Ramadan will be upon us before too long, in fact at the time of publishing this Ramadan 2017 might have already started, and this is what Imam Azhar wants to start addressing on the Raw Islam Podcast. But, he and B.C. Dodge are not going to stop there… they take it deeper and start talking about how we as Muslims need to work harder to not only recognize what is culture and is not from the Quran or hadith, but let’s work towards removing it – not only from Islam, but from Ramadan as well.

Ramadan is a time for Muslims to stop and reflect on the past year and the upcoming year. Not only from a physical world that so often is on our mind at this time of year – the food, the water, when is iftar? – but from the spiritual things in our lives as well.

When we get sick our immune system is working overtime, and it is weaker than it should be. When this happens, we go see a doctor and we get antibiotics to take which strengthen our immune system. When our soul is weak, we should turn to Allah to strengthen it…Ramadan is an antibiotic for the soul.

Imam Azhar then starts to talk about those that have spoken to him in the with the one simple question of “Why?”

Why am I like this?

Why is this happening to me?

Why is my life like this?

To which Imam Azhar has one simple question in response - Why do we hate on Allah for everything that we feel isn't right?

We live in a world of insecurity – there are ads everywhere that tell us we are not eating right, we are not shaving with the right products, we are not wearing the right clothes, we are overweight, we are underweight, and the list goes on and on.

Look in the mirror, that is a human being, that is a being that God created. Are you suggesting that Allah made a mistake with you?

The bigger question would be – when was the last time you said Alhamdulillah?

Also on this episode of the Raw Islam Podcast, best podcasts to subscribe to, we learn we learn of the passing of the mother of one of our dedicated listeners - Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, may she be a peace with Allah.

 

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This week on the Raw Islam Podcast Imam Azhar and B.C. Dodge open this episode by talking about the Butterfly effect. If you have never heard about this, it the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. The example that B.C. gives us is that of a tornado – given the exact time of formation, exact path taken - being influenced by minor perturbations such as the flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier.

This leads Imam Azhar to recall a post he had made on his Facebook page earlier that day asking What is wrong with Islam. There were many answers given like “Islam isn’t compatible with the West,” “We have lost our leaders,” “Muslims have lost their beliefs,” “Islam is a culture, not a religion;” and to each of these he would reply the same way… “Why?”

The point that he was trying to make is that Islam is progressing, people are converting daily, and the message is reaching further and further…however…Muslims, not so much. In the end, putting is plain and simple - the problem isn't Islam it is Muslims.

What does it mean to be a Muslim?

At some point, we as a people, have stopped looking inward and started looking at others and deciding it was more important to point out what was wrong with everyone else rather than looking inwards and fixing our own issues. As an example of this a father scolds his children and tells them to go pray, but he himself does not pray. What kind of person does this make him?

This echo of Matthew 7:5 from the Bible “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”

Imam Azhar then asks If you are stuck in a cave have you reached your destination?

The answer, of course, is no, you have not. Then why do Muslims who are stuck in this preverbal cave think that their journey to the top is over?

Listen one of the best online podcasts about Islam, and you can also find the answer to this questions and many many more.

 

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After a short break the Raw Islam podcast with Imam Azhar is back!

And we jump right into this episode by talking about about the previous show where we covered the treaty the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) had when he went from Mecca to Medina and how it plugged into the Breaking The Panel episode that B.C. Dodge guest started on.

When learning a new language, sometimes the first few words we learn are what could be consider bad words.

Thus, we want to know what is the first thing you learned about Islam?

Was it positive?

Or, like learning a new language, was the first thing you learned something bad?

B.C. Dodge recounts his first exposure to Islam, from when he was in the U.S. Navy and the Turkish Navy would play the athan at 4 or 5 in the morning. Imam Azhar asks if this was a positive experience or a negative experience?

Sometimes when we learn thing from people that are not professionals or educated in that field, their facts may not be kind, or correct, or they might be based on profanity - as we talked about in regards to learning another language - and things that stick with us, like negative facts, and that becomes the first thought we have when we hear words like chocolate or dark - word association is a natural recall toll for the human brain.

But what words come to mind when you hear the words Islam or Muslim?

This is the topic that Imam Azhar explores in this weeks episode.

As the episode continues Imam Azhar address one of the most difficult questions that people, don't understand Islam, lead with, and that came to us from Facebook - Why did the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) marry a 6 year old girl?

While it is documented and it is a fact, this is something that we, as Muslims, shouldn't shy away from, it is something that we should address and set the facts and record straight...

So let's get into it by saying that Islam does not support or condone Pedophilia.

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This week on the Raw Islam Podcast with Imam Azhar Subedar the show opens with the Imam asking B.C. Dodge if he knows what the “Chinese Drywall” issue that happened in Florida is. The Imam goes on to explain that during the housing boom in Florida the goal was to get houses up as quickly and cheaply as one could get them up. This lead contractors to use substandard drywall. Thus after a few years houses built with this specific drywall started to emit toxins and ruin the houses, the only fix was to gut the houses and start over.

Given this issue, a person can build a 10 Million dollar home, but if they used substandard materials the house would be worthless and would have to be torn apart and rebuilt – this house which is supposed to be a source of happiness, now becomes a burden and essentially worthless.

But what does Chinese Drywall have to do with us?

It is very easy for someone to make a claim, and use that claim to tare people and groups apart. But we – as thinking and learning adults – must learn to gut these claims and remove the root of the problem.

If you had one of these homes in Florida that used this drywall, and you called your insurance company they would want to come out and test to make sure that you actually have this issue, just making a claim does not get them to write you a check. And this is how we should treat those that claim to experts on Islam and the Alternative Facts they spew on what Muslims truly believe.

With all that said, Imam Azhar asks the question, based on events in Port Charlotte, Florida - Should a Supervisor of Elections, who is not Muslims, be giving a lecture entitled “History of Radical Islam”?

Download this free podcast from the Venn Network to learn more about the events in Port Charlotte, Florida and why Imam Azhar is so upset about, and what we should and what we can do to verify claims that are made about Islam.

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This week on the Raw Islam Podcast Imam Azhar recaps his tip out to Washington State where he was a keynote speaker at a MSA (Muslim Student Association) at the Islamic Awareness Week.

B.C. Dodge starts this episode by reminding everyone that there are rules for the Venn Network Facebook page…which is just simply to be nice to each other, he reminds us that commenters can post any and all questions, just keep it nice and PG -13.

Imam Azhar reminds us that we must introduce ourselves to one another, how people must be introduced to what Islam really is. To do this, he started his 2 hour talk by talking about the sharia and Caliphate. He spoke about how sharia was put into place by the Caliphate, and how in the beginning Caliphate represented the total of what sharia truly is.

After the hour-long presentation, and the hour-long question and answer session, the Imam sat down with Jessica Zhou, of the Daily Evergreen, for an interview.

Then he flew back to Florida where he spoke at an ICNA conference on an interfaith panel with those of the Jewish faith, the Christian faith, and the Islamic Faith. He spent his time talking about what the 3 Abrahamic faiths have in common.

And what are those things that these faiths have in common?

B.C. answers this question by saying that loving thy neighbor is a common core faith in all three.

Imam Azhar explains that they all follow the sharia, he quotes the Quran where we are told that God has ordained the same religion for all of you. At this statement, the Rabbi on the interfaith panel smiled, knowing that all the religions do stem from the belief of Abraham that there is only one true God.

As this story goes on we learn about mucking out horse stalls – you have to take a layer off at time and as you do this the smell gets worse and worse, but this means that you are getting closer to the bottom of the stall.

How does this tie in with the idea of sharia and the Caliphate?

Tune in to find out!

 

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This week on the Raw Islam Podcast with Imam Azhar we start by addressing the terror attack that took place in England, and we ask the questions of what is a terror attack?

Merriam-Webster defines terror as “violent or destructive acts (such as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands.” If this is the case, then why B.C. Dodge asks, is it only terror when the violence is done by Muslims?

The attack in the Canadian mosque that took place in January of 2017 was allegedly (innocent till proven guilty, remember that) was called an act of terror, why can’t we call other acts of violence that intimidate a population terror? Maybe this only happens in Canada, and the rest of the world the perpetrator must be Muslim for it to be terror.

But the Imam reminds us that no matter what the problem or situation is, violence is never the answer.

Imam Azhar begins to tell the story of the 3 blind men that are each placed at different points on an elephant’s body, and then asked to explain what an elephant is. Of course, logic dictates that there will be 3 different stories of what an elephant is.

HE goes on to explain that this is much like Islam. There is a growing trend of “Muslim Experts” that have never actually spoke to a Muslim or read the Quran, they have just seen something on TV and read a Wiki article – when the truth is, what they are seeing is a misguided version of Islam that has become twisted with culture.

Once address the core cause the problem will go away. Imam Azhar suggests that, rather than watching the news or some video on YouTube…why not ask a Muslims. An example of this is the treatment of women in Islam; rather than responding to memes on Facebook, why not ask a Muslim about how we are required to treat women…want to know the answer to this? You will have to listen to this episode to find out!

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This episode of the Raw Islam Podcast started off by creating awareness on gaps between the communities and the importance of bridging them up together. Imam Azhar noted few things about the president’s address to Joint session. The president didn’t show any interests towards the incidents and issues faced by the Muslims.

As a result, Jewish and Muslim community stood up together and they started spreading humanity everywhere. Donations were sent through the website, Go Fund Me. There were many contributions from the communities and stood as a financial and mental support for the issues faced by the Muslims.

Imam Azhar points out this goodness in people that will last forever. The chain of violence will continue when people are concentrating more on viciousness or cruelty. One who does the cruelty takes the burden of their evil practices. This reflects the failure of education among people. Proper education couldn’t teach people to stay faithful, to be calm and to shower love for all people. In fact people now are more poisonous and are vigorous or assertive. Imam Azhar makes people aware that America will win if people unite with each other by standing together by spreading love with each other, by understanding each other and not by attacks or any other cruel practices that will divide people among themselves.

In this free podcast some basic questions were asked by the listeners about the Raw Islam and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. The speaker urged all listeners to do their own research, make your own conclusions and not follow the norm. In short he answered as follow

Killed to point of genocide; people assassinated:

In war people do kill and death is expected, but the killing cannot be accounted to the prophet, as it was done in war.

Selling people into slavery:

According to legend Muhammad purchased slaves in a country like Arabia that has no value for human life, and then he set the slaves free. Even prisoners of war were sent out to live with families, and when the war ended and they were released they decided out of free will to rather stay.

Sex slaves:

Women had no value, and according to law having more than 1 wife was allowed. Muhammad had 11. As these were his wives it cannot be seen as sex slaves.

According to the Quran, Hadith, Torah and Bible, only God can judge. This should give all faith some equal standing ground, no matter what you believe, have respect for one another and always strive for knowledge, not fear.

Imam Azhar spreads the importance of prayer for overcoming fear and to escape from this terror attacks. Imam Azhar shares his view on struggling in life to have betterment in one’s life. Being faithful does many magic in ones world. With much hope, trust, love and faith, all people can get united together in bridging the gap between the communities. It only through better understanding for each other, gap moves away. Attacks or any cruel practices mill make the gap grow bigger.

On this episode of the Raw Islam Podcast Imam Azhar says in life, you should never become pessimist - always be optimistic. You have to see good in bad things; you have to think positive even though things around you are negative. Like the farmer, he has a fragile plant on the earth, and there is no sign of rain he looks above to the sky, and he is sure that Allah is going to rain soon and he is not thinking that plants are going to be dead. So In life, you have to think about the big Picture. Allah always has a Plan for you.

It is in Human Nature to fear those things which you don’t know about. And research shows that there are very less Muslim Scholars as compared to the questions asked about the Islamic matters in America. That is why this organization will empower every Muslim to go out there and discuss Islamic matters with Confidence and on a human level. Even if you are non-Muslim, you will have that level of trust to go and discuss your questions about Islam. The goal of the podcast is to build the confidence in Muslims to talk about their religion openly and to encourage the non-Muslim to enter into a Mosque and see that Muslims are Human just like them.

There is a lack of knowledge among people about Islam for example if we take an issue of “How women are treated in Islam.” Many non-Muslims think that women are treated badly in Islam that is due to lack of knowledge.

That’s what this podcast is all about we want to educate people about the “Real Islam” because Islam is not what people see on the evening news.

And how do we do this? Listen to this episode to hear the 101 plan!

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From the Venn Network, where communities are brought together and gaps are bridged, comes another scintillating episode of the Raw Islam podcast with Imam Azhar Subedar, hosted by B.C. Dodge.

A vandalism incident at a mosque located in New Tampa, Florida, where Imam Azhar resides, is reported by our host, who calls it an atrocious occurring. With bomb threats towards the Jewish Community Centers and the desecration of their cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia, this is a series of tragedies which are taking place with alarming frequency. And regardless of President Trump’s address in Congress to the Joint Session and the nation, the threats still persist. And the disturbing thing, as noted by Imam Azhar, is the neglect shown by President Trump regarding the Muslim incidents, whilst he in his own words denounces the ‘threats to the Jewish community, and the shooting in Kansas’.

A silver lining in this havoc is the coming together of the Muslim and the Jewish community, as they transcend beyond any religious or cultural barrier and offering a helping hand out of sheer humanity. By standing in solidarity regarding the Jewish tragedies and donating through the Go Fund Me website, the Muslims made the first step in standing up for the values of the entire humanity, which was returned by the Jewish who became the majority contributors towards the Muslim cause, wishing goodwill and Chai (long life) to those in need.

In relating a Hadith by the Prophet (PBUH), Imam Azhar allows the audience to see how creating a trend of goodness not only reaps rewards that are duplicated as someone else continues on the path, but this starts a chain of righteousness that is everlasting. And by inviting people towards animosity and rebellion, one has to carry the burden of the sin. Our host likens this to the concept of Karma and expresses his concern about the normalization and acceptance of these hate crimes, from which people are emboldened by the last person who did it, and so the pattern of viciousness continues.

By failing to educate people about the people of faith and allowing people to spike up hate and instill terror, it causes them to become intoxicated and respond in an aggressive manner. A very interesting outlook is brought to light by the Imam who says that history is repeated when we move backward, and recorded when we move forward. At the first sign of unrest and difficulty, people begin to retract and go backward where a lot of darkness lies. The need is to move onwards, by reaching out to those that are disturbed by the presence of other religions and practices, to reach out and engage them, for America will win not through the divide, but by standing in unison.

At the closing of the podcast, Imam Azhar encourages the viewers to keep struggling and to keep faith and hope alive, by praying to Allah and taking the first step. For by taking this step, we will bridge the void.

 

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As this episode of the Raw Islam Podcast opens Imam Azhar talks about his relationship with Robert “Bob” D. Gary, a former Department of Justice lawyer, who feels that a better understanding of Islam is truly needed, because it is the misinterpretation of Islam and what Muslims believes that leads to hate and feeds into islamophobia.

However, these issues deepen when the question becomes “What do Muslims believe?”

There are so many conflicts with in Islam itself, there are so many people saying so many different things that it can confuse Muslims, and even they start to wonder what it is they believe. There is Sufis, Sunni, Shia, and then there are those that some feel are not Muslim – like the Baha’is, Druze, Alevis, and `Alawis issues. There needs to be a sane narrative, for Muslims to follow; and with so much intrafaith conflict... and people need to stop abusing the faith, any faith for that matter, for personal gain.

Imam Azhar also talks about the 68 bomb threats* that have been called in to Jewish Community Centers (JCC) around the nation, and the Jewish Cemeteries that have been desecrated. How did this trend start? But the bigger question is – how do we bring about an end to this?

The Imam suggests that the simplest way to start the process is to simply get out and meet your neighbors. Go meet your Jewish neighbors, go meet your Christian neighbors, go meet your atheist neighbors, if we can’t meet our neighbors to help elevate their fears of us, what kind of Muslims are we? If our neighbors are living in fear of us and we sleep well at night, what does that say about us?

Imam Azhar levels us with the teaser of the 100-point plan (which you will have to tune in next week to learn more about), he also talks about his work with Mahabbah institute and the O People Foundation, and finally…is there a book to combat the fear of Islam on the horizon?

You must tune in to find out!

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*At the time of the recording of this podcast there had been 68 threats, at the time of publication there have been more than 100 of these threats called in.