Global Conversations

Understand the complex past as well as the modern global struggle for justice from South Africa to the United States of America in the first part of the Global Conversations series. Join Dr. Abbas Barzegar to hear what panelists Imam Zaid Shakir and Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool say about creating a space of compromise, dialogue, and education to bring societal equality, taking inspiration from earlier activists and the Quran. How have some minority communities changed to become one of the most liberated, thriving communities? What concrete action can the individual take to pave the path of justice and peace at an international level?

Creators and Guests

Host
Dr. Abbas Barzegar
Dr. Abbas Barzegar, Ph.D. is National Research and Advocacy Director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. Dr. Barzegar posseses years of applied research experience with recognized expertise in American Muslim history, transnational Muslim civil society and intra-faith relations. He is a former professor at Georgia State University and graduated from Emory University in 2010 in the field of Religious Studies.
Guest
Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool
Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool is a former Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School for Foreign Service. He worked in the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, advancing an alternative paradigm to the inertia of Orthodoxies in the face of Extremisms. He is the founder of the World for All Foundation that endeavors to create a world of coexistence and that is safe for difference.
Guest
Imam Zaid Shakir
Zaid Shakir is a prominent American Muslim scholar and a professor emeritus and board observer of Zaytuna College. He has taught courses in Arabic, Islamic spirituality, contemporary Muslim thought, Islamic history and politics, and Shafi’i fiqh at the College. He speaks and writes on a wide range of topics, and he travels frequently across the United States to support institution-building projects in the Muslim community.

What is Global Conversations?

What conversations are the global Muslim community having over modern issues such as social injustice, race, history, philosophy, and spirituality? What approach should the believers of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Muslims, take during this contemporary time according to what our religion teaches us? Join us with special guests: Dr. Abbas Barzegar, Imam Zaid Shakir, Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, Ustadha Zaynab Ansari, Shaykh Dr. Hisham Hellyer, Shaykh Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Shaykh Dr. Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Ninowy for the series, Global Conversations.