The Present: Catch Your Breath

Religion says, “you’ve got questions, and I’ve got answers. Art says, “you’ve got answers, and I’ve got questions.” At the intersection of those two statements, we get the show Ramy from the comedian Ramy Youssef. His work brings to life a new landscape in American comedy: being your spiritual self in public. To be one’s spiritual self in public is to grapple with all questions that exist in the space between who you are and who you want to be, and what happens when your journey to answer those questions only presents more questions and less answers. Over the course of the show, we talk to Ramy about his journey to not only asking questions close to his heart, but how he got there, and why that was so important to showcase in his work.We also unpack some of the show's themes, what it means to be an imperfect protagonist, creating a spiritual autobiography, and much more. We discuss different elements of the show and its characters with two people who helped bring them to life: writers on the show, Azhar Usman and Amir Sulaiman. After listening to this episode, we hope you walk away with a better understanding of not only who Ramy is, what his show is about, and what questions he’s asking, but with a desire to interrogate your own questions, too. Written by Imran Ali Malik, Zahra ParekhAssoc. Producers: Farooq Chaudhry, Adam LotfiMusic & Engineering: Adam Lotfi and Imran Ali MalikSpecial Thanks to Asma Saud, Najib Aminy, ID-PRArtwork by Masood Tahir Ramy Youssef on Instagram and TwitterAmerican Submitter on Instagram and TwitterSubmitter Magazine on Instagram and TwitterSupport this work by becoming a Submitter patron

Read the interview on Submitter MagazineFatima Bhutto - Pain, Power, and Politics: Making Sense of a Senseless InheritanceIn this conversation, Fatima Bhutto reckons with ghosts of her past. Many of us know Fatima as the author of novels The Shadow of the Crescent Moon, and The Runaways, as well as her latest nonfiction work New Kings of the World. But over the course of an hour, we get a glimpse into the heavy history she has inherited as a member of the Bhutto family and political dynasty. While we unpack ideas of democracy and oppression, she takes us back to Pakistan: to her grandfather, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s vision of the country coming out of the shadow of colonialism and the rise of the global self. As we dive into the vision of a man who did not live to see his vision come to fruition, Fatima finds his spirit in the books of his library. We also hear about her early years in Damascus where memories of grandeur and exile are intertwined. Fatima does not shy away from the tragedy and weight of her past. She tells us of her father, Murtaza Bhutto’s brutal murder and her journey in coming to terms with her pain in writing her first book Songs of Blood and Sword. For Fatima, the pen is her sword; she deploys language to make sense of the past she has inherited and the complicated and interconnected world we live in today.Produced by Imran Ali Malik, Farooq Chaudhry, and Zahra Parekh. Music by Adam Lotfi. Fatima Bhutto on Twitter and InstagramSupport this work by becoming a Submitter patron: patreon.com/submitter.

"THE STRUGGLE OF MAN AGAINST POWER IS THE STRUGGLE OF MEMORY AGAINST FORGETTING." The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, 1979 Milan Kundera, Czechoslovakian, born 1929. Islam and the Black American: a free course by Dr. Sherman Jackson Islam and the Black American: Book by Dr. Sherman JacksonStamped From the Beginning by Dr. Ibram X. KendiBrother Ali on Instagram/FacebookMuslim Anti-Racist CollectiveIslamic Perspectives on Police Abolition with Ustd. Ubaydallah Evans and Shaykh Azhar NasserSapelo SquareWasat Bilal WareCentering Black Narrative by Imam Dawud AliThe Walking Qur’an by Bilal WareWritten by Imran Ali Malik, Farooq Chaudhry, and Zahra Parekh. Music by Mikhail Latif. Support us by becoming a Submitter patron. patreon.com/submitter

What We Talk About In This EpisodeHow this period of quarantine has affected our content/the way we work.Travel as a mutual ‘unveiling’ (in the Arabic language) and what this means.Guinea Bissau: conversion of tribes to Islam after an elder, Maulana, dreamt of the Prophet (saw)- and how Imran’s experience visiting the country was transformative for him.How vulnerability whilst travelling can lead one to have a greater sense of tawwakul, reliance upon God.Finding meaning in times of crisis.Finding the deeper meaning in art and architecture; how the state of the artist/architect affects your soul.Indonesia- visiting the Wali Songo, the ‘Nine Saints.’Yemeni traders; how they brought Islam to the region, and the way in which they interacted with the local population and culture, including through music and shadow puppet plays.The tombs of the saints in Java.Preserving and connecting with tradition.How Sacred Footsteps started and what it has become.How travel can be transformative and the importance of intention.Things / People Mentioned in this EpisodeSF contributor Shahroze Khan – Wazir Khan mosque Insta Story.Mimar Sinan – Ottoman architectWali SongoSalahuddin Mazhary – Chechnya Podcast and Insta Story Murabit al Hajj‘A Mauritanian Retreat: In Search of Murabit al Hajj’ by Zara ChoudharyAmerican Submitter is a podcast about Muslims in the West and the spiritual teachings of Islam hosted by Imran Ali Malik. Through a combination of long form conversation, audio documentary, and reflective narration the listener gets the personal story of a religious life. American Submitter attempts to translate what it means to be a conscious Muslim in America by measuring the spiritual teachings of Islam with the reality of Muslims finding their way while living at the western edge of civilization. LISTEN HERE.Imran Ali Malik is a radio journalist based in Oakland, California. Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram.

THE PRESENT is a series of reflections, stories, and moments captured during the global pandemic of the novel Coronavirus. Haider Syed is a hip hop artist and poet from Toronto, Canada that goes by the name of Dialectic. Follow him on twitter and instagram. The song featured in this episode is called "Pillars of Wisdom" and can be found here.To submit a story for our series 'The Present,' send us an email or send a voice note to our WhatsApp account.

This week we breech the divides of social distancing and isolation by reaching out to Bassam Tariq, a Pakistani-American filmmaker whose latest project Mogul Mowgli, starring Riz Ahmed, recently premiered at the Berlinale Film Festival. In this conversation, Bassam and Imran examine how traces of religion, tradition, and history bleed together and form a voice for the South Asian diaspora. Though Bassam shares with us the difficulties of being a filmmaker with integrity, he also reminds us of our imperfection. We trip up and turn back to the One who is Perfect. This is the non-linear, vulnerable, and vibrant spiritual path of the artist. While the life of the artist can be a lonely at times, Bassam celebrates the cities and communities that support, challenge, and inform his art.Produced by: Imran Ali Malik and Zahra Parekh.More about Bassam Tariq: www.bassa.msSupport this podcast: patreon.com/submittter

For American Muslims, Malcolm X is a saint and martyr and February is the month where I and other muslims often find ourselves reflecting on Malcolm’s last days. As we prepare to launch Season 2, we try to bring the spirit of Malcolm with us.Featuring Tyson AmirMusic from Tyson Amir, Blue Dot Sessions, and Imran Ali MalikProduced by Imran Ali Malik and Zahra Parekh

It’s easy to get lost in the names, numbers, and contexts that inform who we are. In this podcast, we hear how Mustafa Briggs conceives identity as something that both illuminates and conceals. Piecing together aspects of identity and experience, Mustafa and other like-minded U.K. based Muslim millenials are creating a niche cultural conversation using Instagram and YouTube as tools to connect. We hear about ‘Beyond Bilal,’ a talk that Briggs designed to foreground black history in Islam, and how this project has taken him to forty different colleges and venues in a single year. As these identities enrich our understanding of who we are and where we come from, Mustafa reminds us that there is no one way to embody them. These identities are only the beginning of our journey. How we use them to manifest the truest version of ourselves is the work that must not be left undone.Support this independent podcast: http://www.patreon.com/submitterProduced by Imran Ali Malik and Zahra ParekhCopyright I. A. Malik Studio

Free-styling prayer, intentionality in craft, and creativity in devotion to God—these are a few pearls you'll find in this conversation with my mentor and dear friend, Brother Haroon Sellars. Though not a native to the Bay area, you could say his journey to the Bay has changed the course of both institutions and every heart he has encountered. On this blessed Friday, I hope you are rejuvenated by the intensity of Brother Haroon’s radiant spirit and that you too take the time to find your God-given gifts and bring to life, your creative righteousness. Produced by Imran Ali Malik and Zahra Parekh. Special thank you to the Hayward Museum for offering a quiet-ish place to record.Buy the Content of Character here and listen to Shaykh Yayha Rhodus’ commentary on the Content of Character here.The Supplication For Light: https://www.iamalik.com/supplication-of-light Free-styling prayer, intentionality in craft, and creativity in devotion to God—these are a few pearls you'll find in this conversation with my mentor and dear friend, Brother Haroon Sellars. Though not a native to the Bay area, you could say his journey to the Bay has changed the course of both institutions and every heart he has encountered. On this blessed Friday, I hope you are rejuvenated by the intensity of Brother Haroon’s radiant spirit and that you too take the time to find your God-given gifts and bring to life, your creative righteousness.Produced by Imran Ali Malik and Zahra Parekh. Special thank you to the Hayward Museum for offering a quiet-ish place to record.Supplication for Light: https://www.iamalik.com/supplication-of-lightBuy the Content of Character hereand listen to Shaykh Yayha Rhodus’ commentary on the Content of Character here.

This is a conversation with my friend Azhar Usman, a man I call the most serious man in comedy. Azhar asked me to watch Ramy Youssef’s show ‘Ramy’ on Hulu, and when I begrudgingly did, I was floored. This happened again with Aziz Ansari’s comedy special ‘Aziz Ansari Right Now’ on Netflix. As we began to unpack the significance of these two shows, we found ourselves wrestling with modern dichotomies: Good Muslim/Bad Muslim; Artists/Awliya’; God’s Estate/Our States.In this hour and a half, I hope you feel the love I have for this brother, and just how his sobering words help put into perspective the beautiful and flawed world which ultimately, points us back to God. This week’s Submitter Circle Podcast, the podcast for patrons of I. A. Malik Studio has also been made public; for those of you are not patrons, we hope you enjoy this extended auditory experience.Go deeper and become a patron here: http://patreon.com/submitter.Books mentioned:Rene Guenon’s Crisis of a Modern World https://amzn.to/2YgBAsoProduced by Imran Ali Malik and Zahra Parekh This is a conversation with my friend Azhar Usman, who I call the most serious man in comedy. Azhar asked me to watch Ramy Youssef’s show ‘Ramy’ on Hulu, and when I begrudgingly did, I was floored. This happened again with Aziz Ansari’s comedy special ‘Aziz Ansari Right Now’ on Netflix. As we began to unpack the significance of these two shows, we found ourselves wrestling with modern dichotomies: Good Muslim/Bad Muslim; Artists/Awliya’; God’s Estate/Our States.In this hour and a half episode, I hope you are all able to feel the love I have for this brother, and just how his sobering words help put into perspective the beautiful and flawed world which ultimately, points us back to God. This week’s Submitter Circle Podcast, the podcast for patrons of I. A. Malik Studio has also been made public; for those of you are not patrons, I hope you enjoy this extended auditory experience.Please share this with family and friends who you think might like it.Go deeper and become a patron here: http://patreon.com/submitter.Books mentioned:Rene Guenon’s Crisis of a Modern World https://amzn.to/2YgBAsoProduced by Imran Ali Malik and Zahra Parekh