MuslimMan™

Important disclaimer: This podcast interview contains information about Testosterone Replacement Therapy. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information in this podcast interview as an alternative to medical advice from an appropriately qualified medical professional. If you have specific questions about any matter you should consult an appropriately qualified medical professional. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information in this podcast interview.

In this episode of the Becoming the Alpha Muslim podcast I interview Jay Campbell, the founder of TRT Revolution and Fab Fit Over 40.

This interview is an introduction to Testosterone Replacement Therapy for those unfamiliar with the subject.

It serves as a supplement to my review of Jay's book, "The Definitive Testosterone Replacement Therapy MANual: How to Optimize Your Testosterone for Lifelong Health and Happiness."

Jay's book is available on Amazon in paperback and Amazon Kindle formats.

To read my review and get a FREE pdf copy of the book, you should click on this link:

http://becomingthealphamuslim.com/jay-campbell-testosterone-replacement-therapy

This episode is an accompaniment to my review of "the Pure Muslimah's Guide to Very Dirty Sex," an upcoming self-help book for Muslim women who want to improve their sex lives.

I narrate a chapter from the book, "how to do a strip tease," to give you an idea of what to expect.

If you want to read my review and my interview of Umm Al-Mulaadhaat, the author, read my blog.

If you want to subscribe to Umm Al-Mulaadhaat's pre-sale email list, you can do so here - The Muslimah Sex Guide.

Please remember to subscribe to my podcast, and leave a rating and review on iTunes.

In this episode of the Becoming the Alpha Muslim podcast I welcome Nour Goda, founder and editor-in-chief of the Between Arabs Project, which is a website and podcast that brings together Arabs of all faiths and Muslims of all ethnicities to discuss social issues that plague our communities.

What I like about Nour's work and that of her colleagues at the Between Arabs Project, is its ability to take on difficult, polarizing conversations on relevant issues in the Muslim community in a constructive way.

Nour was gracious enough to invite me on her show soon after I launched Becoming the Alpha Muslim, and we recorded one of her best, if not the best, episodes.

So, it's high time I returned the favor.

Show Notes

• What are the essential differences between Western and Eastern Muslims?
  • The relationship between race and religious identity.
  • The myth of freedom of religion in secular societies.
• What's changed for Muslims living in Trump's America?
  • Trump as the continuation of endless imperialism and capitalist domination.
  • Better relationships with non-Muslims at the grass roots level.
  • The Islamophobia/victimhood narrative and hate-crime hoaxes by Muslims.
  • "Breaking stereotypes" and "pushing boundaries."
  • Neo-orientalist fetishization of the Muslim woman.
• Trump's recent airstrike on Syria
  • The Muslim armchair quarterback - overnight PhDs in political science and foreign policy
  • Forget the politics for a second, are the innocent Muslims safe?
  • What's a more productive way for Muslims to channel their outrage, instead of pontificating on social media?
    • Intellectual empathy, the principle of charity, and husn adh-dhann.
    • Listen more than you speak, ask more questions than you give opinions.
    • "Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change that which is within themselves."
• WTF is Critical Race Theory?
  • How race, power, and law work to maintain "white supremacy."
  • The apex fallacy - do homeless white people have white supremacy too?
  • Is racial discrimination systemic or a reaction to life experiences?
  • Racial stereotypes - Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism.
• Why should Muslims support Black Lives Matter (BLM?)
  • Getting back to the agenda of civil rights.
  • Opportunistic Muslim support of BLM not based on an Islamic paradigm.
  • A branding problem - the linguistic meaning of "black lives matter" vs. "Black Lives Matter" the organization.
  • The BLM organization, funded and led by radical liberals, feminists, and homosexuals - "Herstory," promoting LGBTQ, destroying the nuclear family.
  • The communal obligation of Muslims to invite people to Islam.
  • Secularism is not and has never been "live and let live."
  • Black-on-Black crime - why doesn't BLM care about this?
  • The subversion of movements for social change and the illusion of political protest.
  • Hotep vs. BLM - Hotep is a movement of self-improvement, self-reliance, self-accountability, and refusing to be victims. Shoutout to Uncle Hotep, @handymayhem on Twitter.
  • The two-pronged strategy of working to improve yourself and working to improve the system.
  • "You ain't ready to revolt against s***" - Killer Mike.
• Older Muslim women finding it difficult to get married.
  • The marriage marketplace - men age like wine, women age like milk.
  • The Prophetic model of marriage.
  • How Feminism is destroying Muslim women's ability to find a husband.
  • The practical considerations of male-female attraction are human, not culture, and cannot be ignored.
  • Recipe for disaster - expecting a religious Muslim man in his 20s who has little-to-no experience with the opposite sex to marry an older woman.
  • How some Muslim women are "settling" just so they can have kids or marrying outside the faith.
  • How "I'm a strong, independent Muslim woman who don't need no man" is BS.
  • "The Wall" - the point of no-return for a Muslim woman.
  • What's wrong with marrying young? Don't make the halal so difficult that Muslims are forced into haram.
  • Marrying young needs enlightened, forward-thinking Muslim parents.
  • The current generation of Muslims is part of the global Islamic awakening.
• Nour Goda's own experience as a divorcee trying to get re-married.
  • Marrying up - Nabeel Azeez's experience is not the norm.
  • The late 20s and early 30s are the new mid-20s when it comes to marriage in our times - education and parental pressure causing the delay.
  • Men and women with a "past" finding a partner willing to give them a chance.
  • Muslim women as victims of the sexualization of women in American culture.
  • Religious, virgin Muslim men who have no game or social skills with the opposite gender being brow-beating by the Muslim community to marry women who have previous sexual experience.
  • The nature of the male-female dynamic - how women's nature to let men lead has been beaten out of them by Feminism.
  • She wants to be your wife, not your mother - seduction, passion, romance, etc.
  • Men are not taught how to be men anymore - one of the motivations behind Becoming the Alpha Muslim.
  • Criticizing Feminism does not mean we are against women's rights.
  • Feminism has serious problems with respect to how it views men and masculinity.
  • Masculinity is attractive and should be appreciated.
  • P***y-whipped Muslim husbands are not a good look.
  • An Alpha woman is a beta wife with the right man.
  • Manosphere/Red-pill dating/relationship advice has a lot of overlap with Islam - shoutout to Pat Stedman, friend of Becoming the Alpha Muslim.
• The Between Arab Project's upcoming work.
  • Live event at Connecticut College on April 14th, 2017 - details here.
  • Short hiatus from publishing new content for the past 4-5 months because of Nour's work commitments.
  • More content will be published on the Between Arabs Youtube channel - subscribe here.
• How Feminism enslaves, not liberates, women.
  • Nour has written about this - Did Western.
  • How work-life balance is important for women and stay-at-home moms are looked down on.
  • How Feminism and Capitalism work hand-in-hand - the Corporate Overlords can't have 50% of the population not consuming.
  • The paradox of female happiness - the more liberation and equality women get, the more miserable they become.
  • One-in-four women have mental health issues and are on antidepressants.
  • Feminism encourages women to act against their fitrah (natural disposition.)
  • Allah prescribed different roles and responsibilities for men and women because as our Creator, He knows best how we ought to live so we can be happy.
• Becoming the Alpha Muslim is not a misogynist website
  • Encouragement and support from female readers who, like Nour, have noticed the dysfunctional gender dynamics being promoted among Western Muslim communities.
  • This extended episode is a gift to my female readers, to thank them for their support.
• On Western Muslims attempting to silence others and prevent difficult, yet necessary, conversations from happening.
  • How Nour/Between Arabs Project and the Mad Mamluks podcast take criticism from the community for associating with me.
  • On intellectual honesty, open discussion, exposing yourselves to ideas you disagree with or find offensive, and the spiritual growth that happens as a result.
  • Nour's journey through being an atheist and finding her way back to Islam, and how her faith is much stronger than it ever was. Related reading: Interview with an Ex-ex-Muslim.

If you enjoyed the episode...

Please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

Why aren't there any popular Muslim Dad Blogs?

Maybe there are, but I sure as hell haven't seen them.

Technically this is a good thing because it means the dads are out earning a living to provide for their families.

It's also a bad thing because this means the online Islamic discourse is dominated by women and, sadly, Feminists at that.

You may have also noticed, if you read them, the Dad Blogs which do exist read like they were written by women or effeminate men.

Which brings me to my guest, Neil white, who is the founder of This Dad Does, a blog for "dads who do more."

I enjoy reading him because his writing is masculine and he has traditional ideas about fatherhood.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to have him on because:

• I haven't written or podcasted about fatherhood before
• This Dad Does fits with our theme here at Becoming the Alpha Muslim.

Topics discussed

• Who is Neil White?
• The virtue of having daughters in Islam
• Why did Neil start This Dad Does?
• What sort of topics does Neil write about?
• Blogging side-discussion
• Why does every dad blog sound like it's been written by a huge fag?
• Dad Blogs as a blank canvas for Advertising and PR agencies
• Why are mainstream media and popular culture trying so hard to emasculate and feminize fathers?
• What is the role of the father in the Current Year?
• How is the father-son relationship different to the father-daughter relationship?
• Neil is working on a book

You can find complete show notes here: Why Fatherhood is how Empires are Built

P.S. Don't forget to leave me a rating and review on iTunes

The idea for this episode came to mind while I was listening to the Mad Mamluks - shoutout to Mahim, SIM, Sheikh Amir, and Mort.

A few weeks ago they had a psychologist on a few weeks ago, who is a relationship consultant.

The topic of dead bedrooms came up.

It was a good discussion and there was some good advice given.

However, I felt like they didn't really nail the issue.

The problem is, we tend to neglect the fact that the female has her own sexuality and sexual arousal.

We tend to think of lust and desire as something solely male, as opposed to male and female.

When that happens we look at sex a certain away.

The other thing (and it's morally a good thing) is that most religiously observant Muslims don't have sexual experience outside of marriage.

So, when we're talking about sexuality I think it's important for us to understand it as it is, and only then apply our moral framework to it.

In order to do that, I decided to invite a dating and relationship coach - Patrick Stedman.

Pat and I follow each other on Twitter and I am a reader of his blog, which is where I got the idea to have him on.

He got into relationship coaching because he had a poor track record interacting with women until he took the time to learn the skills he needed.

His work paid off - his own romantic life improved considerably and he's helped a lot of men improve their own.

He's married now, and his skill-set carries over to the relationship he has with his wife.

This is great for us because he's relatable and he understands the relationship dynamics in a marriage.

Topics Covered

• Marriage is dating on hard mode
• What are Frame and Frame Control?
• Pre-selection, one of the 3 pillars of attraction
• Married men letting themselves go
• Transactional thinking with regard to sex
  • The two problems with transactional sex
  • Is a relationship like a car? Do you have to keep filling up the gas tank?
• The top 3 things to understand about women when it comes to sex
  • Don't overcommunicate
  • The hypergamous nature of women
  • How to signal your desire
• A side-discussion on business strategy
• Lifting weights helps with Presence
• The importance of confidence
• Pat's #1 seduction special move
• Using dominant body language

Show Notes

Complete show notes are available on my website.

Read: How to re-ignite your sex life

Show Me Some Love

Please subscribe and leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

My Short-lived Career as a Preacher

A few years ago I had a brief stint as a Jumuah Khateeb (someone who delivers the sermon at Friday Mass.)

I took it very seriously – I wrote all of my sermons myself – and was well received.

Ideally, the Friday sermon should be very inspiring and an immediate boost to the faith of the congregants meant to encourage and sustain them for the entire week.

I'm a big proponent of drilling the fundamentals, so in one of my sermons I explained the meaning of la ilaha illa Allah (one-half of the Muslim testimony of faith.)

It was quality work but that's not why I mention it.

I mention it because of the reaction of the congregants.

One of them, an elderly gentleman, said,

"We've been saying it our entire lives, but no one actually explained to us what it means, the way you did."

Keep in mind, this is as fundamental as you can get.

Our children should know it as well as they know their own names.

Religious Literacy, Religious Literacy, Religious Literacy

In a time where celebrity preachers routinely rubbish the study of Islamic creed, is it any wonder religious literacy among the Muslim masses is trash?

Instead, these same preachers will do advanced Quran Studies with an audience, many of whom don't know the basic fundamentals of their religion.

FYI, this is the opposite of what the Companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would do.

It was narrated that Jundub bin 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

We were with the Prophet (ﷺ), and we were strong youths, so we learned faith before we learned Qur'an. Then we learned Qur'an and our faith increased thereby.

[Source: Sunan Ibn Majah]

Becoming the Alpha Muslim Don't Play That

As woke Muslim men and readers of this website you shouldn't fall into the same trap.

So, to help improve your understanding of Islamic creed, here is my sermon in full.

I have added sub-headings to make it easier for you to read.

Non-Muslims Should Read this Too

If you are a non-Muslim this is probably the most important post of mine you will ever read.

Few non-Muslims get exposed to such a detailed explanation of the core of our faith.

Fewer still get exposed to a Friday sermon in English.

My hope for this post is that we all, Muslim and non-Muslim, walk away spiritually energized.

May Allah make it so.

http://becomingthealphamuslim.com/who-is-allah

Please Subscribe, and Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes

Becoming the Alpha Muslim on iTunes

This week's podcast is actually a week overdue.

I was supposed to release it with last week's post, "American Muslims in 2017: will the Schizophrenia Continue?"

If you want to read the entire article (you should,) here's the link:

http://becomingthealphamuslim.com/american-muslims-2017/

Today I answer questions about me and Becoming the Alpha Muslim for the benefit of my Muslim listeners who can't reconcile some of my online associations with the fact that I'm a religiously observant Muslim.

Here are some of the most common questions:

• Nabeel, are you alt-right?
• Why do you support alt-right figures like Mike Cernovich and Milo Yiannopolous who clearly hate Islam and Muslims?
• Why are you so against Muslim activists / Social Justice activists?
• Why are you so provocative and controversial online?

If you want to hear the answers, listen to the episode.

And please remember to subscribe on iTunes and leave me a rating and review:

Here's the link:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/becoming-the-alpha-muslim/id1150590015?mt=2

In today's episode...

I fly solo for the first time and tell you how Bruce Lee's philosophy helped me manifest my Islam more honestly and authentically.

When it comes to self-improvement in our time Bruce Lee is the most famous example and most likely the gold standard, even though he died over 40 years ago.

He is commonly known as a superlative martial artist and an action movie superstar.

Less well known is his expertise as a philosopher and being a prolific writer.

Most important to you and I is his constant striving to not only achieve balance but to excel in every aspect of his life.

This made him an excellent husband, father, friend, teacher, and student as well.

His holistic self-improvement is rooted in a worldview based on Eastern philosophies like Taoism.

Whatever his beliefs what is relevant here, what we can learn from, is his action.

We Muslims know his actions as a manifestation of Ihsan – personal excellence.

Lee died in 1973 just before the release of "Enter the Dragon," the movie which catapulted him into global stardom.

Today, his legacy is carried on by his daughter, Shannon Lee.

Lee died when she was 4, so she didn't grow up around him.

When asked, she has few memories of him.

She was more exposed to his personality, his philosophy, and his person through his prolific writings and library.

She is as much a student of Bruce Lee as she is his daughter.

So, I'm always riveted when I hear her speak about him.

Recently, I've been going through episodes of the Bruce Lee podcast. http://www.brucelee.com/podcast/

It is hosted by Shannon Lee and her Chief Marketing Officer, Sharon Lee (no relation.)

Each episode is marvelously pithy.

The podcast is what inspired this week's post and podcast.

You can read this week's blog post here:

http://becomingthealphamuslim.com/bruce-lee/

Please leave me a rating and review:

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/becoming-the-alpha-muslim/id1150590015?mt=2

Stitcher - http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/nabeel-azeez/becoming-the-alpha-muslim

I'm also on Youtube now so please subscribe to the channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXfnTcrShmtPQ4r2TcXNFgA

How do we engage Muslims who aren't as far along the spiritual path as we are?

As someone who was Muslim in name alone for most of my life, it's surprisingly easy to forget where I started and how far I've actually come.

Imagine how much harder it is for Muslims who know nothing but a proper adherence to Islam.

I want to understand how the "non-practicing" and "not-so-practicing" Muslim think, what their views are of the World, and what keeps them away from achieving their potential as a Muslims.

One of the more contentious issues that act as a barrier to Muslims becoming more religious is music.

I'm not interested in rehashing the fiqhi (legal) debate on music in Islam.

What I want to do, is try to understand how Muslims who are music lovers stay true to their faith.

So I invited my brother Irshad Azeez on for an informal chat.

Not because he's non-practicing, but because he's an effective go between, both in terms of his own level of religiosity (can improve a lot) and the circles he moves in (mostly non-practicing, and non-Muslim.)

Irshad is my younger brother by a year. He's a rapper/emcee - stage name Jibberish, one quarter of the Dukkan Show podcast, and my business partner.

We met up a few days before he is due to leave Dubai and move back to Sri Lanka, to spend more time with our parents.

Time-stamped show notes

[01:32] I explain the premise of this episode and what I'm trying to accomplish

[03:20] Irshad doesn't feel like he's equipped to answer these questions

[03:43] Irshad tells us his background - how he ended up in Dubai, how he got involved with hip-hop, and his approach to spirituality in general.

[05:00] I ask Irshad to tell us more about how he got into podcasting, and what the audience response has been to Dukkan Show.

[08:10] How did Irshad get involved in the rap game?

[09:36] The need to express creativity through art.

[11:27] How does a fresh-off-the-boat Sri Lankan learn how to rap?

[14:55] If a Muslim who doesn't listen to music wants to learn how to rap or do spoken word, how would he go about it?

[17:50] If you're strict about not listening to music, just do spoken word.

[20:30] Spoken word or other forms of poetry are good skills to learn because they give you confidence.

[21:13] Irshad's motivation to get into hip-hop was to overcome the racism and bigotry around him at the time.

[22:36] How was he received? What's his reputation as an emcee in the region?

[26:30] How does Irshad reconcile his faith with the Islamic prohibition on music (according to the majority opinion?)

[28:50] If music is your test, how do you deal with it?

[31:09] Spiritual tests are like a complicated math problem - you're scored on your work as well as the answer.

[31:35] How eloquence can be a test (using Hamza Yusuf as an example.)

[32:00] Writing letters to God as a journaling exercise.

[32:19] What is the hardest part of practicing Islam?

[35:21] Many religious Muslims isolate themselves and don't have a complete picture of the World.

[37:00] The lifelong struggle to realize Rahma (mercy) despite the difficulty and harm around us.

[37:30] Isn't Irshad afraid of losing himself by putting himself in situations where his faith is tested?

[37:55] Be aware of your spiritual state and have a vision of how you are going to get better.

[39:10] Be thankful for all of your life experiences because you appreciate the good through knowing the bad.

[40:58] What are some of the problems religiously observant Muslims have when approaching and communicating with those less-so (or non-Muslims.)

[43:00] Irshad mentions an awkward encounter with a religious Muslim during my wedding party.

[43:55] What's the deal with Irshad (and Muslims like him) and Hamza Yusuf?

[46:00] It's such a difficult thing to submit, the messenger needs to be someone who is easy-going and lenient.

[46:35] Most people just want the benefits of spirituality, or to feel spiritual, without the hard work of purifying their soul.

[48:10] What is the most effective way for more religiously observant Muslims to communicate with Muslims like Irshad?

[50:45] Beyonce, the Illuminati agenda, and it's connection to sorcery.

[53:02] The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the World he doesn't exist.

[54:35] The hero is the guy people want to tear down.

[54:45] Why is Irshad moving back to Sri Lanka?

[56:28] What if humanity was to Judge you, instead of Allah?

[57:00] What is Irshad's advice for Muslims, who are struggling, who want to regain their faith?

Where can you find Irshad online?

• Dukkan Show
• Soundcloud
• Facebook
• Twitter

Please leave the Becoming the Alpha Muslim Podcast a rating and review

• iTunes
• Stitcher

My guest today is Dr. Shadee Elmasry

Dr. Shadee Elmasry was born and raised in New Jersey.

He began studying the traditional sciences rigorously at age eighteen after a summer in Fes, Morocco.

Since then he has studied all over the world including Hadramawt (Yemen), Mecca and Madina (Saudi Arabia), London (UK), Cairo (Egypt) and New Jersey (U.S.) under several luminaries.

He received a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies.

He is currently the Scholar in Residence and Director of Education and Community Affairs at the New Brunswick Islamic Center in New Jersey.

He is also the founder and head of Safina Society - an institution dedicated to the cause of traditional Islamic education in the West.

You can follow Dr. Shadee on Twitter and Facebook.

Time-stamped show notes:

03:20 Why has Islamic Aqidah (Creed) become a bad word among Muslims in the West?

07:40 The three-part foundation to understanding Islam

• Cosmology - what do we believe exists?
• Epistemology - what are our sources of truth?
• Methodology - how do we interpret these sources?

12:33 Cosmology is where believers split with atheists.

13:45 Epistemology is where mainstream Muslims (Sunni Muslims in general) split from the deviant sects in Islam and all other religions.

16:55 Methodology is where mainstream Muslims will differ in their interpretations of Islam. Some interpretations fall within the scope of correct methodology while others do not.

23:43 What happens when someone who claims to be Muslim denies one of the axiomatic tenets of Islam? Those things that are necessarily known as part of the faith. (Arabic - ma'lum min ad-din bi 'dh-dharurah)

24:45 Dr. Shadee goes off on Big Dawah. the Dawah establishment. (I've seen this term used formally once before; I think we should make it stick.)

27:30 Dawah is a failed enterprise if it's not grounded in knowledge.

28:35 I comment on how Dr. Shadee's strategy of sticking to the masjid and using the internet and social media to spread knowledge is the safest bet.

31:47 Dr. Shadee gives the example of Sheikh Murabit Al-Hajj, who lives in a Mauritanian desert camp while his students travel from all over the World to live and study with him.

32:56 I mention one of the fundamental maxims of Islamic law - avoidance of harm takes precedence over seeking benefit.

34:42 Dr. Shadee tries to stay as financially independent as possible because the guy who writes your check owns you.

37:05 Stand by your principles and people will respect you.

38:40 Dr. Shadee explains the result of politically correct preachers.

41:40 The fake unity of politically correct Islam, and the selfishness of Muslims who don't unequivocally make the Truth clear.

45:10 How to know who to spend your time with: ask yourself "would I trade my Book of Deeds with that person on Judgement Day?"

47:10 In religion, the old way is the right way.

48:15 A personal development principle that's relevant to Dawah. Fall in love with the process, not the results.

49:40 The differences between Grassroots Dawah (in the masjid) and Big Dawah.

50:20 Doing what's best for your audience - the Web Analytics and Bounce Rate Analogy.

51:30 Identifying the true metrics of success as opposed to vanity metrics.

53:40 Allah asks Ibrahim to call all the people of the World to Hajj and He will make sure the message is conveyed.

57:05 How should Muslims go about gaining the understanding of the fundamentals - cosmology, epistemology, methodology.

1:02:42 How should a beginner student approach studying Aqidah?

1:07:40 The importance of studying the history of the transmission of the Quran and Hadith - the need of the time.

1:13:07 Why are we being negative and sounding off these alarms?

1:16:30 The fasiq (sinful) Muslims of the past had a better Aqidah than some of the Muslim academics today.

1:18:00 The Muslim community can sometimes be more dangerous to a Muslim's faith than any non-Muslim.

1:19:45 My concern over my daughters reading and being brainwashed by deviant websites like Muslim Girl, Tempest, and Altmuslimah.

1:22:30 The importance of the student guarding his humility.

1:23:00 Why does Dr. Shadee refrain from speaking about politics? Is that on purpose?

1:24:12 If you want to do one great thing you have to say no to a hundred good things.

1:24:50 What sort of classes does Safina Society offer?

1:28:40 Segregation of the sexes is a feature of all traditional societies. The longest-surviving, most successful societies seperate genders and mix ages - modern Western society does the opposite.

1:30:24 How do people enroll in Safina Society classes? Do they have online classes?

1:32:50 To close out the show I ask Dr. Shadee to give Becoming the Alpha Muslim readers his #1 piece of advice.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave be a rating and review on iTunes or Stitcher.