Chains of Narration: Recent Episodes
Shafi Ahmed
My name is Shafi Ahmed and I am the creator and host the Chains of Narrations podcast. I will interview guests from around the country, of course focus on my home town of Detroit, to start a more nuanced and reflective conversation about Muslims and Islam.
My inspiration for this podcast came from all of the healthy and real conversations I have been fortunate to have with many of our leaders throughout the years that don’t always make your social media feed. I hope to link us all to these chains and share these productive conversations with everyone.
I live in the Metro Detroit area and I am an accounting and finance professional who enjoys food and sports in my free time.
Feel free to leave comments and ratings so I can continue to create a better podcast with each episode.
After a long hiatus, Chains of narration is back.
I welcome Hussain Drame from the Saint Peter's college basketball team to discuss being a Muslim playing college basketball and their recent climb to fame after advancing to the sweet 16 of the college basketball tournament.
We discuss how Hussain and his brother Hassan are from Mali, playing for the Mali national basketball team, and their journey to America.
In this episode Imam Dawud Walid joins me to discuss the new Who Killed Malcolm X? Netflix documentary and why it is important to identify the real killers of Malcolm X. We also discuss the legacy of Malcolm X, why he is an important figure for Muslims, and why his assassination was so tragic.
- Hafiz Noman Zaheer - Improving Islamic Curriculum in America - Hafiz Noman Zaheer, Program developer and instructor of the Islamic Essentials online and high school programs for Darul Qasim, joins me for this episode of the podcast to discuss his international upbringing that included living in Hong Kong, studying Qur'an in Pakistan in Shaykh Hakim Akthar’s school, moving to Houston, and eventually ending up in Knoxville, Tennessee where he currently resides. We discuss how to improve Islamic curriculum that is taught in America.
Shaykh Walead Mosaad comes on the podcast to discuss what it was like studying overseas while having his family with him and the adjustment the undertook as a family upon their return to America. He also discusses with me how to bring a neighborhood feel to our communities that go beyond just the weekly programs we have at our masajid. This was an enlightening discussion to learn about strategies on how to build a community as a minority in America.
Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed comes on the podcast to discuss the circumstances that lead to him studying in South Africa at the famous Dār al-ʿUlūm Zakariyyā where he studied a rigorous eight-year ʿālimiyyah and iftāʾ course. He discusses the transition of coming back home after completing his studies, how Masjid DarusSalam was 40 years in the making, challenges married couples are going through, and the upcoming DarusSalam Winter Intensive Dec 21-25.
Brother Monem Salam (VP and Portfolio Manager at Saturna Capital) discusses his background in the finance industry, how he got into Islamic Finance, and how he has been involved with Amana Mutual funds for well over a decade. We also discuss why Islamic finance is important, a brief history of Islamic Finance in America, what the future of Islamic Finance products in America might look like, and why he had a desire to learn how to fly a plane.
In this episode I interview Imam Dawud Walid, the long time Executive Director of CAIR - MI about his background and how he settled in Detroit.
The main subject of this episode is discussing the 10 year anniversary of the assassination of Imam Luqman Abdullah and what the circumstances were that lead his untimely death. Imam Dawud also explains how much of a pillar of the community he served was and the ramifications it had on Imam Luqman's family.
Chains of Narration - Episode 2 - Shaykh Hamzah Maqbul joins me and discusses his background and what drove him to study Islam formally after completing his undergrad at the University of Washington. Then the main topic we discuss is what do we do when the Shaykhs or Imams we follow start to weigh in on political situations and we do not agree with them?
In the very first episode of Chains of Narration, I interview Imam Wahhajuddin Mohammed about how he got started in studying Islam, what drove him to study Islam, and how he ended up as an Imam in the Metro Detroit area.