Al-Hujeireh mosque sits quietly, nestled among its neighbours, seeking little attention. Walk through its outer doors and you find yourself...
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Omar, Yasmine and Shahroze discuss the history, evolution and spiritual significance of qawwali. Qawwali incorporates music, poetry and story-telling in to a celebration of Love. The singing of qawwali in Sufi shrines and mausoleums is a practice of samaa, a devotional practice that involves singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, praying, reciting poetry and participating in rituals in order to achieve a higher spiritual state.
Over the course of my life, whenever I visited Pakistan, it was always to visit family in Karachi. For whatever...
For our first ever crossover episode, Zara speaks to Imran Ali Malik, host of the American Submitter podcast. They discuss the concept of travel as a 'mutual unveiling' and share 'transformative' travel experiences. Imran talks about his time in Guinea Bissau, where tribes were converting to Islam after an elder dreamt of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and tells us about the Wali Songo, the 'Nine Saints' of Indonesia.
Muazzam is joined by journalist, producer and avid traveller, Salahuddin Mazhary. Salahuddin tells us about the history of Islam in the Caucasus, with a focus on Chechnya and Dagestan. He talks about the Sufi tariqas in the region and the role dhikr played in resisting the Russians. He also tells us about notable figures such as Imam Shamil and Kunta-haji and their legacies.
In 1947, Pakistan emerged on the world map with a predominantly Muslim population. However, before partition, a number of other religions were practiced in the region, including Hinduism. Hinduism first established its roots, and was adopted by the Indus civilisation, between 2300 BC and 1500 BC. Some of the earliest Hindu temples once stood in what is now Pakistan; their traces can still be seen in the ruins that exist today, in varying degrees of dilapidation.
Muslim travellers want to know if it is permissible to visit, enjoy and appreciate the city of Petra in Jordan, which was the capital of the Nabatean civilisation. They also want to know the same about the second largest city of that civilisation which is called al-Hijr and is in Saudi Arabia. The area of al-Hijr is now known as ‘Mada’in Salih’ (The Cities of the Prophet Salih), leading a great deal of Muslims to think that the destroyed people of Thamud, to whom the Prophet Salih was sent, were the Nabatean people.
In the days leading up to my departure from my hometown in England I was nervous, especially when everyone I said...
Recently in Pakistan, increasing value is being placed on tourism as a means for economic growth. The new government has committed to promoting Pakistan as a tourist destination, and in March 2019, rolled out a new visa policy to grant e-visas to citizens of 175 countries. Earlier this month, the Pakistan Tourist Summit was held, which brought together various stakeholders in the tourism industry, including government representatives, Prime Minister Imran Khan, members of the media, corporate and investment sectors, and local and international experts on tourism.
60,000+ dead over 7 decades, 3 wars between 2 nuclear armed states, and countless human rights violations - Kashmir continues to be the heavily occupied and militarised region with the recent spikes between India and Pakistan.
Historian Hassam Munir tells Zara about the cultural exchange between the Muslim and Chinese worlds. He talks about the history of Islam in China, explaining how and when it first reached the region and whether or not a Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) ever visited China. He also tells us about the Uyghur people and their history, as well as the influence of prominent Chinese Muslim scholars and the scholarship they produced.
In episode two Zara speaks to one half of spoken word duo Poetic Pilgrimage, poet and playwright, Sukina Pilgrim about her experience of visiting the rawdah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Madina, and the challenges and joys that it entailed.
