The New Nomos

Hip Hop, Chess, Stoicism, Philosophy, Zen, Sufism and Jiu Jitsu are all discussed in this conversation with Adisa Banjoko.

Adisa is a podcaster hosting “Bishop Chronicles” (@bishopchronicles) which looks at the intersection of Hip-Hop, health, and fitness trends. As a pioneer Hip-Hop journalist, he was one of the first people to interview artists like Eazy E, Tupac Shakur, and Master P. He went on to write three books on the cultural value of rap and create a youth organisation called the Hip-Hop Chess Federation.

He has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, Oberlin, University of Connecticut, and Stanford among others discussing Hip-Hop education.  

As a museum curator he also put together the Living Like Kings exhibition at the World Chess Hall of Fame exploring The Unexpected Collision of Chess and Hip Hop.

Frustrated from 3 months of lockdown, Nabil De Castro set out on a spontaneous journey that would take him across four continents - all during a time when travelling the world seemed impossible to most people.

In this episode he recounts adventures from his travels, key experiences along the way and the kind of unique insights that can only be gained through traversing such a journey. 

To follow Nabil's journey on Instagram click here: @nabil.decastro

Below is the full Ithaka Poem by C.P. Cavafy (translated by Edmund Keeley) that is quoted in the episode:

ITHAKA

Dr Ian Dallas was a Scottish writer, philosopher, leader and one of the great polymaths of our era. Hosting guests was a major part of his daily life which centered around his table. Chef Yusuf Perez (Instagram handle: @chef_josep_perez) was Dr Dallas' personal chef for over 16 years. During his time in Dr Dallas' kitchen he went from being a cook's hand to becoming master of the kitchen.

In this episode Chef Yusuf discusses his journey with cooking, his role in Dr Dallas' household, what he learnt from his unique relationship with Dr Dallas and how we can all take teachings from Dr Dallas' example and put them into our own daily lives. 

How are the life and philosophy of the Roman statesman Cicero relevant to us in the 21st Century and what does it teach us about how we should understand our present situation?

In this episode Ahmad Dutton condenses the key events of Cicero's life, how they refined his political philosophy, how the inward has to reflect the outward and why tyranny cannot exist in a community of truly free individuals.

To find out more about Ahmad and his work visit his website: https://viaciceronis.com/

Music by Ian Cattanach

Ahmed Abdullah, a music lover and aficionado, explains how Western Classical music can be used as a tool to nurture spontaneity and instil in the heart a yearning for the divine. 

The conversation reveals how the great composers communicate a timeless message through their compositions; calling us to fulfil our destinies, reach our highest possibilities and yearn to be free.

Music sampled in the episode:

Bach - B Minor Mass (Proms 2012)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F7TVM8m95Y

Beethoven - 5th Symphony (Von Karajan) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-_wqx76mpc&t=130s

Beethoven - “Pathetique” (Barenboim) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGq3-Fi_zQY

Beethoven - String Quartet No. 11 “Serioso” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUlzN3Q9BUw

Wagner -Tristan und Isolde “Liebestod” (Jessye Norman) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg_EHUGRgos

Mozart - Violin concerto No 3 (Hilary Hahn) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhQAtkXOK6o

Beethoven - ‘Waldstein’ Sonata (Barenboim) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3l18HTo5rY&t=39s

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Allah Hu (1993) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj7roem9NRc&t=649s

Ustad Ameer Ali Kahn - Chaap Tilak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVsjuEoPxMs&t=736s

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Bina Ishq Na Manzil Hath Aawe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqhdFiTq-a0&t=150s

Music in Introduction by Ian Cattanach

Musa Gerner started his career in audio as a teenager doing freestyle rap with his friends after school. Through many twists and turns he arrived at becoming one of the world's leading Foley artists.

This narrative is a journey of perseverance that teaches the importance of always being in a state of learning and striving to be the best in order to reach the top.

The Art of Learning - Josh Waitzkin

Music by Ian Cattanach

Perfume has been linked to civilisation as far back as we can go. It is known that before the Battle of Thermopylae the Spartan warriors, knowing they were going to die fighting off the Persians, bathed and perfumed themselves to meet their death smelling good. 

In this episode, Ikramuddin Zwane, a self-taught perfumer from Johannesburg, South Africa, opens a door onto the world of scent, olfaction and the art of perfumery alongside reflections from his journal of perfumery.

Parfums Ikram Website

Follow Parfums Ikram on Facebook

Follow Parfums Ikram on Instagram

Timecode Guide:

02:43 The beginning of Ikramuddin’s journey mixing perfumes just for fun and his Moroccan Taxi driver

04:45 From mixing existing perfumes to learning how to make perfumes via Peter from the UK

06:43 Started mixing by experimentation drawing from instinct

07:58 The 5% of perfumers that are artisans

09:46 Three levels of Perfumery - 1st Designer Perfumes

10:57 Three levels of Perfumery - 2nd Niche Perfumes

11:46 Three levels of Perfumery - 3rd Artisanal Perfumes

12:02 The traditional way of becoming a perfumer

12:52 The non-traditional way of becoming a perfumer

13:45 How the non-traditionalists break the rules and the example of the Chypre

16:25 The subjectivity of perfume

17:43 The price tag of perfume and how perfumes smell different on different people .

19:44 The driving force behind artisanal perfumery

20:04 The smell of the Springbok 

20:58 Deer musk - where it comes from and what it is

23:11 Ambergris - where it comes from and what it is

26:15 Oud - where it comes from and what it is

Out of all the perfumery in the world the 'oud' is the most diverse, basically its like all the other raw materials you can find - in a tree

28:40 With Hardship Comes Ease

29:50 The Ayat: “Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?” and inspiration from Allah

30:28 The hadith of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wassalam) on his love of perfume

32:10 Spirituality linked to certain scents and the link to the heart

33:11 Dr Muhammad Cassim on the link between scent and inspiration

34:20 Scent and memory

There is a strong connection between scent an memory. And it immediately takes you back, you are transported. Its basically timeless!

38:00 Do the ancient perfume recipes still exist and if so are they accessible?

40:38 The Battle of Thermopylae and the warrior’s perfuming themselves in preparation for their death

42:02 Khoi San perfume of Southern Africa

42:20 Perfumes comes from one of the Prophets just like martial arts - where does the inspiration come from?

43:00 How do you choose the smells in a perfume?

45:10 A perfume as the imagined smell of places in the past

48:22 The scent of a horse

49:08 The difficulty of making a clear distinction between masculine and feminine in perfumery

51:11 Life is fluid. It’s very hard to remain structural. Things change. They move

51:35 Anosmia and losing the sense of smell - sensory overload

53:07 Scent and Sex

Music by Ian Cattanach

Abdel-Majid Faouri is Jordan's Number 1 BJJ competitor. In this episode he shares his journey with BJJ, life lessons learnt and his philosophy in BJJ.

Islam literally means 'submission'.

And one of the aims of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is to force your opponent into submission. So when you are being choked out and have to admit defeat, it is a little reminder of who is really in control. 

Books Mentioned:

Tao of Jeet Kune Do - Bruce Lee

Khalid Bin al-Waleed: Sword of Allah - Gen A.I. Akram

Timestamps:

2:25 Abdel-Majid’s journey from chubby teenager to BJJ

11:30 The beauty about BJJ is that even if you have the world’s problem, when you go to class you have to be present.

14:30 Joining Alliance Gym in Nottingham

18:30 6 months Atos BJJ camp in California

23:47 “BJJ gave me the confidence to be me”

23:57 BJJ is uncomfortable, it teaches you to become calm in the worst of conditions

25:01 Kron Gracie - “stay cool under pressure”

26:41 “Follow what you want and if you become a master in it somebody will come and appreciate your art”

28:11 “I’ve never met a millionaire who didn’t make his money doing something he loved” George Harrison

28:25 Because it is a truthful journey to yourself it show whats true in other things as well

31:42 Jiu Jitsu shows you people

33:44 “This sport is humbling, no everyone likes to be humbled by force”

34:51 The dream of becoming world champion as small

36:07 It never becomes easy, you just get stronger

38:34 Uncertainty and fear - “Fear everything and run or face everything and rise”

Fear everything and run or face everything and rise

40:48 BJJ Teaches not to judge others

43:20 Islam means submission

Submission is knowing who is in control

48:00 The Sunnah of grappling and fitra

51:00 Bruce Lee’s 3 stages of learning

52:50 Mental training

54:29 The story of the black belt

56:26 Ayrton Senna - “I compete against myself”

59:10 You learn from loosing. If you can learn from winning then you have made it.

59:55 “Train like you are number 2 and compete like you are number 1. Always be hungry”

1:00:00 Khabib

1:05:30 Always battle yourself before battling others

Music by Ian Cattanach

Idris Assad is a property developer born and based in Atlanta, USA. In this episode he shares his knowledge on the history of African Americans to show not only the break in history experienced by the majority of black Americans today, but also highlighting the thriving communities and economic hubs of African Americans such as Greenwood, Oklahoma dubbed as 'Black Wall Street' that emerged after emacipation.

Drawing on this past, Idris unpacks his current endeavour to revive the essence of Black Wall Street and take it further by incorporating into it the concepts of Muamalat to bring a future of hope and real freedom. 

Find out more about Idris' work and get in contact here:

Ruhaani Development

The underlying message: You must establish yourself in the land!

Music by Ian Cattanach

In February this year, Pak Zaim Saidi was arrested and held in custody by the Indonesian authorities under the pretence of using illegal currency. The truth is he has been on the forefront of re-establishing the Gold Dinar and Silver Dirham, the coinage of the Muslim world since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alayhi wassalam) and the only accepted means that Zakat can be taken on monetary wealth. 

Pak Zaim was only exonerated from these charges last week on 12 October after a year of interrogations, months in jail and a lengthy trial in the national courts of Indonesia.

This is Pak Zaim's story. It is an education on the Dinar and Dirham and the reality of the fallen pillar of Zakat, but it is also heroism in action and the story of a man who has maintained his conviction, persevered and stood firm for a part of the Deen that has been lost for over a century. 

The verdict of not-guilty is a victory not only for Pak Zaim and his work in Indonesia, but for Islam and Muslims across the world.