Path & Present w/Baraka Blue - podcast cover

Path & Present w/Baraka Blue

Baraka Bluewww.patreon.com
Path & Present is a long form conversation hosted by poet, emcee, and teaching-artist Baraka Blue with friends and guests including artists, musicians, authors, and scholars to collectively explore what it means to walk a path of awakening and spiritual discernment in the modern world. Topics covered include spirituality/religion/metaphysics, community, art/music, psychology, social justice, Islam and Muslims in the West, and earth stewardship. **Path & Present** Is a community endeavor produced for the sake of sharing the stories of our communities and amplifying the forces of positivity and goodness in the universe. It is made possible through community support. Enjoy Path and Present Podcast? Now you can become a supporter/patron at Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4205410 Baraka Blue is a poet and musician from Seattle, Washington. After reading the works of Rumi and Ibn Arabi he traveled to study with contemporary Sufi teachers in Morocco, Turkey, Yemen, Egypt and beyond. He has a BA in Arabic from the University of Washington and was awarded a Master's Degree in Islamic Studies from the GTU, Berkeley for his research on the Sufi thought of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. As a teaching-artist he has performed all over the world, including such institutions as Princeton and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
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Episodes

#068: Love is a Traveler w/ Medina Tenour Whiteman

For this season finale, we are joined by our dear sister and fellow poet Medina Tenour Whiteman. Medina is a writer, poet, translator and musician. She is the author of a collection of poetry, Love is a Traveller and We Are its Path, and Huma's Travel Guide to Islamic Spain. She lives near Granada, Spain, with her husband and three children. Path & Present is a long form conversation hosted by poet, emcee, and teaching-artist Baraka Blue with friends and guests including artists, musicians, ...

Nov 25, 20241 hr 53 min

#067: For The Love Of Books with Ibrahim Tahir

For this episode, we speak with Ibrahim Tahir from Warda Books. Primarily selling Islamic books in English, Wardah Books is a bookstore in Singapore founded and run by Ibrahim Tahir, who recognises that Bussorah Street is a place steeped in the history of Kampong Gelam as a Malay literary hub. His passion lies in the promotion of Islamic culture and books. Path & Present is a long form conversation hosted by poet, emcee, and teaching-artist Baraka Blue with friends and guests including artis...

Nov 21, 20241 hr 26 min

#066: Poetic Perception: Poetry as a Way of Seeing & Being w/ Oludamini Ogunnaike

In this episode we speak with our dear friend Oludamini Ogunnaike about poetry; not so much as a way of expressing oneself, but as a way of perceiving. The first half of this episode is a discussion and in the second half Oludamini gives a presentation with examples of poetry from the Islamic tradition. Oludamini Ogunnaike is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia and the author of “Deep Knowledge: Ways of Knowing in Tijani Sufism and Ifa”, and “Poetry in Prais...

Nov 13, 20241 hr 49 min

#065: Islam in China: What Muslims In The Far East Can Teach The West w/ Peter Sanders

In this episode we speak to world renowned photographer Peter Sanders about his new book HEAVEN, EARTH and THE TEN THOUSAND THINGS: The Lives of the Muslims in China Over a period of twelve years, internationally acclaimed photographer Peter Sanders travelled throughout China to capture images of Chinese Muslims and their unique spiritual culture, which began only sixty years after Hijra, when Saad ibn Abi Waqqas and other Companions of the Messenger of God settled in this majestic land at the i...

Nov 04, 20241 hr 12 min

#064: Ibn ‘Arabi’s Religious Pluralism: Levels of Inclusivity w/ Faris Abdel-hadi

This week's episode of Path & Present podcast features a conversation with Faris Abdel-hadi about Ibn ‘Arabi’s ideas of religious pluralism. Dr. Faris Abdel-hadi is an author and specialist researcher in the field of Ibn Arabi studies, metaphysics, Sufism and philosophy. Path & Present is a long form conversation hosted by poet, emcee, and teaching-artist Baraka Blue with friends and guests including artists, musicians, authors, and scholars to collectively explore what it means to walk ...

Oct 28, 20242 hr 27 min

#063: The Soul as a Work of Art: Creativity & The Spiritual Path w/ Sukina Noor

Enjoy this conversation with our dear friend Sukina Noor as we dive into the topic of "The Soul as a Work of Art" + creativity and the spiritual path. Sukina Noor is a poet, spoken-word artist, playwright, workshop facilitator and educator, artistic curator, writer and public speaker who has toured extensively across UK, Europe, America and Africa. She is the author of the debut poetry collection of poetry, Love and Longing: Yearning for the Face of God. Path & Present is a long form convers...

Oct 21, 20241 hr 37 min

#062: Murāqaba: The Art of Islamic Meditation w/ Adeyinka Mendes

In this episode, we discuss the Islamic meditation practice of Murāqaba with our long-time friend and teacher Adeyinka Mendes. Path & Present is a long form conversation hosted by poet, emcee, and teaching-artist Baraka Blue with friends and guests including artists, musicians, authors, and scholars to collectively explore what it means to walk a path of awakening and spiritual discernment in the modern world. Topics covered include spirituality/religion/metaphysics, community, art/music, ps...

Oct 14, 20241 hr 16 min

#061: The Sufi Philosophy of 'Ayn al-Quḍāt w/ Mohammad Rustom

In this episode, we discuss Mohammad Rustom's new book, Inrushes of the Heart, which delves into the life and thought of the Muslim philosopher and Sufi master 'Ayn al-Quḍāt Hamadānī. The conversation explores the book's insights into 'Ayn al-Quḍāt's original teachings on topics such as God, human agency, and spiritual practice. Path & Present is a long form conversation hosted by poet, emcee, and teaching-artist Baraka Blue with friends and guests including artists, musicians, authors, and ...

Oct 13, 20241 hr 55 min

#060: Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam w/ A. Helwa

A. Helwa believes that every single person on Earth is deeply loved by the Divine. She is a writer who has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers through her passionate, poetic, and love-based approach to spirituality. Her popular blog @quranquotesdaily, was established while obtaining her Masters in Divinity, as a means of helping others overcome personal and spiritual struggles on their journey of experiencing divine love. With over 15 years of experience writing and speaking on Islam and s...

Feb 21, 20231 hr 44 min

#059: Vast Oceans: From the Spirituality of Malcolm to the Activism of Rumi w/ Dr. Youssef Carter

Dr. Carter is Assistant Professor and Kenan Rifai Fellow in Islamic Studies at the Department of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Carter has a special interest in Sufism, a passion that has been sparked by years of research and involvement amongst Black Muslim communities in the United States as well as Senegal. When it comes to the classroom, Dr. Carter loves to see his students engaged, especially when the conversation turns towards African-American Muslims in the Black Freedom Strugg...

Jan 21, 20231 hr 26 min

#058: A Journey of the Soul, A Journey to Islam w. Dr. Abdallah Rothman

Dr. Abdallah Rothman is Professor of Islamic Psychology and Principal at Cambridge Muslim College, founder of Shifaa Integrative Counseling and co-founder and Executive Director of the International Association of Islamic Psychology. He was previously Visiting Professor of Psychology at George Washington University, Zaim University Istanbul, International Islamic University Islamabad, and Al-Neelain University Khartoum.

Dec 26, 20221 hr 42 min

#057: Case of Jamil Al-Amin: w/ Kairi Al-Amin & Maha Elkolalli

Time Magazine: The Many Lives of H. Rap Brown https://time.com/6111614/h-rap-brown-jamil-al-amin/ JAMIL AL-AMIN, IMAM (1943– ) A gifted rhetorician and civil rights activist, the American Muslim leader Jamil al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown, born in 1943) came to national prominence in the 1960s as an outspoken advocate of black power. In 1967, Brown succeeded Stokely Carmichael as leader of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a prominent African-American civil rights organizati...

Sep 20, 20221 hr 18 min

#055: Wisdom Crystallized: What is Sufi Metaphysics? w/ Mohammed Rustom

We speak about the course Wisdom Crystallized: Sufi Metaphysics in 21 Verses. https://www.rumicenter.love/wisdom https://www.mohammedrustom.com Mohammed Rustom is Associate Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Islamic Studies in the College of the Humanities at Carleton University. He obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto in 2009, specializing in Islamic philosophy and literature. Professor Rustom has been the recipient of a number of academic distinctions and prizes, which include the Ib...

Mar 25, 20211 hr 9 min

#054: Awakening in the Dream: Ibn Arabi, Virtual Reality & Ultimate Reality w/ Oludamini Ogunnaike

Oludamini Ogunnaike holds a PhD in African Studies and the Study of Religion from Harvard University, and is Assistant Professor of African Religious Thought at the University of Virginia. Oludamini Ogunnaike is a scholar of African, Islamic, and Religious Studies, with a focus on the intellectual and artistic dimensions of West African Sufism and Ifa, an indigenous Yoruba religious tradition. His work examines the postcolonial, colonial, and precolonial Islamic and indigenous religious traditio...

Aug 29, 20201 hr 36 min

#053: Islam & the Blackamerican: Reflections on Race, Religion & Identity w/ Dr. Sherman Jackson

Dr. Sherman Jackson is the King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture, and Professor of Religion and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California (USC). In this conversation, recorded February 2020, Dr. Jackson reflects on his seminal work, "Islam and the Blackamerican" nearly 20 years after it was written. He gives an overview of the central thesis in the book and then reflects on developments in the subsequent decades. We discuss changing demographics in the Am...

Jun 04, 20201 hr 8 min

#052: A Ramadan in Retreat: Psychological/Spiritual Wellness in Isolation w/ Dr. Abdallah Rothman

Dr. Abdallah Rothman is an Islamic Psychology researcher and practitioner. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC). In addition to his academic and clinical training in Western psychology, Abdallah studies and practices Islamic Psychology and is currently doing doctoral research in this area. His clinical practice as well as his academic research focus on approaching counseling from within an Islamic paradigm; and establishing an indi...

Apr 26, 20201 hr

#051: Women of Light w/ Ieasha Prime

Ieasha Prime converted to Islam more than 20 years ago, after being an International Youth Ambassador to Morocco and Senegal. It was during this time in her youth that she officially began studying Islam. The year she returned from the youth ambassador’s program, she took an Islamic Studies course at the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. from the professor and scholar Mohammad Arafat. It was during this course, that Ms. Prime formally took Shahadah (profession of the Islamic faith). Since that t...

Jan 30, 202058 min

#050: Beauty in Breaking: The Heart of Poetry w/ Amir Sulaiman (LIVE @ WASAT)

Amir Sulaiman is a poet, recording artist, Harvard Fellow, actor, screen writer and producer born in Rochester, New York. His poems cross subjects of love, tragedy as well as what it means to reconcile humanity with the unprecedented trials of modernity. He has performed his works across the US as well as many other countries including England, Belgium, Senegal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Australia, Iran and the Netherlands, and continues to tour world-wide. His recently published book of ...

Jan 19, 20201 hr 20 min

#049: The Walking Quran: Insights from Islam in Africa w/ Dr. Bilal Ware

Dr. Bilal Ware is a historian of Africa and Islam. He is professor at UC Santa Barbara. He earned his Ph.D. in 2004 at the University of Pennsylvania where he trained in African History, African-American History, and Islamic Intellectual History. His research spans the last thousand years, centering on West Africa, while reaching into the Mediterranean lands of Islam and the Atlantic worlds of the African Diaspora. Walking Quran: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469614311/the-walking-quran/ Jihad o...

Nov 19, 20191 hr 12 min

#048: 'Ayn al-Qudat's Tawhid of Iblis: In Defense of the Devil? w/ Mohammed Rustom

Mohammed Rustom is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University. He obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto in 2009, specializing in Islamic thought, Quranic exegesis, and Persian literature. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the NYUAD Library of Arabic Literature. Website: https://www.mohammedrustom.com Articles: https://www.mohammedrustom.com/articles/

Oct 25, 201952 min

#047: The Inner Search: 45 Years on the Sufi Path w/ Shems Friedlander

Shems Friedlander is the author of ten books, including a number of books about Rumi. He is a painter, photographer, designer, filmmaker, and educator. Friedlander was Emeritus Professor at the American University in Cairo. He was selected as one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World, in the field of Art and Culture, by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center. Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLmlQrfNQE88PBuv36ltlrQ

Oct 17, 20191 hr 21 min

#046: The Way of the Whirling Dervish w/ Mithat Özçakıl

Mithat Özçakıl is a third generation dervish in the Mevlevi Sufi order, the order founded by Rumi, known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. He is a graduate student at Selcuk University in the Institute of Rumi Studies. He is also a part of the Sufi Music Ensemble in Konya and works at Irfan Civilization Research Center.

Sep 23, 20191 hr 7 min

#045: Do it for the Deen: From Philly to al-Azhar w/ Youssef Kromah

Youssef Kromah is an award-winning poet, best-selling author, dynamic speaker, community activist and international television host at Huda TV in Cairo, Egypt. He was first featured as a spoken-word poet on Russel Simmon’s HBO series Brave New Voices and later as a featured guest speaker on CNN’s Who’s Black in America, hosted by Soledad O’Brien. He is the founder of the Do It for The Deen initiative and an active youth leader in several Muslim communities. Youssef serves as a khatib for over 10...

Aug 27, 20191 hr 9 min

#044: A Khalifa Upon the Earth: Islam & Stewardship w/ Rhamis Kent

Rhamis Kent is a consultant with formal training in mechanical engineering (University of Delaware, B.S.M.E. ’95) and permaculture-based regenerative whole systems design serving as a registered certified Permaculture Design instructor with PRI Australia. He also serves as a co-director of the Permaculture Research Institute (PRI), a member of Permaculture Sustainable Consulting Pty Ltd (PSC), and on the Supervisory Board of The Netherlands-registered non-profit Ecosystem Restoration Camps. As o...

Aug 06, 20191 hr 23 min

#043: Knowledge of Self: An Islamic Model of the Soul w/ Abdallah Rothman

You can link to the model that we discuss here: https://images.app.goo.gl/o9o5e1TqBHA26rEcA Dr. Abdallah Rothman is an Islamic Psychology researcher and practitioner. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC). In addition to his academic and clinical training in Western psychology, Abdallah studies and practices Islamic Psychology and is currently doing doctoral research in this area. His clinical practice as well as his academic resear...

Jul 11, 20191 hr 52 min

#042: Jesus in Sufism: Ibn 'Arabi, Creativity & the Christic Archetype w/ Ali Hussain

Dr. Ali Hussain obtained his doctoral degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan, Department of Middle Eastern Studies. His research focuses on the image of Jesus Christ in the writings of Sufi mystics, specifically Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-'Arabi (d. 1240). He is also the founder of Nostalgic Remembrance: Art in Memoirs, an initiative exploring the metaphysics of video games, film, music and many other aspects of contemporary culture through the lens of Islamic Mysticism (Sufism). ​No...

Jun 25, 20191 hr 42 min

#041: Divine Happenings w/ Hakim Archuletta

Hakim Archuletta has worked within the healing arts profession for over 30 years. He studied homeopathy and apprenticed with Dr. John Damonte in London in the early 70's. He continued these studies in Berkeley apprenticing with homeopathic doctors and working with the first Homeopathic Study group there. He continued his studies in the Middle East, England and North Africa in the mid 70's. In 1978, Hakim went to Pakistan at the invitation of Hakim Mohammad Said of the Hamdard Foundation and stud...

Jun 04, 20191 hr 19 min

#040: Sufism & Psychology: An Islamic Model of Spiritual Development w/ Abdallah Rothman

Dr. Abdallah Rothman is an Islamic Psychology researcher and practitioner. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC). In addition to his academic and clinical training in Western psychology, Abdallah studies and practices Islamic Psychology and is currently doing doctoral research in this area. His clinical practice as well as his academic research focus on approaching counseling from within an Islamic paradigm; and establishing an indi...

May 23, 20191 hr 10 min

#039: Engaging the Reality through the Imaginary: Narrative & Spiritual Realization w/ Amir Sulaiman

Amir Sulaiman is a poet, recording artist, Harvard Fellow, actor, screen writer and producer born in Rochester, New York. His poems cross subjects of love, tragedy as well as what it means to reconcile humanity with the unprecedented trials of modernity. He has performed his works across the US as well as many other countries including England, Belgium, Senegal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Australia, Iran and the Netherlands, and continues to tour world-wide. His recently published book of ...

May 10, 20191 hr 33 min
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