Jamal Rahman

Video

Major and Minor in Faith Traditions: A Path to Peace

Imam Jamal Rahman, a Muslim Sufi minister, skillfully applies the metaphor of a college major and minor to the realm of religious traditions. “Studying the wisdom and beauty of other faith traditions helps me go deeper in my own faith tradition,” he says. “It helps me understand it much more fully, which gives me a sense of greater spaciousness and inclusiveness.” Learning about other religions “increases my sense of tolerance and celebration of other traditions.” He notes that Americans are increasingly adding a “minor” to their primary religious tradition. “It’s a beautiful path to peace,” he says, “and a very healthy trend.”

Rahman would say his “major” is Islam, and he has several “minors”: Hinduism (the Bhagavad Gita), Judaism (the Torah), and Buddhism (the Dhammapada). “When I have a minor I’m reminded of the depth of my tradition. That helps me not only to go deeper but to live it, to practice it, to become that. To not only speak the truth but become the truth.”

Beauty in the Qur'an, with Insights from Mullah Nasrudin

A talk presented by Jamal Rahman at the Baraka Institute annual retreat, July 16–18, 2010. Includes a nasheed by Seemi Ghazi.

Talk by Imam Jamal Rahman Given at the Conference "Confronting Islamophobia: I Am My Brother's Keeper"
May 7, 2011, at St. Marks Cathedral in Seattle

The Many Faces of Interfaith

What is interfaith? What does it mean to be interfaith? Why do we need interfaith? In Part 1 of "The Many Faces of Interfaith," Muslim Sufi minister Jamal Rahman provides an informative and inspiring look at the growing interfaith movement. The talk was given at Seattle's Interfaith Community Church on October 17, 2010. In Part 2 and 3, he is joined by Ann Holmes Redding, a former Episcopal priest who was defrocked after becoming a Muslim.

Together We Can Thrive

In Part 1 of "Together We Can Thrive," former Episcopal priest Ann Holmes Redding discusses how she came to embrace Islam along with her Christian belief and practice. In Part 2 she continues her discussion of how she came to embrace Islam along with her Christian belief and practice. Redding then recites Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Qur'an, andsings the Christian spiritual "If He Changed My Name." She joins Muslim Sufi minister Jamal Rahman in "The Many Faces of Interfaith," a talk delivered at Seattle's Interfaith Community Church on October 17, 2010. Redding serves as a minister, spiritual director, and an author who speaks and teaches widely. She is the founder of Abrahamic Reunion West, an organization committed to healing the Abrahamic family's global dysfunction.

"Spiritual Lessons from the Mosque Controversy"

A proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero. A plan to burn Qur'ans. A death threat against a Seattle cartoonist. These events and others illustrate today's pervasive and extreme levels of rage, confusion, intolerance, and fear. What attitudes and beliefs give rise to these reactions? Are there spiritual lessons that can be drawn from them? Muslim Sufi minister Jamal Rahman addresses these issues and more in a powerful and inspiring talk given at Seattle's Interfaith Community Church on September 19, 2010. Jamal's talk and meditation have been excerpted in five parts on YouTube, which you may also view below. Audio files are also available on the "Podcasts" page in the "Downloads" menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

Part 1: "Knowledge of the Heart:
The Power to Shift Heaven and Earth"

Part 2: "Celebrate Diversity with
Heart-to-Heart Connections"

Part 3: "What is a mosque? What is true prayer?"

Part 4: "Fatwas, Idolatry, the Wound of a Muslim,
It's All One Light"

Heart Meditation with Jamal Rahman
Sept. 19, 2010
Interfaith Community Church, Seattle, WA

"All the great masters, all the great traditions say that to connect with the other we first have to connect with ourselves. To love the other, we have to love ourselves." This introduces the closing meditation for "Spiritual Lessons from the Mosque Controversy," a talk given at Seattle's Interfaith Community Church on September 19, 2010. Piano accompaniment is provided by Yanadevi Viniko.

Click photo for a transcript of this meditation

"Whose God? Whose Land?"

Opening panel discussion "Whose God? Whose Land?" with Mark Braverman, Naim Ateek, and Jamal Rahman, given February 19, 2010 at the Friends of Sabeel conference "The United States, Israel and Palestine: What Does Justice Require of US?" held at St. Mark's Church in Seattle, Washington.

"The Conference of the Birds"

Jamal Rahman's worship message was delivered Sunday, February 21, 2010, at Seattle's Interfaith Community Church. The topic is "The Conference of the Birds," a story by Attar, Persian Sufi of the 12th century. This beautiful story is an allegory of the seeker's journey to God.

"Out of Darkness into Light"

Watch this three-part video of Jamal Rahman's worship message delivered Sunday, December 20, 2009. The topic is "Out of Darkness into Light," appropriate given that it was delivered on the shortest day of the year.

"Prayer and Spiritual Practice in Islam"

Jamal gave this talk on prayer and spiritual practice in Islam on November 14, 2009, at Interfaith Community Church. It was part of a class offered twice a year in Seattle by Jamal, and was being taped for a PBS program to air in February 2010. Offered in two parts.