An immigrant child from Iran who transitioned to several high schools, Omid Safi shares the story of a Chemistry teacher who saw the potential in him. A quest to find her and thank her for forever changing his life — and that of generations to come.
Author
Omid Safi
Omid Safi teaches online courses on spirituality through Illuminated Courses, and leads spiritual tours every year to Turkey, Morocco, and other countries, to study the rich multiple religious traditions there. The trips are open to everyone, from every country. More information is available at Illuminated Tours.
He is a professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. King, Malcolm X, and is committed to traditions that link together love and justice. He has delivered the keynote for the annual Martin Luther King commemoration at the National Civil Rights Museum.
He has written many books, including Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism; Cambridge Companion to American Islam; Politics of Knowledge in Premodern Islam; and Memories of Muhammad. His most recent book is Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Traditions and has a forthcoming book on the famed mystic Rumi.
Omid is among the most frequently sought out speakers on Islam in popular media, appearing in The New York Times, Newsweek, Washington Post, PBS, NPR, NBC, CNN, BBC, and other international media. He can be reached regarding speaking engagements at [email protected].
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How can we recover virtue and integrity in a world of insult and violence? And how do we respond? A commentary from a man searching for models of illumination and compassion who bring light into the world — and finding them in Dr. Du Bois and the Prophet Muhammad.
In response to Duke University's decision to not allow the Muslim call to prayer from the chapel, Omid Safi offers an open hand invitation to see a Duke (and an America) that has room for all of us.
What do Muslims do or say in response to the murders of a dozen people who were killed in the name of Islam? Omid Safi explores the catch 22 Muslims find themselves in, and how we must hold each other all accountable.
As streams of breaking news about the shootings in Paris surge into all our media, Omid Safi invites us to step forward and consider the broader context of what's at stake and how to process this horiffic news.
Tonight, all around the world, many Muslims celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad with festive decorations, devotional songs, and sweet candies. Omid Safi explains the annual ritual in more detail and the debate among Muslims about celebrating it.
Oftentimes it's the hardships in life that are considered a test. But, perhaps, some of the deepest lessons of hardship are learned through all the good fortunes and blessings of our lives too.
It’s not merely a sin-sick soul that is in need of profound redemption, writes our columnist, it is also our society and structural institutions that call out for being redeemed and transformed. A clear call to question, connect, and transform ourselves and our institutions.
We build all sorts of enclosures to protect us and keep our loved ones safe from harm. But in column in poetical form, we are tasked with being vulnerable and opening those gates.
Ancient mystics such as Rumi and Rabia wrestled with the idea of heaven. A commentary that ponders heaven as a state of being rather than a place.
Three male Muslim leaders walk into an Amsterdam hotel to drop off their luggage, and they are presented with an unexpected question. How does one confront the the prejudice present in society today? Can it be confronted, or does it require face-to-face encounters?
Following up on the disease of busyness, Omid explores what we lose when we let the overscheduled nature of our lives take precedence over the loved ones we treasure.
Our overscheduled lives leave little time for contemplation and reflection. How do we enable each other to pause and reflect together and ask how our hearts are doing?
In a world where we feel more connected to friends on social media friends than our next-door neighbors, an argument that finds hope in Halloween and its ability to bring community together — even if only for a few magical hours.
As the chlorophyll fades and the splendor of fall emerges, a meditation on color, mortality, and divine presence — complemented with the poetry of Rumi and Farid un-Din Attar.
An encouragement to be "children of the moment," a people with the spiritual discipline of being fully present in the here and now.
Invoking the words of Heschel, a Muslim scholar hearkens back to the prophetic tradition and asks what it means to be morally responsible in a world of ISIS and American empire?
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