Diffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience

For our first episode of 2026 we present Part 2 of our conversation with Imam Imam Fahim Shoaib which picks up where we left off at the end of Part 1. The conversation focuses on the Nation of Islam in the early 70s, exploring the community dynamics, the significance of resurrection in their theology, the influence of Malcolm X and the media's portrayal of the Nation, as well as the role of mythol...

Another huge bucket list item for the show, we delve into the life and legacy of Imam Faheem Shuaibe, a prominent figure in the American Muslim community and heir to the life and legacy of Imam Warith Deen Muhammed(ra). The riveting conversation follows Imam Faheem's life and journey to Islam which in turn beautifully serves as the vehicle to explore the often overlooked years (1965-1975) of the N...

Omar and Parvez welcome back Sana Saeed to discuss the intersection of social media, politics, and the Muslim community. They explore the Mamdani campaign as a case study in Islamophobia, the evolution of online communities, and the impact of online and social merdia cultures on Muslim youth. The conversation delves into generational differences in online consumption and the challenges confronting...

This episode was another opportunity to check off a bucket list for the podcast as we were honored to sit with Imam Khalid Latif . Some unchartered territory for the show as co-host Omar Ansari was unable to make the recording but Parvez was able to find a last minute Associate co-host to fill in! We had the chance to discuss Imam Khalid's life and the experiences that shaped him, the challenges a...

Parvez and Omar finally return after the longest hiatus in the show's history! They bring us up to speed with all the going-ons in their lives from new jobs, moves, kids graduating to new kids being born! As the show returns so does the show's guest! David Coolidge returns to discuss his groundbreaking new book,  Hindu Bhakti Through Muslim Eyes . The book places the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava tradition—de...

Parvez and Omar kick-off 2025 by finally dedicating an entire episode to a recurring and perennial conversation on the podcast: parenting challenges in today's climate. To help navigate this conversation, they are joined by Ali Bishop, an experienced mental health professional who works as a Mental Health Clinician at a local Bay Area public high school. Topics include the general challenges facin...

To close out 2024 Parvez and Omar are joined by two Syrian-American guests to share their perspectives on the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the potential implications and challenges facing post-Assad Syria, and how the Syrian-American community is responding to these events. Along the way the show's guests candidly (and humorously!) discuss their experiences growing up as children of Syrian im...

Mere days aways from Election Day 2024, Parvez and Omar are rejoined by Civil Rights Attorney and Activist Zahra Billoo to discuss the Muslim vote and the 2024 Presidential Election. Are Muslims simply approaching who to vote for with the "lesser of two evils" calculus? Is there a long game and what are the short term consequences of playing the long game? All this and more for the show's special...

After a bit of a hiatus due to busy schedules, Parvez and Omar are honored to be joined by Imam Jihad Mustafa, Founder of the Qawwamun Retreat. This was a wide-ranging conversation with Imam Jihad discussing how socially conscious Hip-hop brought him to Islam, how today's Zeitgest and pop culture has engendered a crisis of defining and exemplifying masculinity to young men, and how the Qawwamun Re...

Closing out the blessed month of Muharram, Parvez and Omar are back for a timely and important discussion about Muharram, the Day of Āshūrā, and the events of Karbala from a Shīʿī  perspective. This is a deep dive into Shīʿī  readings of early Muslim history and the centrality of the Ahl-al Bayt (The Household/Progeny of the Prophet Muhammedﷺ) and specifically how the events of Karbala and the ven...

A special discussion for the Haj and Eid-ul Adha season, Parvez and Omar are joined by returning guest Dr. Ali Ataie . The show dives deep into the Prophet Abraham(as) in the monotheistic scriptures/traditions, including Abraham's service of sacrifice, the innumerable blessings bestowed to Abraham and his covenant with God. The conversation then examines how the Biblical and Tanakhic traditions ha...

For the show's 150th episode Parvez & Omar are joined by the second guest ever to appear on the podcast, Zahra Billoo , Civil rights Attorney and Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA). Zahra brings her years of tireless Civil Rights work and activism to bear as she discusses the recent protests and encampments taking place across col...

Parvez and Omar are truly honored to host Dr. Mohammad Subeh who just returned from a five week medical mission to the Gaza Strip, specifically the Rafah Crossing to the south. Dr. Subeh shares his background born to a Palestinian refugee family living in Kuwait and then forced to flee overnight at the start of the First Persian Gulf War and invasion of Kuwait. Dr. Subeh shares in harrowing detail...

Here is an episode that's been a few years in the making! We finally had the privilege of sitting with Dr. Jihad Saafir of Islah LA to discuss his background, academic training, as well as the remarkable and pioneering work that Islah LA and Islah Academy are doing to serve the community in South Los Angeles. As you've come to expect from the podcast we cover a lot of ground including the socio-cu...

It's not too often that you come across a Silicon Valley raised and Dar-ul-Uloom trained Imam but that's exactly who joins Parvez and Omar to kick-off the blessed month of Ramadan. Imam Tahir Anwar , Imam of the South Bay Islamic Association and Lecturer at Zaytuna College returns to the show! This time around the discussion includes a deep dive into his background, his religious education and tra...

Parvez and Omar are honored to be joined by Shaykh Jamaal Diwan , co-founder and Resident Scholar at The Majlis . This was a wide-ranging conversation with Shaykh Jamaal discussing his personal journey connecting with his faith, his studies at Al-Azhar University, and the principles underlying The Majlis. Beyond his personal journey the conversation touches on parenting, the challenges of nurturin...

For our first episode of 2024 we present an interview conducted during our trip to Chicago with Dr. Hooman Keshavarzi, Founder and Executive Director of Khalil Center. Dr. Keshavarzi discusses his journey connecting with his faith, becoming a clinical psychologist, and how he integrated his studies in Islamic theology and spirituality towards creating an optimal, holistic model of mental health ca...

We are back to close out 2023 and continuing our discussions on Palestine, this time through the prism of the Civil Rights struggle in the United States. Professor Michael Fishbach joins us to discuss his 2019 book Black Power and Palestine: Transnational Countries of Color. Professor Fishbach chronicles how Black Power activists and others in the Civil Rights struggle came to see Palestinians as...

We are deeply honored and privileged to be joined by the eminent historian and perhaps leading academic on Palestine in the United States, Professor Rashid Khalidi . Dr. Khalidi discussesed his new book The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 which chronicles his personal and ancestral connection to the land of Palestine and what he character...

We are back to discuss the ongoing crisis in Palestine, this time focusing on the one-sided and ideologically motivated media coverage. To offer his analysis and perspective, and discuss the possible factors that may change that status quo, we are joined by The Intercept's veteran journalist Murtaza Hussain.   About Murtaza Hussain Brooklyn-based journalist and “Habitual line stepper” Murtaza Huss...

We had the pleasure of sitting with Dr. Ussama Makdisi , Professor of History at the University of California Berkeley for a detailed, highly enlightening and impassioned discussion of the history of the Palestinian struggle. Dr. Makdisi masterfully contextualizes what is happening right now in Palestine within the broader history of the Western colonialist, Zionist project that has dehumanized, b...

10/3/2013 - 10/3/2023 Parvez gets on mic to ruminate on 10 years of the podcast, its genesis, mission, accomplishments, pitfalls avoided, and future plans. We are immensely proud and grateful for these past 10 years but we could not have done it without you, our listeners! Thank you for your continued support, feedback, and for sharing the show. We pray that Allah blesses us with 10 more years and...

We continue making our way through our Chicago recordings with a very special conversation about Palliative Care, a topic that is hardly discussed in the Muslim communities but can impact the lives of young and old alike within the community. Palliative care specifically deals with relieving serious health-related suffering, be it physical, psychological, social, or spiritual for patients with ser...

Next stop in Chicagoland takes us to Skokie where Parvez and Omar had the honor of sitting with author, educator and school administrator, Habeeb Quadri. We had an in-depth conversation about his experiences growing up in Chicago, what inspired him to become an educator, and his journey from teaching inner city schools in Detroit and Chicago to serving as Principal and Superintendent of a renowned...

Next stop on Parvez & Omar's Chicago sojourn is the beautiful CAIR offices on historic State Street in downtown where they had the privilege of sitting with Ahmed Rehab . Ahmed's ability to articulate a clear and convincing analysis of contemporary social and political issues while maintaining a fidelity to Islam's normative teachings and practices made for a wide ranging and thought-provoking...