Path & Present W/baraka Blue

Anse Tamara Gray is a scholar, translator, spiritual teacher, and publisher. She is the founder of Rabata, an organization dedicated to promoting positive cultural change through individual empowerment, spiritual upbringing of women by women, and the revival of the female voice in scholarship. Anse Tamara Grey lived in Syria for twenty years, studying sacred knowledge and traveling along the road of tarbiya (spiritual upbringing). She is a doctoral student in the Leadership, Policy and Administration program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. She holds a master’s degree in Curriculum Theory and Instruction, and works in the field of education, focusing on instruction, curriculum design and implementation, administration, and teacher training. www.rabata.org

Parvez and Zaki have a really cool podcast called 'Diffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience', with a wide range of interesting guests. We are co-releasing this episode on both of our podcasts. Be sure to check out their podcast here: https://diffusedcongruence.podbean.com

Philip Goldberg is the author or co-author of numerous books; a public speaker and workshop leader; a spiritual counselor, meditation teacher and ordained Interfaith Minister. He lives in Los Angeles, cohosts the Spirit Matters podcast, leads American Veda Tours and blogs regularly on Huffington Post and Spirituality & Health. http://philipgoldberg.com For more about the book: http://americanveda.com

Tyson Amir is a rapper, poet, musician, author and activist. He has also taught within the prison system for many years. He recently published his first book, 'Black Boy Poems'. www.tysonamir.com Between Huey & Malcolm poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDU-WtYcHfI&feature=share --- *We had some technical difficulties with this episode. Please forgive the audio distortion at certain points in the conversation.

Jamil Suleman is an artist, activist, and teacher. http://www.jamilsuleman.com He is also Seattle Jesus: http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/meet-jamil-suleman-a-k-a-jesus-the-muslim-man-bringing-a-message-of-peace-to-seattle/ http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/09/19/24568537/spotted-muslim-jesus-takes-the-link-train

Kabir Helminski is a Shaikh of the Mevlevi Order of Sufis, which traces its inspiration to Mevlana Rumi. He began his Mevlevi training as a student of the late Shaikh Suleyman Loras. In 1990 he was subsequently appointed a Shaikh. Under Kabir’s direction, the Mevlevi Order is working to apply traditional Sufi principles to the conditions of contemporary life. Kabir and his wife, Camille, founded and now direct The Threshold Society, a nonprofit educational foundation that has developed programs for practice and study within Sufism and spiritual psychology. He leads workshops and retreats for Sufis and the broader multifaith community. The Threshold Society, rooted within the traditions of Sufism and inspired by the life and work of Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi, is a non-profit educational foundation with the purpose of facilitating the experience of Divine Unity, Love, and Truth in the world. Sufism is a living tradition of human transformation through love and higher consciousness. Our fundamental framework is c

Virginia Aisha Gray Henry is the director of Fons Vitae, a publishing house devoted to world spirituality. She is a writer and film producer under contract with the Book Foundation, and co-founder and trustee of the Islamic Texts Society of Cambridge, England. She has served as a contributing editor for Parabola magazine for over a decade. She has taught filmmaking at Dalton and Fordham University and world religions and art history at the Cairo American College, Cambridge University, Centre College and the Abbey of Gethsemane. In 1994 she arranged for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to speak in Louisville, and has in April 2006 organized the Dalai Lama interfaith congress in San Francisco in which the his main focus was to meet with Muslim dignitaries from the world over. Fons Vitae is currently engaged in the monumental task of bringing out Ghazali’s Ihya in readable english for parents and teachers as well as adapting it for children with workbooks, school curricula and an instructional DVD. fonsvitae.com

Michael Sugich is a native of Santa Barbara, California and studied at UCLA and the California Institute of the Arts. He was initiated into a traditional Sufi order in 1972. Since that time he has studied Sufi doctrine and practice with spiritual masters across the Arab and Islamic world. He lived for 23 years in the precincts of the sacred city of Makkah Al Mukaramah where he kept company with many men of knowledge and illumination. He has written Palaces of India (Pavilion Books), a travel book, and Living in Makkah (Macdonald Publishers), a children's book, and, most recently a feature documentary film on the life of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Faisal: Legacy of a King. Michael Sugich is author of 'Signs on the Horizons: Meetings with Men of Knowledge and Illumination', a memoir of 40 years with Sufi saints of the 20th and 21st centuries. https://www.amazon.com/Signs-Horizons-Meetings-Knowledge-Illumination/dp/0989364011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481132772&sr=8-1&keywords=signs+on+the+horizons Peter Sande

W. Rory Dickson is Assistant Professor of Islamic religion and culture at the University of Winnipeg. His interests are in Sufism, Contemporary Islam, and philosophy. He is the author of the new book Living Sufism in North America: Between Tradition and Transformation. In this book, William Rory Dickson explores Sufism as a developing tradition in North America, one that exists in diverse and beguiling forms. Sufism’s broad-minded traditions of philosophy, poetry, and spiritual practice infused Islamic civilization for centuries and drew the attention of interested Westerners. By the early twentieth century, Sufism was being practiced in North America. Today’s North American Sufism can appear either explicitly Islamic or seemingly devoid of Islamic religiosity. Dickson provides indispensable background on Sufism’s relation to Islamic orthodoxy and to Western esoteric traditions, and its historical development in North America. The book goes on to chart the directions that North American Sufism is currently

This podcast was recorded at America's Islamic History Museum, in Washington, D.C. with the founder and curator of the museum, Amir Muhammad a.k.a. "The People's Historian." http://www.aihmuseum.org/home.html **Path & Present** Is a community endeavor produced for the sake of sharing the stories of our communities and amplifying the forces of positivity and goodness in the universe. It is made possible through community support. You can give a donation of any amount via paypal to connect@barakablue.com. Thank you for the support** Special thanks to the Yaro Collective for organizing this event. Amir Muhammad is a researcher, historian, author, and poet whose works have gained him international recognition. He is the president, co-founder and curator of America’s Islamic Heritage Museum, a division of Collections & Stories of American Muslims, Inc. (Traveling Exhibit, Archives, & Museum), established in 1996. He is among the foremost historians and researchers of the Islamic experience in the United States

Greetings of Peace loved ones! Apologies for the time between podcasts. I have been on the road for the last 3 months and haven't been able to sit down for another episode. I just finished up a tour in Malaysia and, while there, had the opportunity to do an interview for Malaysia's BFM Radio Station. Unlike a lot of interviewers who simply ask stock questions, the host really did his research asked excellent questions and we had a good conversation. After it aired I asked him if we could share the interview on the Path and Present Podcast and he said, "of course." So this episode is a little bit different: Instead of me asking the questions, this time I was getting asked the questions. Enjoy! Love and Light! Baraka Blue --- From BFM's page: "The poet-musician is in the country promoting his kind of contemporary music--hip-hop, rap, urban music but shaped by his spiritual and contemplative nature. He tells about the obstacle that blocks people from embracing and accepting The Other--ignorance. This conver

Usama Canon is the Founding Director of Taleef Collective, a community based non-profit focused on creating healthy social and sacred spaces. He is also a spiritual advisor to the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN). http://taleefcollective.org Ali Sharrief is is a Bay Area hip hop artist, film director/editor, community activist and founder of The Hijabi Chronicles. http://aliasharrief.com One Be Lo is a hip hop artist from Pontiac, Michigan. He is well respected for being one half of the rap duo Binary Star, and has released a number of well-received solo albums. He is also a member of the World Champion B-boy crew, Massive Monkees. http://onebelo.com Brother Ali is a hip hop artist, speaker and activist. His resume includes six albums, mentorships with Iconic Hip Hop legends Chuck D and Rakim and performances on late night talk shows with Conan O Brien and Jimmy Fallon. He is a member of the Rhymesayers hip hop collective. http://brotherali.com --- This podcast is a live recording of a panel discu

Joseph E. B. Lumbard (General Editor of The Study Quran) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Arabic and Translation Studies at the American University of Sharjah and an Associate Editor for the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān (in progress). A specialist in Quranic studies, Sufism, Islamic philosophy, comparative theology, and Islamic ecotheology, he is the editor of Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition (2nd edition, 2010), and author of Submission, Faith, and Beauty: The Religion of Islam (2009) and Love and Remembrance: The Life and Teachings of Aḥmad al-Ghazālī (2016).

Dustin Craun is the CEO and Founder of Ummah Wide, a digital media and film production startup telling stories that transcend the borders of global communities. He is a social innovator, writer, digital strategist, community organizer, and educator. His writings on race, philosophy, and Islamic studies have been published in academic journals and popular publications.

Dawood Yasin is a bow-hunter, outdoorsman, primitive-skills teacher, Imam, and creator of #getyourownhalal. He is currently the Coordinator of Learning Outside the Classroom at Zaytuna College.

In this conversation on the mystical dimensions of Hinduism and Islam we discuss the importance of lineage; the role of tradition, discipline and submission; the unique psychology of the Western seeker; symbolism; and the relationship between the exoteric and the esoteric. Sri Swamini Svatmavidyananda Saraswati, a longtime disciple of Paramapujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati of India, is an accomplished scholar of Vedanta. For several years, she has led an active satsang community in the United States, serving as the Spiritual Director of Swami Dayananda’s USA center: Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam based in Washington, D.C., and Oregon. More information can be found on http://www.arshavm.org/ and her classes can be accessed on her youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/Svatmavidyananda For further delving into this topic see this video, "Sacred Silence in Sufism and Vedanta", at the Festival of Faiths https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IV5AyXYNL4

Imam Zaid shares his journey and offers his thoughts on the current anti-Muslim political climate in America. One of Americas most prominent Imam's shares his journey growing up in a segregated south; a youth of political activism and spiritual seeking; serving in the armed forces where he converted to Islam; attaining degrees in Political Science & International Relations; serving an inner city congregation in the middle of the crack epidemic; traveling overseas for nearly a decade to study with some of the world's most prominent Muslim scholars and spiritual masters in Syria & Morocco; then returning after 9/11 to co-found one of America's most prominent Muslim institutions, Zaytuna College. Zaid Shakir is co-founder and senior faculty member of Zaytuna College and also serves on its Board of Trustees. In 1983, while at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ., he co-founded the New Brunswick Islamic Center formerly Masjid al-Huda. In 1987, he settled in New Haven, CT., and continued his community activism

Shaykh Abdullah bin Hamid Ali is a senior faculty member of Zaytuna College (America's first Muslim Liberal Arts College), and founder of Lamppost Education Initiative. He studied the traditional Islamic sciences at the prestigious Al-Qarawiyin University of Fes, Morocco and is currently a PhD candidate at the Graduate Theological Union, where his research focuses on Race, Religion and Society. zaytunacollege.com lamppostproductions.com

Brother Ali is an American hip hop artist, community activist and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective. http://brotherali.com *Correction: When Ali mentions Frederick Douglass, he meant Marcus Garvey.

Rhamis Kent is a world renowned permaculture* expert and educator. He has trained with Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. He is currently advising and involved in Permaculture projects all over the world including sites in Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. For more information: http://permacultureglobal.org/users/51 *Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.