Diffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience

Episode 75: Movies That Matter - The Godfather Trilogy

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 much more. We hope you enjoy this digression from our usual interviews, and please let us know what you think and what you'd like to hear us discuss next! 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 or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 74: Dr. Ali Ataie Returns

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 Stitcher), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page, and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 73: Zachary Markwith

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 even a brief digression on what prophetic stories have in common with superhero myths. 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 or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 72: Midterm Election Aftermath + Five Year Anniversary Thoughts

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. And finally, we celebrate five years of this podcast, looking back at where we started, and what our plans are moving forward. It's a busy show even without a third guest, but hopefully you find the conversation energetic and uplifting. Listen via the embed below, or via iTunes or Stitcher. As always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page, and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 71: Dr. Ali Ataie

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 or Stitcher), and as always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page, and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 70: Back From Summer Hiatus!

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 our Facebook page, and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 69: Brother Ali

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. Listen via the embed below, or via iTunes or Stitcher. As always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page, and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 68: Preacher Moss

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 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 or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 67: Ahmad Nassar

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 discussion in the Diffused Congruence style, and we're sure you'll enjoy hearing it as much as we enjoyed being a  part of it. Listen via the embed below, or via iTunes or Stitcher. As always, please hit "like" on our Facebook page, and send any comments or questions to DiffusedCongruence@gmail.com.

Episode 66: Bushra Burney

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 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.