Asadullah Ali Al-Andalusi is a research fellow for Yaqeen Institute, member of the Muslim Debate Initiative, and founder of the Andalusian Project; an independent research platform for Islamic studies. He holds degrees in both Western and Islamic Philosophy and a Masters in Library and Information Science. He specializes in topics related to the philosophy of science, atheism, terrorism, Islamic ethics, and other issues facing the global Muslim community. This episode was an off the cuff casual ...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 42 min
On this show, I welcome one of Birmingham's (UK) finest, Bro Hajji. Bro Hajji has made a name for himself exposing deviance within the Muslim community. One of the groups he has focused in on is the Madkhali cult AKA "The Super Salafis". As I spent time in the mid 2000s with this group, I wanted to share some of my experiences first hand and have him comment. Check out Bro Hajji on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxsG... You can support my channel at https://www.patreon.com/notificat...
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 33 min
Matt Sapaula AKA “The Money Smart Guy” is the Chief Distribution Officer for PHP Agency, a financial services firm based out of the Dallas Texas area. Many of you may have heard of PHP because of it’s founder, Patrick Bet-David who hosts the popular Valuetainment Podcast. Matt is a US Marine Corps combat veteran who transitioned into the insurance industry where he has been able to become a first generation millionaire. Our conversation in this episode is about Matt’s belief system in capitalism...
Jan 04, 2021•34 min
Dr. Ali Ataie is by many accounts, the most knowledgeable Muslim alive today on the subject of Christianity. He is grounded in both the Islamic sciences and has also earned a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California where he did his thesis on an esoteric interpretation of the Gospel of John in the New Testament; an interpretation that seeks to reconcile the Islamic understanding of monotheism with the Gospel that has the highest Christology. His knowledge of Arabic, G...
Dec 26, 2020•1 hr 24 min
Call this show the "Kitchen Sink" episode. Gareth Bryant AKA "The Muslim Model" chopped it up about his conversion story to Islam, his experience with Salafism, getting hit on by male prostitutes in Mecca, fashion, jinns, and LGTBQ+. Goes without saying I'll probably bring him on again. Follow Gareth on IG and Twitter @themuslimmodel Support the podcast financially at www.patreon.com/SultansandSneakers
Dec 21, 2020•2 hr 15 min
In April 2014, Phil Holland was a 20 year old college student in Philadelphia working 2 jobs. On Tuesday April 22, 2014 after he delivered a cheeseburger his life would change forever as he had an incident with what he later realized to be the Philadelphia Police Department. 6 years before George Floyd, Phil's story is an eye opening account from someone who survived police brutality. You can read more about Phil's story at the following links: https://6abc.com/police-shooting-southwest-philadel...
Dec 02, 2020•52 min
Parvez Ahmed is the co-founder and co-host of "DIffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience" which is to my knowledge the longest running active Muslim podcast. On this show, we discussed ideas around podcasting like the methodology employed to platform guests. This topic was relevant and timely due to the other podcast that I co-host, "The Mad Mamluks" hosting Nouman Ali Khan who was accused of some illicit behavior a few years ago. I also asked Parvez his thoughts on the group that exis...
Nov 23, 2020•2 hr 9 min
Dr. Will Caldwell is a recent Ph.D graduate from Northwestern University’s Department of Religious Studies where he specialized in the history of Islam in America. Will is also the Convert Care Coordinator at Ta’leef Chicago. He is originally from Georgia and was raised in the Episcopalian denomination of Christianity. Will walks us through his spiritual journey and offers some candid thoughts on the 2020 election. This show was recorded a few days before the election and off the record, Will’s ...
Nov 17, 2020•1 hr 50 min
Dropping an off the cuff bonus show with St. Louis activist, author, and media personality Umar Lee. Umar is a life long Democrat who supported Joe Biden since his entry into the race. We discuss the aftermath of the election, Umar's approach to politics and the Democratic Party. We also discuss some of the various factions within the Muslim community as it pertains to US politics and some ideas of what is to come. Umar has recently published a book called "In Malcolm's Path" which is available ...
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Dr. Hugo Mendez is Assistant Professor in Ancient Mediterranean Religions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in the New Testament and its early reception. Religion and spirituality always played a pivotal role in his life and he takes us through his trajectory in both academia and personal faith. We also had some fun banter about New York sports teams as Hugo is a native of the Big Apple. If you are enjoying the content, please consider becoming a patron at www.patr...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr 34 min
Irshad Azeez is a Sri Lankan based hip hop artist. In this episode, we discussed a variety of topics ranging from morning routines to being diaspora kids in major urban centers as well as religious taboos. You can find his music at https://soundcloud.com/irshad_ini 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 socia...
Oct 20, 2020•1 hr 41 min
Robert Dufour is a French-Canadian convert to Islam currently residing in London, Ontario. He is the North American head for the organization and website Islam4Europeans.com. Robert believes it is imperative for Muslims of European backgrounds to create their own sub-communities within the greater Muslim community. In this episode, we have a discussion around Robert's own background and why there seems to be so much pushback against a "White Muslims" organization. To learn more about "Islam for ...
Oct 11, 2020•1 hr 31 min
Abiola Oluwajimi AKA Benjamin Gordon AKA "Olu" is a man of multiple names and multiple talents. In this episode we talk about his family background and his search for religious meaning. We also get into his professional life. Olu obtained his Bachelors and Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh before cutting his teeth working as a project engineer in large plant environments. He then started his own company which he currently is the President of, Allied Innov...
Sep 28, 2020•1 hr 9 min
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 enjoy...
Sep 15, 2020•38 min
Ameera Khan (formerly known as Ameer Khan) is a Bangladeshi-American originally from St. Louis, Missouri. After memorizing the Qu'ran as a young adult, Ameera began to deal with both his/her sexual and gender identities. In this show, we have a candid discussion about Ameera's spiritual journey along with how Ameer became Ameera. 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...
Sep 11, 2020•1 hr 56 min
Tim Brennecke is a transformational recovery coach originally from Idaho. In this episode he walks us through his spiritual journey in studying the 3 Abrahamic religions Christianity, Judaism and Islam. He recently started his own podcast called "Sober Awakenings". 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...
Aug 26, 2020•2 hr 23 min
Revisiting the cancellation of Nini's Deli earlier this summer, I brought on two gentlemen who were on the frontlines in defense of Nini's during the turbulent week that resulted in its closure. My guests for this show are Pastor Joe Wyrostek and Jose Riesco III from Metro Praise International(MPI) Church in Chicago. Metro Praise is the church that is attended by Juan-Elias Riesco, who used to run Nini's. I wanted to hear Joe and Jose's perspectives as they were very close to the situation. Jose...
Aug 25, 2020•2 hr 5 min
Ed Latimore is a best-selling author, former professional heavyweight boxer, and competitive chess player. When I visited Pittsburgh earlier this summer, I had the honor of sitting down with Ed and discussing an article he wrote on his blog called "The 4 Levels of Personal Freedom". You can find that specific article at https://edlatimore.com/personal-freedom/ From there, you can also access the rest of Ed's website. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @EdLatimore This has been by far my f...
Aug 17, 2020•1 hr 29 min
With the election looming, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Steve Cuckler, the chairman of the Republican Party for Delaware County which is just north of Columbus, Ohio. In this episode, Steve shares how his rural upbringing influenced his political positions. We discussed issues and contentions around both the Republican Party and Democratic Party. Finally, Steve makes a case for re-electing Donald Trump this November. You can learn more about Steve and his work with the Delaware County...
Aug 05, 2020•52 min
This bonus episode is courtesy of my co-host Mort from "The Mad Mamluks". He was testing out Streamyard and we decided to chop it up on a variety of topics. MuzzyBuzz (Mort's channel) doesn't have a podcast platform so I'm publishing this on my channel. We had all the characters from "The Mad Mamluks" join in at some point on this episode as we discussed the following topics. 1. Dating Apps: 3:47 2. Mahin's and Student of knowledge's catfish stories: 13:12 3. Marriage: 17:26 3. Hizb ut-Tahrir an...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr 43 min
Those of us who are South Asian certainly know about the matchmaker auntie or "Rishta Auntie" as is known in some circles. Netflix's recent show "Indian Matchmaking" gave us a glimpse into this world and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Vyasar Ganesan who was one of the main characters from the series. Vyasar is a college counselor and writer based out of Austin, Texas who engages the help of master matchmaker Sima Taparia from Mumbai to find him a spouse. I chop it up with Vyasar about r...
Jul 30, 2020•1 hr 5 min
The recent killing of George Floyd and the tension of race in America has brought to light many difficult conversations. Colorism is an issue that plagues both the African-American and South Asian communities. To discuss this issue, I brought on Sabria Mills from "The Dope Muslim Woman Podcast" and Rumana Sultana, a former makeup artist who has worked in marketing for some major global beauty brands. You can check out "The Dope Muslim Woman Podcast" wherever you listen to podcasts and engage wit...
Jul 25, 2020•1 hr 19 min
Dropping a special bonus episode on the podcast apps with my co-host from "The Mad Mamluks", Shaykh Amir Saeed. This show discusses the importance of networking and how it connected Shaykh Amir with an old friend after almost 20 years. Note: Please excuse some audio clipping near the end; tried to edit as much out as I could. Please continue to support Sultans and Sneakers by following me on our various social media channels, leaving a 5 star review and letting your friends know about the show. ...
Jul 24, 2020•45 min
For Episode 22 of the podcast, I sat down with Maarten Van Elst. Maarten is a vitality coach and personal trainer and the founder of Muslim Fit. Maarten helps professionals create balance and build up their mental, physical and spiritual strength and resilience. He resides in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In this episode we discuss what it means to be Dutch, how he learned about and embraced Islam and his outlook on discipline, health and wellness. You can follow Maarten on Instagram (@muslim.fit), Tw...
Jul 21, 2020•1 hr 51 min
For Episode 21, I sit down with an old friend, Omar Usman. In my personal circle of friends, he is the guy that probably has the best reading habits. Omar is a normal person like most of us; he has a day job, family, household responsibilities, hobbies, distractions, etc. However he is always managing to get through books while also absorbing the material in the books. I hope this episode is fruitful for anyone looking to start a reading habit. As this channel is all about exploring the "why" be...
Jul 14, 2020•1 hr 30 min
In Episode 20 of the podcast, I wanted to get an insight on Dr. Jonathan Brown's back story and we ended up having an interesting discussion about his family history, his personal challenges growing up, and how his parents let him watch the most explicit movies as a child. Dr. Jonathan Brown is the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He received his BA in History from Georgetown University in 2000 and his doctorate in Near E...
Jun 29, 2020•1 hr 42 min
Wrapping up our quick 2 part series on the downfall of Nini's Deli with Christian Rangel(Twitter: @crangel). Christian wrote the excellent piece highlighting the timeline of Nini's demise (linked below). He has known Nini's owner Juan-Elias Riesco since 2013 and offers a unique perspective on the situation. Link to Christian's article on Nini's: https://medium.com/@crangel7/on-ninis-deli-537b5ee7023a Link to Christian's blog: www.rangeldoesnotexist.com Please continue to support Sultans and Snea...
Jun 16, 2020•1 hr 8 min
On May 30, 2020 Nini's Deli had its highest revenue day in all of 2020. The famous restaurant had not only survived the COVID-19 pandemic but actually grew their business. Less than a week later, they closed their doors for the last time on June 5. This is an analysis of how the most popular restaurant in the state of Illinois (according to Yelp) and the No. 33 overall in the USA completely collapsed due to a combination of their political and religious positions and a botched Public Relations e...
Jun 16, 2020•1 hr 43 min
Episode 17 of the podcast is a discussion around the aftermath of the George Floyd murder. I bring in AbdulRahim and Dallas Wright for this episode. AbdulRahim is a Palestinian from the Bay Area. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford and has a background in theatre an linguistics. Currently working in the tech industry, he has many years of on the ground experience with social justice activism. Dallas is a Chicago native who has a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.A. from DePaul ...
Jun 07, 2020•1 hr 51 min
Another bonus episode lined up for the Internets..that's 2 in 3 days if you're keeping track. For this show I sat down with my good friend Sufyan Al-Andalusi to chat about our favorite Turkish drama, Diriliş: Ertuğrul. We also touched on a few other topics centered around family and how it's like for him navigating faith while being a religious minority in his own family. We recorded this episode the day before Eid-ul Adha in 2019. To learn more about Sufyan, please check out "The Mad Mamluks" e...
May 25, 2020•1 hr 7 min
