R. David Coolidge on Diffused Congruence Podcast: The American Muslim Experience
Channel: Diffused Congruence Podcast - Unofficial
Date: 2023-03-07

Parvez and Omar welcome R. David Coolidge (former Muslim chaplain at Dartmouth College and Brown University, and current PhD student at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA) to discuss his journey into and within Islam, which has taken him through the Sunni and Shia traditions.  The discussion was especially timely considering we’re in the month of Muharram.

Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is held to be the second holiest month, after Ramaḍān. The Tenth day of Muharram is known as the Day of Ashura. Sometimes, as part of the Mourning of Muharram, Shia Muslims practice partial fasting, and Sunni Muslims practice fasting on Ashura.

David Coolidge was born in Chicago, and raised in Kenilworth, IL. He has a BA from Brown University and an MA from Princeton University. He converted to Islam in 1998.  From 2008-2013 he worked as a Muslim chaplain, first at Dartmouth College and then again at Brown. From 2014-2017 he taught an undergraduate course on Islamic law and ethics at New York University. He is currently a PhD student at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.

This is an unofficial channel created by a fan to create more awareness about the excellent Diffused Congruence Podcast: The American Muslim Experience. I do not own the audio interview or images. 

This podcast, which explores and celebrates the many facets of the American Muslim experience, has been hosted by Parvez Ahmed and Zaki Hasan since October 2013. This is Episode 98. It aired on August 30, 2020.

You can stream or download other episodes at: https://diffusedcongruence.podbean.com 

Please donate to keep this podcast going at: https://www.patreon.com/diffusedcongruence 

From the Diffused Congruence’s page:
With new episodes slated to drop the first Friday of every month, the goal of our show is to highlight and focus on unique and interesting personalities from both within and without the American Muslim community, and engage them in what will hopefully be a worthwhile and invigorating conversation not only for the guests, but also for listeners. 

Since its inception in 2013, Diffused Congruence: The American Muslim Experience has been dedicated to highlighting unique and interesting personalities from within the American Muslim community, and engage them in what will hopefully be a worthwhile and invigorating conversation not only for the guests, but also for listeners. We like to think of the podcast as part oral history/personal narrative and part a discussion of critical issues, with listeners feeling as though they are sitting in on a casual (and non-scripted) conversation. Our guests include scholars, thought leaders, academics, artists, actors, journalists, and activists. 

Learn more about this podcast at https://facebook.com/diffusedcongruence or https://diffusedcongruence.podbean.com   

Podcast questions and comments? diffusedcongruence@gmail.com