Renovatio: The Podcast

Renovatio's Editor Safir Ahmed sits down with Cyrus Ali Zargar for a chat about his research into the role of storytelling in Islam's ethical tradition. Cyrus Ali Zargar is an assosiate professor of religion at Augustana College who recently published a book entitled The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism. Cyrus Zargar wrote an article for Renovatio entitled The Secret of the Morality Tale: Sa'di on What It Means to Be Human, which explores the place of literary ethics within the broader Islamic Ethical Tradition.

The study of Hadith is a subject which is often misunderstood. We asked Jonathan Brown to help clarify some of the most common misconceptions about the study of Hadith from different perspectives. Jonathan Brown is an American scholar of Islamic studies. He is an associate professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service where he also holds the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization. He has authored several books including Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy, Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World, Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction, and The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim. He has also published articles in the fields of Hadith, Islamic law, Salafism, Sufism, and Arabic language.

Expert Oludamini Ogunnaike and guests discuss the silent theology of Islamic art, its profound beauty, and the role in inspiring early conversions to Islam. They explore traditional arts, calligraphy, poetry, and music, highlighting the challenges and evolution in creating meaningful art. The podcast delves into the significance of language, artistic expression, mosque design, and blending Western and Islamic artistic influences in music.

A wide ranging interview about the study of Islam with Caner Dagli. Dagli is an associate professor of religious studies at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, specializing in Qur'anic studies, interfaith dialogue, and philosophy. An editor of The Study Quran, he was among the 138 Muslim signatories of the 2007 letter “A Common Word Between Us and You,” an appeal to Christian world leaders for peace and cooperation between Christians and Muslims.

Hamza Yusuf at the inaugural Renovatio event on May 14th, 2017 at Zaytuna College