Qunootcast Series

Episode 35: An Interview with Syed Sulayman Abidi

Host: Abbas Kanji

Length: 30:27

Recorded on March 11, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois

Nasheed: "Al-Mu'Allim" performed by Sami Yusef

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Synopsis: The 28th of Safar marks the anniversary date of the death of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).  Very little is known about this important and tragic date in Islamic History. In this episode Hujjatul Islam Syed Sulayman explores the details of this date including historical details and the relevance of commemorating this event in modern times.

Bio: Originally from upstate New York, Hujjatul Islam wal Muslimeen Syed Sulayman Abidi received his Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo ,NY. He has spent the last 10 years studying at the Hawza Ilmiyah in Qum, Iran. He is a frequent guest speaker at many North American Muslim communities and is in regular consultation with Islamic Studies departments at leading universities throughout the United States.

Episode 34: An Interview with Taki Zaidi and Zain Ali

Host: Jihad F. Saleh

Length: 32:13

Recorded on March 13, 2007 in Washington, DC

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Synopsis: Both Taki Zaidi and Zain Ali traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan and Muzaffarabad, Kashmir in the winter of 2005-06 as members of Youth Medics International - a youth group of Imamia Medics International. The work was dedicated to providing relief aid to the victims of the October 8, 2005 earthquake, and focused on health care in refugee camps and orphanages. They discuss the successes and struggles of their humanitarian work in a Kashmir relief camp. Valuable advice is provided to Muslim youth and young professionals who desire starting or working in a humanitarian NGO. 

Bio: Taki Zaidi, Director of Youth Medics International, is a native of New Jersey. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Montclair State University with a B.S. in Physics and completed graduate work in Rutgers/UMDNJ. His previous humanitarian work includes teaching HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in high schools and universities in Hyderabad, India in the summer of 2003. In August of 2007 Taki will be entering an MD/Ph.D. program and looks forward to seeing the work of Youth Medics International carried on by other motivated youth.

Bio: Zain Ali is a native of New Jersey. He is currently finishing his last year of undergraduate studies at Rutgers University where he majors in Economics and Middle Eastern Studies. He founded an award-winning chapter of Oxfam America at Rutgers University which increases peoples awareness and activism on issues such a Sudan, the Millennium Development Goals, and the ONE campaign. He started a blog and a university-sponsored research project into the socio-economic situation of the Kashmiri people of Pakistan.

Episode 32: An Interview with Shaikh Mustafa Jaffer

Host: Abbas Kanji

Length: 14:02

Recorded on January 31, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois

Intro and Outro Clip: Recitation of Ziyarat-e-Ashura by Osama Al-Attar

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Synopsis: Well known Shi'a scholar and speaker Shaikh Mustafa Jaffer talks about the significance of Ziyarat-e-Ashura, the salutation prayer given on Imam Husayn (A.S.) and the martys of Karbala. Shaikh Jaffers also addresses the issue of cursing of those who fought Imam Husayn and if this cursing has a place in today's times as well as the concept of intercession.

Bio: Born in Kenya, Shaikh Mustafa Jaffer hails from a family of prominent ulama, including his late uncle, Mulla Asghar M.M. Jaffer. Shaikh Mustafa's early education took place in Kenya with went on to further Islamic studies in Tehran, Iran.  Shaikh Mustafa also earned his masters degree in Arabic-English Translation and Interpretation from Edinburgh, Scotland.  Shaikh Mustafa has worked with the BBC and more recently was the administrative secretary of the World Federation of Khoja Shi'a Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities. He has also lead Hajj groups for the past 20 years and has delivered lectures to Muslim communities across six continents.

Episode 31: An Interview with Dr. Liyakat Takim, Islamic Studies Professor at the University of Denver,

Colarado

Length: 29:19

Recorded on January 15, 2007 in Washington, DC (Dr. Takim joined in via phone from Colorado)

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Synopsis: In this interview, the first of our Muharram series, Dr. Takim gives an overview of the significance of Karbala and offers his thoughts on what changes he has noticed in the commemoration (Azadari) of Imam Husayn's saga. Dr. Takim also offers suggestions of what we can do to make the meaning of Ashura more relevant and applicable in our lives.

Bio: Dr. Takim holds a Phd from the Schol of Oriental and African Studies in London and currently serves as a Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Denver, Colorado. His Ph.D. dissertation "Dissension and the Struggle for Authority in Shi'i Biographical Literature" has been revised and published under the title The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Shi'ite Islam (SUNY Press, 2006). In addition, he is involved in a joint research project entitled "Muslims in the American Public Square," undertaken for the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. Dr. Takim's teaching interests include courses on Islamic mysticism, classical and contemporary Islam, and Islam in comparative perspective.

To listen to an interview about his book, The Heirs of the Prophet, tune in to Qunoot Episode 24 by clicking here

To purchase his book, click on the image of his book on the left.

If you have listend to the Qunootcast above, you probably noticed that this podcast did not start with the usual qunoot podcast theme. We have instead started with the opening lines of the ziyarah or salutation on the 3rd Imam, Husayn bin Ali (as), who was martyed in Karbala, Iraq on the 10th day of Muharram, a day known as Ashura.

To mark this sacred month, the Qunoot team has put together a series of podcasts that reflect upon the meaning and the signficance of the martydom of Imam Husayn.

We hope you find them beneficial in learning and/or observing this sacred month.

What is Qunoot?

Qunoot is an act of supplication performed with the hands uplifted, showing devoutness and obedience to God; considered the pinnacle of humility and piety during Salat (prayer).

Why call ourselves the "Qunoot Foundation"? What is our goal?

The Qunoot Foundation was started in November 2005 as a platform for American Shia-Muslim youth and young professionals to articulate their political, socioeconomic, cultural, and gender-related perspectives on both the Shia community and the Muslim community at large.

In short, our goal is to create spaces and programs that empower American Shia youth and young professionals to stand up and raise their hands and voices for a more just and egalitarian Muslim and global community, much like in qunoot.

Click to visit the Qunoot Foundation website.

 

How does the Qunoot Foundation achieve its goals? Currently we have four ongoing projects:

1)       A biweekly Qunoot Foundation Media podcast series called "Qunootcast".

2)       Qunoot Foundation funded internships at CAIR and MPAC to focus on intra-Muslim dialogue and networks.    

3)    Timely forums on issues essential to the development of critical awareness, activism, and networks.

4)       An upcoming Qunoot Foundation Media film entitled “A Broken Promise” about sectarian violence in Pakistan.

What is the purpose of the Qunootcast series?

Qunootcast is a critical audio-series about American Shia-Muslim Cultures, Politics, Religion, and Society. Topics covered in Qunootcast episodes are meant to foster critical awareness, activism, and a sense of community amongst Shia-Muslim youth and young professionals. Qunootcast provides a venue for Shia activists, organizational leaders, academics, and religious scholars to present their knowledge, activitism, organizations, and research to a larger audience. Through the series, Shia youth and young professionals acquire a greater understanding of their religious faith and community, are promoted to take leadership roles in the American Muslim community, and how to effectively participate in the public affairs and civic organizations of the United States.

What is Qunoot Foundation Media's commitment to its audience? How can listeners contribute to Qunootcast?

Qunoot Foundation Media wants to reach new audiences and we have switched to the VOX site because it allows us to present a more visual and in-depth way of engaging the Qunootcast series. VOX provides a user friendly and stylish venue to share Qunootcasts with a broader audience. We encourage listeners to introduce others to our new site.

The Qunoot Foundation is grateful to our audience for taking the time to listen to the Qunootcast series. The Qunoot Foundation collective wants to learn how to improve the series, making it more supportive of listerns' development of critical awareness, activism, and networking. We intend to add more structure to the topics we explore and whom we interview, as well as have themed-based Qunootcast series. But we seldom hear from our audience. As a result, the collective tends to chose topics that interest us.This site provides listerns a chance to post comments and reactions to Qunootcasts right below each episode file. Also, messages to the Qunoot Foundation can be emailed directly from this site. 

The Qunootcast series is uploaded to iTunes for those wishing to play episodes as a podcast. To download Qunootcast episodes 1 through 34, click here.