Diffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience

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 se...

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 hi...

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, ...

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 com...

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...

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...

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.

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. Liste...

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 D...

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...

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...

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...

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  Sti...

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 e...

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. An...

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  o...

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 ou...

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. Liste...

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 c...

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 discussi...

Our guest this episode is playwright Bushra Burney , whose new play Designated Muslim had its first staged reading earlier this month. Bushra shares the origins of this play, why she was moved to write it, and the process of bringing it to the page and beyond. It's a fascinating window into how American Muslims are striving to make a place in pop culture for their culture. Listen to the embed belo...

For this episode we're glad to be joined by Jihad Turk , founder and president of Bayan Claremont -- the country's first graduate school to offer accredited Master’s degrees in the fields of Islamic Studies, Education, Chaplaincy and Leadership -- for a lengthy and enriching conversation that spans his own personal narrative and encompasses the role of Muslims in modern American life and what they...

Our guest for this episode is Imam Shane Atkinson, Muslim life coordinator at Elon University, who joins us to share the story of his own to journey to Islam from his beginnings as a Southern Baptist in the Deep South. It's a fun and engaging discussion we're sure you'll enjoy, and you can hear it via the embed below, or via  iTunes  or  Stitcher . As always,  please hit "like" on our Facebook pag...

This episode we're joined by Abdullah bin Hamid Ali, founder of Lamppost Productions and the Lamppost Education Initiative, and head of  Zaytuna College ’s Islamic law program. Listen in to hear the story of his journey to Islam, as well as his reflections on racial and religious intersectionality as it pertains to the role of Black Americans in modern discourse, plus much more. We had a great tim...

We were lucky enough to get a few moments with visiting scholar Ubaydullah Evans and returning guest Micah Anderson a few weeks ago, and got both of them to sit down for a brief, freewheeling conversation about a whole host of topics we think you'll be very enthused to share in. Check out our chat below (or via  iTunes  or  Stitcher ), and know that we have every intention of having both of them b...