KalamCast

Dr Zuleyha Keskin is a Senior Lecturer and Course Director. She co-founded ISRA Australia with the vision to establish university level Islamic studies courses which teach both traditional and contemporary Islamic studies in a university context.  This led to the establishment of the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation (CISAC) at CSU. Zuleyha has been the Course Director at CSU for these courses since their inception in 2010. Zuleyha is also the Managing Editor of the Australian Journal of Islamic Studies (AJIS) and the Vice President of the Australian Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (AAIMS).

Almir Colan sits down with Furqan to share his opinions regarding the new series Kuruluş: Osman (sequel to the famous Ertugrul series). Almir explains that the series has some high expectations that it is to live up to and discusses what the current series actually covers. For those interested, Almir did an earlier episode sharing his opinions regarding the original series (Episode 3).

RAMNAC RETURNS to discuss perspective towards technology within the Muslim world. The discussion then shifts to analyses of social media causes. Bilal uses this as an opportunity to discuss his perception of how people have been reacting to the recent BLM movement as well as the polarisation which sometimes place.

Sh Abdinur Weli is the religious advisor of the Sanad Foundation. He is the Head Imam for Islamic Council of Victoria [ICV] and member of the Board of Imams Victoria [BOIV]. He spoke with Furqan about a topic which he highly passionate of, the personal and psychological implications of remembering and invocating Allah in one's day to day affairs.

Moustafa Fahour OAM is the founder of Islamic Museum of Australia and was formerly the CEO and Managing Director of one of the leading diversified international contractors in the Middle East, based in Dubai. He has over 15 years of experience in the banking industry, construction, management and has held senior roles with CIMIC Group, Macquarie Bank, National Australia Bank, UBS and Citigroup. He was recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) by the Australian Government in 2015, was selected as one of The World’s Most Influential Young Arabs under the age of 40, by Arabian Business and the distinguished Alumni Award by La Trobe University in 2016. Furqan met up with him at Preston mosque to discuss his work on developing on the mosque as well as current issues pertaining to the Islamic Museum of Australia.

KalamCast had been trying to arrange a recording for a while but was unable to do so due to Adam's hectic schedule, matters became slightly more complicated due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Adam kindly agreed to offer an interview discussion with Furqan over Zoom. In the recording, he discusses his spiritual motivations, how he began as a professional footballer and what parents can do to support their own children if they wish to pursue sports professionally. 

Dr Ziauddin Ansari is an Australian-based health professional. Ziauddin is trained as an Intensive Care Specialist. Furqan and returning guest (turned co-host) Dr Shiraz Mekhri speak with Dr Ziauddin regarding where we currently lie with dealing with the pandemic. Dr Ziauddin shares some of his opinions regarding lifting restrictions and what he feels life will be like in the months to come. 

Almir Colan returns to share his thoughts regarding conspiracy theories prevalent in the Muslim community (as well as the larger community) concerning the coronavirus. Furqan and Almir discuss some of the motivations behind these conspiracy theories and share advice regarding how one should proceed in the face of such claims.

Munir Abdella is the National Manager for the National Zakat Foundation. Furqan spoke with Muneer much prior to Ramadan in order to discuss Zakat and how NZF works. NZF has handled over 8,000 cases nationally since 2013 with an outlay of over $7m. It has offices across Australia with the Melbourne office based in 29 Sydney Road, Coburg. Assistance can be in the form of financial support (via vouchers and not cash) to pay bills, for medication and medical services.

RAMNAC RETURNS! Bilal and Furqan talk about atheism in the era of the coronavirus. Bilal's plans to travel overseas have been postponed as a result of the current situation. Thankfully, we get to record more episodes with him. As a convert to Islam, Bilal shares perspectives regarding his spiritual journey and presents his perspectives regarding atheism as well as desim (a philosophical belief he used to hold prior to embracing Islam). This episode was recorded responsibly via zoom.