Diffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience

Episode 45: Zaki Barzinji

For this month's show, we're joined by Zaki Barzinji, the White House's Muslim American Community Liaison during the Barack Obama era. With last week's inauguration of President Donald J. Trump marking the end of Zaki's tenure in that position, he takes a look back at the beginnings of his interest in politics, how the Obama Administration tried to increase engagement with the American Muslim community, and what it felt like to be working in the White House on Election Night last year as the realization slowly dawned that we were looking at a Trump presidency. Check out the show at the embed below or at this link. As always, send any questions or comments to diffusedcongruence@gmail.com, or at our Facebook page.

Episode 44: Talking <i>Star Wars</i> With Omer Mozaffar

As we wrap up 2016 at Diffused Congruence, we've once again decided to end the year on a less serious note, and are joined by lecturer and film critic Omer Mozaffar for what's becoming an annual tradition as we have a conversation about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The latest visit to the galaxy far, far away gave us old school Star Wars fans a lot to chew on, from an entertainment, political, and even spiritual perspective, and we spend the hour going deep and wide into this new entry in the storied franchise. To that end, we've invited. Listen to it below, or download at the link. Also, be sure to hit us up at our Facebook page to let us know how we're doing!

Episode 43: Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir

For our latest episode we take a break from the headlines to present the uplifting story of Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, her all-star collegiate basketball career and pioneering efforts for Muslim women athletes to play ball professionally while observing the Hijab. Join us as she discusses her love and dedication to basketball, her overall atheltic career, and the exciting new projects she's currently involved with. As always, you can check out the show at the embed below or at this link. As always, send any questions or comments to diffusedcongruence@gmail.com, or at our Facebook page.

Special Episode: Post-Election 2016 Wrap-Up

This episode is as much - if not more - for us as it is for the listeners! We had to sit down to ruminate, analyze, commiserate, “unpack” and just try and make sense of the Presidential election results. In spite all of the post-election, armchair quarterbacking, and pontificating that’s out there in the ether right now, we hope that you enjoy and benefit from the conversation and the analysis we attempt to offer. As always, you can check out the show at the embed below or at this link. As always, send any questions or comments to diffusedcongruence@gmail.com, or at our Facebook page.

Episode 42: Dr. Jonathan Brown

On our latest episode we are joined by Dr. Jonathan Brown, scholar of Hadith and Islamic Studies, and Professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Brown walks us through his journey to Islam, engages in an illuminating discussion about how Muslims have navigated their fidelity to their tradition through changing times, and explores some of the “controversies” raised by Islam’s detractors. We close out the episode with Dr. Brown sharing his support of the BDS Movement and the reasons for his impassioned critique of the Muslim Learning Initiative (MLI) program. Listen to the show via the embed below, or via iTunes or Stitcher Radio. As always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page, and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.

Episode 41: Shadi Hamid

For our latest episode we're honored to welcome back special guest Shadi Hamid, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the new book Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam Is Reshaping the World. Shadi brings his considerable wisdom and insight on global geopolitics to a discussion that spans both the domestic and international political situation, and we're confident you'll enjoy diving into the deep end with us. As always, you can check out the show at the embed below or at this link. As always, send any questions or comments to diffusedcongruence@gmail.com, or at our Facebook page.

Episode 40: Cavalcade of Annoyance

We’ve hit the big 4-0! Zaki and Parvez return after a summer hiatus to ruminate on the ISNA Convention, Eid-ul-Adha and animal sacrifices, and the Presidential Election. Expect all of the “unpacking”, analysis, and fun banter you’ve come to enjoy from the show! It’s a rare occurrence for the show that the two of us just get a chance to catch up and share some reflections. We hope you enjoy these episodes as much we do recording them! Listen via the embed below, and as always, send any questions or comments to diffusedcongruence@gmail.com, or at our Facebook page.

Episode 39: Nader Khan

Our guest for this episode of the show is renowned singer/songwriter Nader Khan, who tells us about his life's journey, how he ended up choosing the path that he did, and what new projects he has coming up. Also, hear Zaki discuss his trip to Washington DC for the Eid-al-Fitr reception at the White House, as well as other odds and ends. It's a breezy hour-and-change that we're confident you'll enjoy listening to, and you can check it out at the embed below or at this link. As always, send any questions or comments to diffusedcongruence@gmail.com, or at our Facebook page.

Episode 38: Zarqa Nawaz

For our latest episode we're joined by Zarqa Nawaz, creator of the CBC comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie (the first sitcom to ever focus on the lives of Muslims in the west). During this breezy conversation Zarqa discusses her own entry into the creative arts, how the idea for the show came about and how it got to the air. She also talks about her engaging and very funny book Laughing All the Way to the Mosque: The Misadventures of a Muslim Woman. Listen via the embed below, and as always, send any comments or questions to us at diffusedcongruence@gmail.com or via our Facebook page!

Episode 37: Ramadan Fitness and Fiqh-ness Special

Welcome to our special Ramadan episode of Diffused Congruence, as Parvez and Zaki are joined by guest Imam Tahir Anwar for some insight into how best to maximize one's spiritual pursuits during the month of Ramadan, and fitness trainer Rehan Jalali on how to make one's morning and evening meals as efficient and healthy as possible so you don't feel ill-effects from the long fasts. We had a great time with both of our guests, and we're confident you'll find a lot to benefit from in these interviews. Send any comments or questions to diffusedcongruence@gmail.com or via our Facebook page!