Diffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience

This month Parvez and Zaki are pleased to be joined by actor, comedian, and writer Aasif Mandvi as he talks about his journey as a working actor to becoming The Daily Show's "Senior Foreign Looking Correspondent." He talks about how his time with Jon Stewart has made him more "Muslim-ish," what he's learned during a lifetime occupying many different cultures, and how that all led to his new book, ...

Since its launch last October, the Serial podcast has taken the country by storm. Reporter Sarah Koenig's gripping investigation into the 1999 murder of high schooler Hae Min Lee, and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed for the killing -- a crime for which he maintains his innocence to this day -- has set records and spurred conversation with how it combines the intrigue of a...

We start off episode thirteen with highlights from Zaki's roundtable interview with Daily Show host Jon Stewart on his feature directing debut, the based-on-true-events Iranian prison drama Rosewater. After that, listen to Parvez and Zaki's lunchtime conversation with comedian and political commentator Dean Obeidallah as we cover a whole host of topics, including his time at Saturday Night Live, w...

After last week's debate about Islam and Muslims between  Bill Maher and Ben Affleck  (which conspicuously had no Muslims actually involved in the conversation), Parvez and Zaki use the twelfth episode of Diffused Congruence to chat with each other about the rise of anti-Muslim and Islamophobic invective from mainstream media figures, and why this podcast is meant at least partially as a response...

For this episode of the show, Parvez and Zaki shine a spotlight on Muslim authors who've successfully broken through into the mainstream. First, we chat with Ayesha Mattu, co-editor of  Love, Inshallah  and its new sequel  Salaam, Love  about how the two books came about, what the reactions have been, and what she's learned from her audience. After that, we have a conversation with Ali Eteraz, aut...

For this month's show we're joined by  Shadi Hamid  of the Brookings Institute and author of Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East for a far-ranging conversation on the foreign policy events that have been playing out in the Middle East over the last few years, including the Arab Spring, the rise of ISIS, and the escalation of conflict between Gaza and Israel...

For this episode, we're joined by famed photographer and filmmaker Mustafa Davis, co-founder of Ta'leef Collective, about his road to Islam, and what he views as the role of Muslim-Americans artists. As usual, download or stream the show below, and also listen at  iTunes  (don't forget to leave us a review!) and  Stitcher Radio . Feel free to send any comments or questions our way at  diffusedcong...

This month, we speak with Professor  Zareena Grewal  about her new book, Islam is a Foreign Country , and engage in a spirited conversation about the many rich facets of Islam in America. You won't want to miss this one! Download or stream the show below, and also listen at  iTunes  (don't forget to leave us a review!) and  Stitcher Radio . Feel free to send any comments or questions our way at  d...

For this month's show, Parvez and Zaki are joined by acclaimed Pakistani-American actor  Faran Tahir , who's been appearing on big and small screens for more than twenty years now in big budget fare such as  Iron Man ,  Star Trek , and  Elysium , as well as TV's Dallas, for a spirited conversation about what he's learned during his many years in the Hollywood trenches, his hopes for future Muslim...

This month we're honored to be joined by  Imam Abu Qadir Al-Amin , a veteran religious leader in the San Francisco Bay Area who came to Islam after first being exposed to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Imam Abu Qadir shares his reflections on being at the forefront of Black Muslim experience, including thoughts on Malcolm X, and his memories of the late W.D. Muhammad, on...

For episode five of the show, we had an in-depth chat with with Islamic scholar Dr. Muneer Fareed on a variety of topics, including the distinctions between secular and spiritual scholarship, what he learned during his time as an imam in Detroit, and his work with ISNA (the Islamic Society of North America), the ALIM Program, and more. You can download or stream the show below, as well as  via iTu...

We encountered a slight delay thanks to various unforeseen technical difficulties, but nonetheless, the Diffused Congruence team is back to help you ring in 2014! And for this, their very first episode of 2014, co-hosts Parvez Ahmed and Zaki Hasan are joined by world renowned fitness expert  Rehan Jalali , who has plenty of advice to offer on how to make 2014 the healthiest it can be, how he's ach...

It's the first Friday of the month, and that means it's time for a new Diffused Congruence podcast! Our special guest for this episode of the show is Hollywood writer-producer  Kamran Pasha , who's spent more than ten years working in the film industry on projects such as Sleeper Cell on Showtime and Kings on NBC, and also authored the acclaimed novels  Mother of the Believers: A Novel of the Birt...

For our second episode, hosts Parvez Ahmed and Zaki Hasan are joined by  Zahra Billoo , executive director of the San Francisco-Bay Area chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), for an in-depth conversation on the goals, history, and criticisms of the venerable civil rights organization (it marks its second decade next year), and her own efforts to bridge interfaith understanding b...

Welcome to Diffused Congruence, an all new podcast celebrating the many facets of the American Muslim experience. With new episodes slated to drop the first Friday of every month, the goal of our show is to highlight and focus on unique and interesting personalities from both within and without the American Muslim community, and engage them in what will hopefully be a worthwhile and invigorating c...