In this wide-ranging “Listener Interactions” episode, I cover a diverse array of subjects, including questions about education, career choices, marriage, Muslims doing yoga, and reconciling God’s attributes as the Merciful and the Just with eternal damnation in Hell.
Author Archives: Mohamed Ghilan, M.D, Ph.D.
24
Jan
Jan
The cultural critic and educator Neil Postman published in 1985 an important work that continues to have relevance, if not more of it, in fact, today. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business is an argument that our reliance on visual media at the expense of print has been to […]
26
Dec
Dec
In his book The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss, the American Christian theologian and philosopher David Bentley Hart provides an account for what traditional theology has put forth on what the term God means and what it entails. It is interesting to note that this work can arguably be considered to be more directed at […]
11
Dec
Dec
What is Jerusalem worth? What kind of attachment does being a Muslim entail to the Holy Land? The recent announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that recognizes Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel has created massive outcries and lamentations over the grim prospects for peace. However, from a spiritual and Quranic standpoint, much good has […]
04
Dec
Dec
Very few subjects are as polarizing for Muslims as the relationship between scholars and dictators. Many scholars are often discredited as “hypocrites” and “scholars of the sultan” when they praise rulers. However, the human element and context are lacking in this discussion. Topics addressed in this episode include the expectations average Muslims have of scholars […]
27
Nov
Nov
What is the point of what you do? Whether it’s educational, career, or business pursuits, life is filled with transitions that end with the ultimate transition from this stage of our existence to the next. As we pass from this world we take nothing with us, and when we meet the angels in the grave […]
19
Nov
Nov
The body is a sacred trust from God and similar to other material possessions we have under our care in this world we will be asked about how we took care of it. How we physically look is a manifestation of how we treat our bodies, and how we treat our bodies manifests in our […]
15
Oct
Oct
The relationship dynamic between the teacher and student, the religious leadership and community, between parents and their children, or even between spouses can fall into spiritually toxic patterns. The challenge is in knowing when spirituality becomes a weapon of abuse as opposed to a path to connecting with God. Topics addressed in this episode include […]
12
Oct
Oct
“My ancestors were Brahmins. They spent their lives in search of god. I am spending my life in search of man.” – Muhammad Iqbal The following is a transcript of an address Muhammad Iqbal gave on January 1st, 1938 to mark the beginning of the new year, and it was broadcast over the All India […]
08
Oct
Oct
On September 15th, 2017 I was invited by the Muslim Student Association at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia to participate in a discussion panel the Peter Slezak, a philosopher of science. The general theme was the question “If God Exists, Where is He?” We spoke for close to 3 hours on […]
02
Oct
Oct
The derivation and application of Islamic law rely primarily on a number of juristic principles that attempt to reflect what is understood to be divine will. That is why the Arabic term to describe it, Sharia, literally means “a way to the source”. Though some might find it arbitrary and unyielding in some aspects, there […]
27
Aug
Aug
Eid al-Ad’ha is a blessed and significant time in the Muslim calendar in which the great sacrifice of our father Abraham peace be upon him and his son is commemorated. It also presents an opportunity to clarify the epistemological difference between Muslim and non-Muslim vegans. The choice to give up the consumption of meat and other […]
21
Aug
Aug
I receive many questions and comments through Andalus Online and Facebook, and in this second round of Listener Interactions, I delve into some of them. Topics addressed in this episode include the difference in opinion on the identity of who Ibrahim peace be upon him was instructed to sacrifice (Isaac or Ismail), how I get […]
14
Aug
Aug
Modern culture can be characterized as one that elevates feeling over fact and equivocates between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. Islamic cosmology and the Quran teach that the male and the female are equal, yet different opposing parts of a whole. Their relationship is that of complementarity as opposed to sameness. Despite the indefatigable […]
06
Aug
Aug
Where is political authority to be grounded – in claims of revelation, or in claims of human reason? The relationship and tension between religion and politics was called by the German-American philosopher Leo Strauss the “theologico-political” problem. Advocates of secularization theory, such as Karl Marx, Max Weber, and others saw the rise of religious diversity […]
30
Jul
Jul
The relationship between Islam and Science, and the topic of Evolutionary Theory are among the chief concerns many young Muslims find themselves having to deal with. In addition, many Muslims undertake graduate level degree programs in Islamic Studies departments in Western universities, but they hardly have spent time in traditional study of the religion, and […]
23
Jul
Jul
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said, “Every newborn is born upon the Fitra, then their parents will turn them into a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.” Topics addressed in this episode include the questions: What is the Fitra, and how does it relate to instinct and to human nature? Is morality innate or acquired? […]
16
Jul
Jul
What makes something true and a belief about a proposition a valid one? The philosophical literature is rich with discussions and theories about the nature of Truth, much of which may appear to be more of an exercise in intellectual musings. However, there is a real personal impact one will experience when they have to […]
09
Jul
Jul
The idea of being religious often conjures up to the mind the image of one being divorced from the material world to engage in ritual practice with the purpose of attaining nearness to God. However, from an Islamic point of view this is an extremely narrow understanding that limits the scope of what Islam is […]
28
May
May
Ramadan is often explained as a time of fasting from food and drink from sunrise to sunset and increased prayers at night. But there is more to this yearly obligatory practice that Muslims engage in than the physical acts. It is asserted in the Quran that the primary purpose of fasting is to gain a […]
26
May
May
No part of the body has received attention from the Beloved ﷺ to warn us about as much as the tongue. Yet, it seems that for most of us there is no part of the body we pay less attention to than our tongues. And in spite of the damage we inflict upon ourselves and others […]
21
May
May
Our modern age is one purported to elevate rationality above everything and everyone. Religious belief is considered a deficiency in reasoning capacity, and the education system promotes this idea most strongly at the college/university level. It is practically taken for granted that for one to have an objective about a religion, they must be an […]
14
May
May
Vaccination, a marvel of modern medicine that has saved literally millions of lives, remains a contentious issue for some. Recent outbreaks of measles, such as the one in the Somali-American community in Minnesota have raised public health alarm bells. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Health, fewer than 50% of Minnesota children of […]
07
May
May
This podcast has an engaged audience that includes individuals who send questions about a number of subjects that come up in the episodes. In this first episode of what is planned to be a periodic episodes dedicated to the listeners, a number of these questions have been selected to be addressed. Topics discussed in this […]
30
Apr
Apr
Ever since the rise of revolutionary protests in the Middle East that were initially dubbed the “Arab Spring” before devolving into more of a long and stormy winter, Muslims have increasingly been making their presence established in the realm of political activism and social justice movements. Islamism and Sharia are stable hot topics of discussion […]
23
Apr
Apr
The Muslim nostalgia for the past and feelings of inferiority in the presence can sometimes lead one to project modern understandings and presuppositions about what is considered rational and intellectually respectable onto past scholars living during what is known as the Golden Age of Islam. However, a reading of works by those scholars, such as […]
21
Apr
Apr
Note: A version of this vignette originally appeared as a topic of discussion in Andalus Book Club. Those born into Muslim families who had some connection to the tradition have been told from a young age stories about our past glories. Even today, whenever the subject of science and religion comes up, many are very quick […]