The Thinking Muslim

I have been struck by the thoughtful and nuanced conversations that are being had across the US about the coming elections. But there remains confusion. One such community that probably has reason to be sceptical of mainstream Muslim organisations and their approach to politics, as relationships, is the all-important African American Muslim community – very often neglected in any conversation.I have invited today to show someone who I deeply respect for how he thought through these essential topics long before Gaza came along to haunt us. Imam Dawud Walid is the author of Towards Sacred Activism and an Imam in Michigan.Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage in critical thought now, please consider becoming a Patron.  / thethinkingmuslim  You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: / thinking_muslim  Facebook / the-thinking-muslim-podcast-105790781361490  Instagram: / thinkingmuslimpodcast  Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: / jalalayn  Website Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com

The US elections are in full flow, with the two big parties focussing on the key swing states that will decide this election. In states like Michigan, a slight movement of voters can determine the outcome. And this means Muslim voters may play a decisive role.To help us understand the political and intellectual climate, I have invited back onto the show Imam Tom Facchine show. Imam Tom has been instrumental in galvanising Muslims behind the anti-Harris campaign, and he joins us from Pennsylvania. You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comTimestamps0:00 Introduction2:09 - Mehdi re Trump worse8:31 – You are supporting Trump 11:43 – Trump vs Harris 17:47 – Lesser of the two evils 22:33 – Emgage and Harris 29:38 – Emgage no excuse 33:08 – Michigan is the showdown40:46 – Green Party challenges 45:43 – Quantifying our Gaza votes48:05 – Leverage within Democrats 50:55 – Staying at home53:20 – US Exceptionalism 57:16 – Liberal ideology

To help us unpick the relationship between Western foreign policy and media our guest this week is Hamza Yusuf is a British-Palestinian writer and journalist whose work focuses on Palestine. He has reported on daily life under occupation for Palestinians, including home demolitions and forced expulsion and the conditions for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. He is an investigative journalist at Declassified amongst other publications.You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com

The Biden-Harris administration has aided and abetted genocide. The argument they still deserve our vote is not only politically naïve but is also built upon a bed of lies. We must show courage in this election and vote for a third party. This is not only morally the correct position; it is the only way to build long-term political leverage for the American Muslim community. Read Muhammad Jalal's full article here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/p/harri...

Please subscribe ** Dr Yakoob Ahmed interviews your host, Muhammad Jalal. The genocide in Gaza and the need for enlightened activism was captured by the guests and content that came out on The Thinking Muslim. We had become accustomed to calls for immediate action, some of which were short-lived. But what The Thinking Muslim did was to place this activism within a sacred responsibility. That's why it captured so many imaginations and activated so many people.Much of The Thinking Muslim's content has been carefully curated and well thought through, and the guests showcased are amongst the most articulate and thoughtful in their field.Someone somewhere had the idea that Muhammad Jalal should answer questions from the Thinking Muslim audience, so they asked Dr Yakoob Ahmed to file these questions – and some of my own – to its host.You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comTimestamps0:00 Introduction 2:00 – Feelings? 2:45 – How did you start? 10:00 – Challenges faced13:55 – The Team 17:50 – How Gaza changed everything 22:10 – Non-Muslim guests? 26:10 – How do you choose guests 29:56 – Pushing back 33:21 – UK elections and Gaza38:08 – The election strategy40:12 – Attacks from media4215 – How invested are you in this system? 46:16 – University scene 49:20 – US elections 51:25 – Why visit the US 53:22 – US Muslims are different 58:16 – Anti- Harris campaign 1:00:07 – Young Muslims 1:01:34 – US empire? 1:03:40 – The left and right 1:10:13 – Islamic alternative 1:14:50 – Unity of Muslims1:16:40 – Post-Gaza 1:18:40 – Guest selection 1:21:18 – Infantilising young Muslims 1:25:47 Book recommendation 1:28:59 – Dr Aafia Siqqiqui.1:31:28 – Future of TM

Is modern society failing our children? Has the quest for constant progress, through the use of technology and the desire to constantly engage our children with stimuli and keep them busy with lives that we have curated for them, been to the detriment of childhood? A recent global childhood report found that British children are the most unhappy in the Western world despite our relative material progress. Yet, there is rarely a conversation about the root causes.My guest today, Ahmed Paul Keeler, is the AUTHOR OF RETHINKING ISLAM AND THE WEST. And also the author of a soon to be published book titled the Gazan Awakening. He has thought a lot about the issues involved in nurturing a true childhood. How can we resist the excesses of modernity and exhibit the timeless qualities of Islam in our lives?You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com0:00 Introduction 2:04 Why is Childhood so important 20:00 Capitalism 25:30 How has childhood been breached 30:27 Teenage angst 41:40 Was it really good in the past? 53:00 Reclaiming Childhood1:08:39 Motherhood and Fatherhood 1:18:40 The new generation1:23:00 His new Gaza book1:31:58 His poem

Apologies for the slight deterioration in sound, especially in the first 30 minutes of the interview.Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimThe ongoing slaughter in Gaza and now the carpet bombing of Lebanon has at its backdrop the US elections. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have clearly stated their intentions to back Israel, and it is hard sometimes to place a cigarette paper between them.So how should American Muslims respond to the genocide. Should they abandon Harris? I am planning to visit the US very soon inshallah and will be meeting with American Muslim leaders and others as I attempt to piece together an answer to these crucial questions. But to begin the conversation, I have invited back onto the show Sami Hamdi to share his thoughts.You can support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time or a monthly donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com0:00 – Introduction03:00 Is there a Harris bounce in the polls 07:06 If Harris loses, Zionism loses? 13:34 Why is AIPAC worried? 20:00 Shifting US public opinion26:58 Muslims in swing states 30:01 Supporting Trump 38:19 Third-party candidates 48:21 Should we endorse Jill Stein57:39 The lesser of the two evils 1:18:00 Are US Muslims ready for sacrifice 1:39:40 Non-Muslim allies

Join our Telegram channel Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimSami Hamdi has been at the fore of the conversation about how Muslims should respond to the unparalleled attack upon Gaza. The brutality with which the Israelis now act with impunity is clear for the majority of the world to see, but the West remains immune to its crimes. That’s partly because the West does not and cannot see Israel as anything but a benevolent project in a region that requires a Western presence. A colony. An imperial parasite whose crimes are erased by those funding its campaign of annihilation. Israel is not, as the conventional wisdom suggests, out of control. It is a project of the West. The West is Israel and Israel is the West. The two are symbiotically linked. Their destiny is one. This past week, we have seen the latest escalation, the systematic use of communications pagers and walk-in talkies to kill and maim indiscriminately across Lebanon and parts of Syria. The response in much of the Western press has been to praise the action as creative and daring. But what lay behind this escalation, what is Israel’s game plan, and where do the Muslim rulers now sit, almost a year after this act of mass murder? You can also support The Thinking Muslim through a one-time donation: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateSign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comPurchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merch Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com0:00 – Introduction2:20 – Why did Israel do this? 10:25 – Netanyahu’s calculation with Iran 15:14 – Role of the US in this crisis 19:47 – US involvement 22:07 – Iranian restraint 28:05 – How do we view what happened 31:38 – Was Syria US inspired? 38:00 – Did Iran help the Syrians? 46:09 – Saudi Arabia and Normalisation 53:19 – Erdoğan and Türkiye