series-within-a-series with this episode: Movies That Matter! On occasion we will take some time to look back at the long history of cinema and examine films worthy of deeper examination from a variety of perspectives. For our first such foray, we look at a mutual favorite, The Godfather and its two sequels, and examine the films' thematic impact, sociopolitical commentary, and much more. We hope you enjoy this digression from our usual interviews, and please let us know what...
Jan 29, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 49
We close out this year's crop of episodes with a return visit from Dr. Ali Ataie, who joined us the morning after Christmas for an expansive and engrossing conversation about Jesus in Islam, and how Muslims view him and the nature of the crucifixion. It's the kind of discussion we look forward to on this show, and we hope you'll enjoy giving it a listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to ...
Jan 01, 2019•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 48
For our latest episode we're excited to be recording from Hub925 in Pleasanton, CA, with special guest Zachary Markwith a doctoral student at the Graduate Theological Union specializing in early Islamic spirituality and comparative religious studies. Listen in for a fun and far-ranging conversation spanning the gamut of topics, including his journey to Islam and his continued interfaith work and even a brief digression on what prophetic stories have in common with superhero myths. You can listen...
Dec 17, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 47
Parvez and Zaki reconvened in the wake of last week's midterm elections and the subsequent "Blue Wave" to take stock of what these results mean for the state of our politics moving forward. In addition, we also pause to mourn the passing of two giants: Religious scholar Dr. Sulayman Nyang and comic book creator Stan Lee, appreciating the considerable impact each made in their respective fields. And finally, we celebrate five years of this podcast, looking back at where we started, and what our p...
Nov 15, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 46
Diffused Congruence is back for the fall! This episode, Parvez and Zaki are privileged to share a lively and engrossing conversation with Dr. Ali Ataie of Zaytuna College. Listen in as he discusses his long history of fostering interfaith dialogue, as well as his own journey of reconnecting with Islam after watching Spike Lee's film Malcolm X. You can listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or question...
Oct 16, 2018•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 45
After a brief Summer hiatus, Parvez and Zaki reconvene for a brief and breezy episode catching up with each other and a lot of the news and headlines from within and without the Muslim community! Think of this as a chance to get caught up before we get into our roster of guests for the fall! You can listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page , and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com....
Sep 05, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 44
We're joined this episode by legendary Hip Hop artist and community activist Brother Ali for an in-depth conversation about his journey to Islam, his musical inspirations, and how he tries to better the world at large through his art. It's an engaging and insightful hour-and-change, and we're sure you'll enjoy giving it a listen just as much as we enjoyed simply being there to facilitate it. Listen via the embed below, or via iTunes or Stitcher . As always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page...
Jul 30, 2018•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 43
We're joined by comedian Preacher Moss (The "Allah Made Me Funny" comedy tour) for our latest episode, in a free-wheeling conversation that covers the current state of politics in the United States to the current state of comedy within the Muslim community! You'll laugh hard, and you'll think harder, which is a little taste of what it's like to be in the audience for one of Preacher's shows! You can listen via the embed below (or via iTunes or Stitcher ), and as always, please hit "like" on our ...
Jun 29, 2018•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 42
We have a very timely discussion this episode, as we're joined by Ahmad Nassar, President of NFL Players Incorporated, the National Football League Players Association’s licensing and marketing business, for a conversation about his journey to this role, as well as his thoughts on recent actions taken by the NFL with regards to players' protests on the field. It's another fun and engaging discussion in the Diffused Congruence style, and we're sure you'll enjoy hearing it as much as we enjoyed be...
May 30, 2018•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 41
