Shadi Hamid and Matthew Kaemingk discuss the moral and ethical challenges in the Israel-Hamas war, exploring religious perspectives, collective morality, Christian ethics, and the complex dynamics of money, power, and privilege. They express concern for the ongoing conflict in Gaza and its potential spread.

Political demons? Really? While everyone can agree that there’s something terribly wrong with America’s political culture, should we really describe it as “demonic” or even “demon-possessed”? Muslims and Christians have long recognized the presence and power of evil, but what does a belief in the “demonic” actually look like in modern political life? Join Shadi and Matt as they speak to Laura Fabrycky, a political theologian who is researching the ways in which citizens might begin to resist the temptations of both demonic politics and the politics of demonization. LINKS: Laura Fabrycky’s articles for Comment magazine: https://comment.org/contributors/laura-fabrycky/  

Hadia Mubarak, a Muslim feminist and author, discusses interpreting Islamic texts, facing sexism in mosques, and the challenges of wearing a headscarf in a secular society. She shares her story of growing up in Panama City, Florida, and differentiates Islamic feminism from secular feminism.

Can the American Left make space for deep religious commitment? Elizabeth Bruenig, a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist, is one of the most prominent—and controversial—Catholic socialists in America today. In this episode, she joins Matt and Shadi to discuss how people of faith can contribute to secular politics while maintaining their rather “strange” religious identity. Matt asks both her and Shadi to reflect on what it was like to be committed Bernie Sanders supporters while also remaining committed to their Catholic and Islamic faiths. Together they each discuss a future where the Democratic Party could (re)learn how to embrace people of faith, including those who bring their religion to bear on abortion, sexuality, and the death penalty. Links: Elizabeth Bruenig’s reflection on Lent in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/catholic-lent-sacrifice-reflection/673353/ Bruenig’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated features on capital punishment in Alabama: https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/elizabeth-bruenig-atlantic Tim Alberta on why Hispanics are leaving the Democratic Party: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/11/hispanic-voters-fleeing-democratic-party/671851/

Americans are politically exhausted. Shadi happens to be one of them. But he’s taking action. In this special episode, our venerable co-host opens up about burnout, finitude, and his own struggles with meaning. In society more broadly, politically induced fatigue and even depression are spreading. Is there a way to find that meaning without religion—or is religion the only way? Links: The episode where Matt discusses thoughts and prayers: https://comment.org/podcasts/prayer-is-political/ Shadi on tying one's camel: https://wisdomofcrowds.live/p/is-it-enough-to-tie-your-camel-and Shadi’s essay in The Atlantic on breaking up with the news: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/information-news-addiction-liberal-depression/673351/ 2022 study on political depression: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8759681/

Welcome to a frank and thought-provoking discussion of the modern sexual marketplace and its discontents. Our guest and guide is Washington Post columnist Christine Emba. Author of the widely acclaimed book Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, Emba argues that while the sexual revolution and the MeToo movement brought much good to the world, there is a growing suspicion that there is something profoundly unsatisfying about the modern sexual ethic. Do we need more religion to get sex right, after everything?   LINKS Christine Emba’s book Rethinking Sex: A Provocation https://bookshop.org/a/65404/9780593087565 Christine Emba’s article “Consent is not Enough” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/17/sex-ethics-rethinking-consent-culture/

The coronation of King Charles will take place in a Christian church. Within the context of worship, Charles will be anointed, blessed, crowned, and enthroned as the head of England’s church and its state. As crown and cross intermingle and intersect so also do questions about the proper relationship between religion, politics, and power. Shadi Hamid and Matthew Kaemingk welcome Bishop Graham Tomlin to discuss the coronation of King Charles and its religious and political meaning. LINKS Graham Tomlin’s article on "What a monarch’s meeting teaches about politics and permanence” https://www.seenandunseen.com/what-monarchs-meeting-teaches-about-politics-and-permanence https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/society/60516/why-charless-coronation-could-be-a-spiritual-flop https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2022/09/silence-reigns http://Seenandunseen.com Twitter: @gtomlin

Neither Islam nor Christianity banned slavery. For the near entirety of human history, the greatest prophets, statesmen, and philosophers did not seem to realize a truth that seems only too obvious today—that slavery is an unqualified and indisputable evil. How is it possible that they failed to realize this, despite being the most morally upstanding individuals of their time?   This is the “slavery conundrum.” How should Muslims and Christians—or anyone who holds certain moral truths to be self-evident—make sense of this inconvenient history? Do humans become more moral with time or less so? Our guest and guide in trying to answer these fraught questions is Georgetown University’s Jonathan Brown, one of America’s leading Muslim intellectuals and the author of the illuminating (and controversial) book Slavery and Islam.  LINKS Jonathan Brown’s book Slavery and Islam https://bookshop.org/a/65404/9781786078391 Tucker Carlson on George Washington and Statues for Slaveholders https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-if-we-want-to-erase-the-past-we-must-prepare-for-the-consequences Ephraim Radner on Christian Wrestling with Abraham’s Slaveholding https://covenant.livingchurch.org/2020/07/31/abraham-and-sarah-slaveholders/

Ramadan isn’t going great for Shadi Hamid. Fasting in a secular city is hard. Everyone else is running around being productive and well-fed while Shadi’s feeling sluggish, hungry, and tired.  Shadi’s discouragement with Ramadan kicks off a broader conversation with Matthew Kaemingk on the struggles both Christians and Muslims face in secular cultures. Is faith *really* supposed to be this hard? Can religion ever win out when it is constantly forced to swim against the secular current? Here they discuss a controversial proposal found in both Islam and Christianity—namely, that the state should accommodate and even support our spiritual practices.  LINKS: The philosopher Oliver Traldi’s powerful thread on being overwhelmed by life’s choices: https://twitter.com/olivertraldi/status/1643029259185803266 Matthew Kaemingk’s article on secular spirituality: https://comment.org/issues/cracks-in-the-secular/ James Wellman’s book on conservative churches in the progressive city of Seattle: https://bookshop.org/a/65404/9780195300123 Our episodes on the caliphate and Andrew Tate:https://comment.org/podcasts/muscular-muslims-weak-christians-and-a-response-to-andrew-tate/ https://comment.org/podcasts/does-the-world-need-a-caliphate/

Muslims and Christians traditionally deny themselves during the holy seasons of Ramadan and Lent. To the modern mind, this might seem like an odd and unreasonable practice of self-denial. Why do believers fast? Why do they deny themselves? Perhaps the “unreasonableness” of fasting is precisely the point. While many know about the spiritual and emotional benefits of fasting, Shadi Hamid and Matthew Kaemingk push the conversation deeper. Here they explore the surprising ways in which fasting could improve our economic and political lives. (It might even help save our democracy!) In an American culture that has grown increasingly fast-paced, selfish, and materialistic, maybe we need religion to “impose” significant constraints on our everyday behaviour. What does freedom within these constraints actually look—and feel—like? Links: • Kyle David Bennett on the politics of fasting https://comment.org/church-practices-and-public-life-the-thickness-of-fasting/ • Kyle David Bennet’s book on spiritual disciplines and public life https://bookshop.org/a/65404/9781587434037 • Tariq Ramadan on the Politics of Ramadan https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-politics-of-fasting-lessons-from-ramadan/10101262 • Shadi’s piece from last Ramadan, “Against the Cult of Productivity” https://wisdomofcrowds.live/against-the-cult-of-productivity/ • Shadi on the benefits of fasting from the news: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/information-news-addiction-liberal-depression/673351/