Path & Present w/Baraka Blue

Joseph E. B. Lumbard (General Editor of The Study Quran) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Arabic and Translation Studies at the American University of Sharjah and an Associate Editor for the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān (in progress). A specialist in Quranic studies, Sufism, Islamic philosophy, comparative theology, and Islamic ecotheology, he is the editor of Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition (2nd edition, 2010), and author of Submission, Faith, and Beauty: The Religion of Islam (2009) and Love and Remembrance: The Life and Teachings of Aḥmad al-Ghazālī (2016).

Dustin Craun is the CEO and Founder of Ummah Wide, a digital media and film production startup telling stories that transcend the borders of global communities. He is a social innovator, writer, digital strategist, community organizer, and educator. His writings on race, philosophy, and Islamic studies have been published in academic journals and popular publications.

Dawood Yasin is a bow-hunter, outdoorsman, primitive-skills teacher, Imam, and creator of #getyourownhalal. He is currently the Coordinator of Learning Outside the Classroom at Zaytuna College.

In this conversation on the mystical dimensions of Hinduism and Islam we discuss the importance of lineage; the role of tradition, discipline and submission; the unique psychology of the Western seeker; symbolism; and the relationship between the exoteric and the esoteric.

Sri Swamini Svatmavidyananda Saraswati, a longtime disciple of Paramapujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati of India, is an accomplished scholar of Vedanta.

For several years, she has led an active satsang community in the United States, serving as the Spiritual Director of Swami Dayananda’s USA center: Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam based in Washington, D.C., and Oregon.

More information can be found on http://www.arshavm.org/ and her classes can be accessed on her youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/Svatmavidyananda

For further delving into this topic see this video, "Sacred Silence in Sufism and Vedanta", at the Festival of Faiths https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IV5AyXYNL4

Imam Zaid shares his journey and offers his thoughts on the current anti-Muslim political climate in America.

One of Americas most prominent Imam's shares his journey growing up in a segregated south; a youth of political activism and spiritual seeking; serving in the armed forces where he converted to Islam; attaining degrees in Political Science & International Relations; serving an inner city congregation in the middle of the crack epidemic; traveling overseas for nearly a decade to study with some of the world's most prominent Muslim scholars and spiritual masters in Syria & Morocco; then returning after 9/11 to co-found one of America's most prominent Muslim institutions, Zaytuna College.

Zaid Shakir is co-founder and senior faculty member of Zaytuna College and also serves on its Board of Trustees. In 1983, while at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ., he co-founded the New Brunswick Islamic Center formerly Masjid al-Huda. In 1987, he settled in New Haven, CT., and continued his community activism co-founding Masjid Al-Islam. Zaid Shakir moved to Hayward, California to serve as a scholar-in-residence and lecturer at Zaytuna Institute in 2003. He co-founded the Lighthouse Mosque, Oakland, CA. in 2007. He co-founded Zaytuna College in 2009, where he now teaches Islamic law and history. Zaid Shakir is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. Known to the world as Imam Zaid, he has authored numerous articles on a wide range of topics, becoming a voice of conscience for American Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Recently, he was ranked as “one of the western world’s most influential Scholars The 500 Most Influential Muslims, edited by John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin, (2009).

Shaykh Abdullah bin Hamid Ali is a senior faculty member of Zaytuna College (America's first Muslim Liberal Arts College), and founder of Lamppost Education Initiative. He studied the traditional Islamic sciences at the prestigious Al-Qarawiyin University of Fes, Morocco and is currently a PhD candidate at the Graduate Theological Union, where his research focuses on Race, Religion and Society.

zaytunacollege.com

lamppostproductions.com

Brother Ali is an American hip hop artist, community activist and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective.

http://brotherali.com

*Correction: When Ali mentions Frederick Douglass, he meant Marcus Garvey.

Rhamis Kent is a world renowned permaculture* expert and educator. He has trained with Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. He is currently advising and involved in Permaculture projects all over the world including sites in Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

For more information: http://permacultureglobal.org/users/51

*Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.