Podcast: Our 7 Neighbors

Episode 1: The Myth of a Religious Freedom

Welcome to Our 7 Neighbors, season 5. This is a podcast produced by Kim Schultz of Chicago Theological Seminary. This season is hosted by Reza Aslan. Kim introduces Reza and states that he is a renowned writer, commentator, professor, Emmy, and Peabody nominated producer and scholar of religions. In addition, he is the recipient of the prestigious James Joyce Award, author of three internationally bestselling books, including the number one New York Times bestseller, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. This season explores the idea that religious minorities in the United States have not simply inherited religious freedom but have repeatedly had to fight for it.

Reza shares that growing up as a Muslim immigrant during several difficult periods in America’s recent history, including post 9/11, have shaped his perception of religious freedom.  He points out that religious minorities have had to fight for the rights that the constitution affords them, and believes that the current rise of Christian nationalism is actively rewriting the foundations of American history, making these conversations more urgent than ever. In today’s episode, Reza and Kim speak with guest Peter Manso. He is a novelist, historian, and museum curator who serves as the founding director of the Center for Understanding Religion in American History at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. His book “Under Gods” offers a 500-year history of religion in America that dismantles what he calls the mythology of religious freedom.

They argue that while many people believe the popular story that America started was founded from a place of Christianity, to tolerance, to pluralism but Manseau argues the opposite. It is only through struggle between marginalized religious groups and the majority that religious freedom has been established. Peter introduces his book “Under Gods” and says that if you analyze American history, when the Puritans first came here, religious freedom was just for them, not for others. The story of Mary Dwyer, a Quaker who was hanged in Boston, illustrates the reality that lay beneath the rhetoric of the “city on a hill.” The Winthrop quote, later embraced by presidents from Kennedy to Reagan to Obama, carried with it an anxiety the Puritans rarely admitted: that building a visible model civilization also meant having no place to hide failure or contradiction.

Peter points out that because of this tenuous grip on control over religious freedom, Puritans enforced their new theocracy with imprisonment, and brutality. This reinforces the notion that pluralism was not conceived through consensus but through conflict. Peter gives the example that Baptists in Virginia were taxed to fund Anglican clergy training. He also talks about the plight of other religious groups like Jews, Catholics and Muslims. Jews held a precarious legal status throughout the colonies and into the early Republic because of Maryland’s 1640s Act Concerning Religion, which still punished blasphemy against Jesus with death, effectively excluding Jews from its protections. It was not until 1820 that Maryland passed what was known as the “Jew Bill,” extending to Jewish residents the same rights as Christians. There was also conflict between federal protections and state protections which contradicted each other. Additionally, although it would prove to be a bit optimistic, George Washington wrote a letter in which he said that Jews would not merely be tolerated but welcomed as full citizens.

Peter contrasts the imagery of the “city on a hill,” to the sacred hole in the dirt floor of El Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico, a Catholic church built on land once sacred to the Tewa people. This location represents the hybrid nature of American religious life that Peter believes is closer to historical truth than any founding myth. Where the city on a hill is imposed from above, the hole in the earth is already present, shaped by everything that has come before it.

The conversation closes by emphasizing that religious freedom in America is often mythicized but has a frequently contested, contentious past and present. Peter expresses that there will always be conflict then one group’s religious freedoms impose on another groups, and so on. There will always be a need for negotiation to solve these conflicts. Peter is hopeful that we can continue to bring together elements of religion from multiple cultures, pointing to the example of enslaved African Americans as a synthesis of African, European, and Native spiritual elements combined under conditions of oppression into something new and joyous. They invite listeners to join them next time for another conversation around religion and resistance in America with the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary.

Learn more:   https://iri.ctschicago.edu/

Episode 2: Soul Wounds: Indigenous Survival and the Limits of Religious Freedom with Dr. Farina King

Welcome to season 5 of Our Seven Neighbors brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary. Under the backdrop of our nation’s 250th anniversary, season 5 explores the long, contested history of religious diversity in the United States—not as a feel-good celebration of pluralism, but as a hard-won achievement forged through conflict, exclusion, resistance, and moral struggle. Your host is Reza Aslan, who is joined in today’s episode by Diné scholar Dr. Farina King.

For Indigenous people, religious freedom has often been a contradiction. While the U.S. government claimed to protect freedom of conscience, it simultaneously suppressed Native ceremonies, punished Native languages, removed children from their families, and treated sacred lands as government property. Dr. Farina King explains that for many Indigenous communities, religion is not separate from daily life or confined to belief and worship, but is inseparable from identity, land, kinship, language, and relationships with the natural and spiritual world. Native boarding schools were not simply educational institutions but deliberate tools of assimilation and religious suppression, designed to sever Indigenous children from their families, cultures, and sacred homelands. Drawing on her own family’s experience, she describes how her father was punished for speaking Navajo and how Christianity was often used to justify the destruction of Indigenous identity. Ultimately, the speakers argue that taking Indigenous peoples from their land was not only physical displacement but an attempt to erase their peoplehood and spiritual existence.

Boarding schools, the 1883 Code of Indian Offenses, and other federal policies worked together to ban Native religious practices, punish Native languages, and forcibly separate children from their families in an effort to eradicate Indigenous cultures under the guise of Christian civilization. Dr. King connects these historical policies to broader colonial ideologies such as the Doctrine of Discovery and describes them as forms of genocide and cultural destruction. At the same time, she emphasizes Indigenous resilience, describing how Native communities resisted, preserved ceremonies in secret, and continued maintaining relationships to sacred lands despite ongoing oppression. The discussion also examines the limitations of later legal protections such as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and NAGPRA, arguing that Indigenous sacred spaces still lack meaningful protection because many Americans fail to understand land itself as sacred. Through examples such as Bears Ears, Oak Flat, and the Navajo Long Walk, the speakers show how displacement from ancestral land was not only political and physical violence, but also profound spiritual devastation.

In closing, the conversation emphasizes the importance of truth-telling, listening, and understanding the ongoing consequences of colonialism, including modern conflicts over sacred sites such as Bears Ears and Oak Flat. Dr. King highlights Indigenous resilience, explaining how songs, art, poetry, ceremonies, and intergenerational teachings have preserved Native identity and spirituality despite centuries of oppression. The discussion concludes by stressing that healing requires honesty about historical trauma while also focusing on Indigenous strength, survival, and the continuing presence of Native peoples and traditions today

Links:

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Episode 3: From Slave Ships to 9/11: Islam and the Long Struggle to Belong in America

Welcome to season 4 Our Seven Neighbors, Diversifying the Narrative, Immigration and Religion in America, brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary.  Under the backdrop of our nation’s 250th anniversary, Our Seven Neighbors, season 5, explores the long, contested history of religious diversity in the United States—not as a feel-good celebration of pluralism, but as a hard-won achievement forged through conflict, exclusion, resistance, and moral struggle. Your host is Reza Aslan, who is joined in today’s episode by Dr. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri.

The discussion challenges the common belief that Islam is a recent arrival in the United States. It has been present since the earliest moments of American history but has repeatedly been erased and rediscovered. Dr. GhaneaBassiri explains that Islam was embedded even in the earliest European encounters with the Americas, as figures like Christopher Columbus were motivated in part by conflicts with Muslim powers. He further argues that excluding Islam from historical narratives was central to how the modern West defined itself, leading to a distorted understanding of both American and global history.

By reintegrating Islam into the story, the history of the United States becomes part of a broader Atlantic world linking Europe, West Africa, and the Americas, where colonization and slavery developed together. Early Muslim figures such as Estevanico demonstrate that Muslims were present and active in early exploration, while enslaved African Muslims formed the first sustained Muslim communities in America. They left behind Arabic writings, navigated forced conversion, and occupied a complex social position that challenged racial assumptions and contributed indirectly to abolitionist arguments. Muslim enslaved people interpreted Christianity through their own theological frameworks and maintained elements of their faith, shaping the earliest expressions of Islam in America. This challenges the notion that early Muslims were fully absorbed into dominant culture and instead shows how their religious frameworks influenced how they understood themselves and others in America.

Dr. GhaneaBassiri addresses why this early Muslim presence largely disappeared from mainstream narratives, pointing to forced Christianization and the inability of enslaved and marginalized groups to build religious institutions. Although these histories have been told—through works like Roots and movements such as the Nation of Islam—they are often sidelined because American identity has been constructed in ways that frame Islam as foreign. Even early leaders like Thomas Jefferson were aware of Muslims in the country, suggesting this “forgetting” was intentional. Later waves of Muslim immigration and the growth of institutions created a distinct American Muslim identity, but events like the September 11 attacks intensified suspicion and reshaped how Muslims were perceived and how they organized in response.

Notes on this episode:

2:05—“very first Muslims who came here with Christopher Columbus”—The presence of Muslims on Columbus’s ships is a contested issue.

9:23—“not as a Christian”—Should be Estevanico is mentioned “not as a Muslim.”

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Episode 4: Rome and the Republic: Catholicism and Questions of Loyalty and Identity

Welcome to season 5 of Our Seven Neighbors brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary. Under the backdrop of our nation’s 250th anniversary, season 5 explores the long, contested history of religious diversity in the United States—not as a feel-good celebration of pluralism, but as a hard-won achievement forged through conflict, exclusion, resistance, and moral struggle. Your host is Reza Aslan, who is joined in today’s episode by Dr. John T. McGreevy of Notre Dame.

Today’s conversation focuses on Catholicism in the US, drawing from Dr. McGreevey’s work. For much of American history, Catholicism functioned as the primary “religious other” against which Protestant America defined ideas of freedom, democracy, authority, and citizenship. This long conflict is both theological and political, centering on accusations of Catholic “dual loyalty” to the pope and competing visions of authority, and traces the tension from early American history through events like the Bible riots, Vatican II, JFK’s presidency, and even modern nationalist attacks on the pope.

They then begin a historical overview of the founding era, noting that while the First Amendment offered formal religious freedom and Catholics were legally included, they were still culturally suspect in a Protestant-dominated society, a dynamic that shifted dramatically with 19th-century Catholic immigration. Catholic immigrants were both legally included in the founding ideals of religious freedom and culturally viewed with suspicion due to perceived “dual loyalty” to the pope and incompatibility with democratic citizenship. In the 19th century, mass Irish Catholic immigration intensified these tensions, leading to public conflicts like the Boston Elliott School protest, the rise of Catholic parochial schools, and widespread anti-Catholic sentiment in education policy, law, and public institutions. The discussion also highlights fears about Catholic convents and celibate religious life, which clashed with dominant Protestant ideals of marriage and family and even led to episodes of violence against Catholic institutions. By the mid-20th century, Catholicism became more fully integrated into American identity, culminating in J.F.K’s presidency, though this acceptance required some cultural adaptation toward more “Protestant” norms of individualized, privatized faith and civic conformity.

American religious pluralism is a constantly evolving negotiation between minority communities and the nation-state, with Catholic history serving as a key example. American society is now entering another period in which the terms of pluralism are again being renegotiated among multiple religious groups without a single dominant ethos. The episode concludes by reiterating Dr. McGreevey’s central argument that Catholicism in America has long been shaped by a tension between private faith and public authority. He reflects on how Catholicism not only adapted to American democracy but also helped reshape Catholic thought globally. The discussion returns to the broader theme of American pluralism as a constantly shifting negotiation rather than a fixed principle.

Episode 5: The American Tradition of Antisemitism

Welcome to Our 7 Neighbors, season 5. This is a podcast produced by Kim Schultz of Chicago Theological Seminary. This season is hosted by Reza Aslan. Reza and Kim interview guest Dr. Pamela Nadell, chair in Women and Gender History at American University and author of Antisemitism in American Tradition, which traces the history of antisemitism in the United States from the colonial period to the present day.

Reza starts by summarizing previous episodes, saying that even though all these different religions have fought for their rights since time immemorial, they all have so many things in common. He wonders why it’s so hard for people of different religious communities to come together and fight for the rights that are at stake for all of them. Then he begins highlighting a problem with the narrative that America is a haven of religious freedom and points out that antisemitism specifically has been there since the beginning. He says that antisemitism in America is not imported, but a structural feature woven into the fabric of American life from its very beginnings. Dr. Nadell’s book features this exact concept, tracing the history from New Amsterdam to the present day 1654. She discusses a recurring idea of how belonging has been defined in this country, although the story is more about resistance than exclusion.

Reza asks Dr. Nadell to talk about the pattern of antisemitism and how that structure limits religious freedom for everyone in the U.S. The story starts with the arrival of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Brazil in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, which is present-day New York. Governor Peter Stuyvesant sought to expel them, writing a letter to the Dutch West India company describing Jews in hateful language rooted in well-established European prejudices that go all the way back to blood libel. While the Dutch West India Company ultimately required Stuyvesant to allow the Jews to remain, his resistance showed the mounting turmoil between the idea of American refuge and the reality of exclusion. A begrudged sense of tolerance made way for other religious communities like Quakers and Lutherans to also become established, though more limitedly than Christianity.

Reza asks about the role of Jews in founding the American ideal and to answer, Dr. Nadell highlights George Washington’s letter to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island.  In the letter, Washington moved beyond the language of tolerance, promising that ”all who comport themselves as good citizens would be free to live under their own vine and fig tree”. However, even though legally the Jewish community was free to practice their religion, there continued to be struggles with discrimination that led to policies which eventually were written into the structure of American civic life. In the 1920’s and 30’s, Jews faced systematic exclusion through university quotas, hiring restrictions marked by “Christians only” policies, and residential segregation. Dr. Nadell describes how this codified discrimination shaped Jewish economic and cultural identity, pushing many into small businesses and limiting access to major institutions.

Reza makes a point about most people thinking that antisemitism is a fringe, temporary issue but Dr. Nadel illustrates that antisemitism is much more mainstream and adopted into the socioeconomic framework of the young country. Influential figures like Henry Ford perpetuated this problem: through his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, Ford published ninety-one weeks of anti-Jewish columns beginning in 1920 and introduced the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to a mass American audience. He accused the Jews of everything he hated, from the creation of Jazz to revolutions to overthrow masters of the Earth. After World War 1, these ideas found their way into federal immigration policy through the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 or the Johnson Reed Act of 1924, which restricted immigration from countries where Jewish populations were concentrated, without ever naming Jews explicitly.

The discrimination turned to violence with the lynching of Leo Frank in 1915. Nadell retells the story of Frank, who was a manager of a pencil factory, and was wrongly convicted of murder in Atlanta. Once the governor reflected on the case, Frank’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment instead of death. However, he was seized from prison and lynched by a mob of citizens. This case was pivotal because it led to the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and became a catalyst for organized resistance thereafter.

Dr. Nadell also highlights other stories of Jewish resistance in the civil and cultural arena, not just legal. She speaks of thirteen-year-old Gussie Herbert, who in 1905 publicly challenged her Brooklyn school principal for delivering a Christmas speech that marginalized Jewish students. Her act of courage sparked a community-wide movement that led to meaningful changes in what public schools could teach and perform. She also discusses how Jewish women’s organizations monitored and challenged antisemitic content in children’s books like Mother Goose, reflecting a broader culture of grassroots resistance.

The conversation turns to the present, with Dr. Nadell describing the current moment as a new high tide of American antisemitism that predates the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. She identifies a troubling coalescence of antisemitism from both the far right, including white nationalist violence exemplified by the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre, and from segments of the left that conflate Jewish identity with Israeli policy. She also observes that the myth of America as a Christian nation is being actively reasserted in political rhetoric and government messaging.

In closing the episode, Nadell argues that sustaining genuine religious pluralism requires both vertical alliances with government institutions and horizontal alliances among religious communities. She calls for continued bridge-building between faiths and communities, noting that Jewish Americans’ historic partnership with the civil rights movement benefited not only African Americans but Jewish Americans as well, as anti-discrimination laws forced the dismantling of exclusionary practices. Her final reframing of the American story is a candid one: while Americans celebrate religious freedom and the First Amendment, powerful counter-traditions have repeatedly sought to constrain those liberties, and the present moment may represent another such effort. They invite listeners to join them next time for another conversation around religion and resistance in America with the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary.

Episode: Heathens: Chinese Religion and American Exclusion

Welcome to season 5 of Our Seven Neighbors brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary. Under the backdrop of our nation’s 250th anniversary, season 5 explores the long, contested history of religious diversity in the United States—not as a feel-good celebration of pluralism, but as a hard-won achievement forged through conflict, exclusion, resistance, and moral struggle. Your host is Reza Aslan, who is joined in today’s episode by Dr. Jonathan Lee, whose work traces Chinese immigration from the era of Gold Mountain and the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad through exclusion laws, violence, court battles, and contemporary anti-Asian racism.

Today’s conversation centers around the often-overlooked religious dimensions of Chinese American history. Rather than viewing Chinese immigrants solely as laborers who came during the Gold Rush and built the Transcontinental Railroad, Dr. Lee explains that they also brought rich religious traditions, cultural practices, and community institutions. Many early Chinese migrants came to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century seeking economic opportunity amid political instability, foreign domination, and hardship in China. While they were initially welcomed, attitudes shifted as they became economic competitors, leading to discriminatory measures such as the Foreign Miners’ Tax, exclusion from certain industries, growing anti-Chinese prejudice, and eventually the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

Chinese laborers performed some of the most dangerous railroad work while receiving lower wages and working longer hours than white workers, leading thousands to participate in the 1867 railroad strike demanding equal pay and better living conditions. This strike challenges stereotypes of Chinese immigrants as passive and demonstrates their willingness to organize and resist injustice. Beyond labor, Chinese immigrants brought a syncretic religious tradition combining folk beliefs, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. In segregated Chinatowns, temples served not only as places of worship but also as schools, kitchens, boarding houses, and community centers. Aslan concludes by noting that anti-Chinese exclusion was not merely racial or economic but also religious, as Chinese immigrants were frequently labeled “heathens” and viewed as a threat to the white Christian identity of the United States.

Chinese religions were perceived as threatening in nineteenth-century America because of the intersection of race, religion, and citizenship. Chinese immigrants were excluded from full belonging because white and Christian supremacy defined them as both non-white and “heathen.” Economic competition ultimately played a central role in this exclusion, as Chinese laborers were welcomed when cheap labor was needed but faced discrimination and exclusion once they began demanding equal treatment. Dr. Lee explains that the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act formalized the social and political construction of a distinct “Chinese race,” legally positioning Chinese people outside the boundaries of citizenship and reinforcing the idea that they did not belong in America.

Examining the devastating consequences of exclusion, Dr. Lee explains that Anti-Chinese laws and rhetoric fueled widespread violence in Chinese communities across the American West. Many smaller Chinatowns disappeared and Chinese residents were driven out in larger urban centers, where safety could be found in numbers. Despite this, Chinese Americans fought back through the legal system, asserting claims to equal protection and citizenship rights. WWII was a major turning point, as the alliance between the United States and China exposed the hypocrisy of fighting fascism abroad while maintaining racial discrimination at home. The struggle for legal recognition and equal rights eventually helped transform Chinese American life and contributed to broader changes in American immigration policy. Although Chinese religions and cultures are now firmly part of the American landscape, the resurgence of anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 era demonstrates that the forces of exclusion and racialized nationalism remain powerful and persistent.

Episode 1 : Dr. Miguel De La Torre

Welcome to Season 4 of Our Seven Neighbors, Diversifying the Narrative, Immigration and Religion in America, brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary.  Through an intersectional lens of Latinx voices, this season explores themes of immigration, mass migration, and colonization, and how diverse faith traditions can and do affect the story. Your host is Dr. José Francisco Morales Torres, who is joined in today’s episode by Dr. Miguel de la Torre, a professor of social ethics and Latinx studies at the Island School of Theology in Denver

Before getting into the conversation with Dr. Miguel De La Torre, Dr. José Francisco Morales-Torres introduces himself as the Associate Professor of Comparative Theology and Philosophy at CTS. Dr. Morales describes himself as “Pan-American” due to this diverse cultural exposure, and his scholarship reflects this rich, cross-cultural upbringing. Then, Dr. Morales introduces Dr. Miguel de la Torre, who is one of the most prolific social ethicists, having served as president of the Society of Social Ethics and holding several prestigious honors. He has authored numerous influential works on ethics, theology, and immigration.

Dr. De La Torre explains the terminology around immigration, as many terms are often misunderstood or misused. First, he argues that the term “illegal immigrant,” is a racial slur used to criminalize people and advocates instead for the use of “undocumented immigrant.” The conversation shifts to the term “expatriate,” often used by people from North America and Europe to describe their immigration status when living abroad. De La Torre critiques this term as a way to avoid the negative connotations associated with “immigrant.” He notes the political and racial dimensions of language in immigration debates. The discussion also touches on de la Torre’s diverse scholarly work, from biblical commentaries to ethical inquiries, all connected to his lived experiences as an immigrant. He reveals that his upcoming book, Tear Down These Walls, will explore the symbolism of walls in immigration crises worldwide. De la Torre critiques the way U.S. politicians frame the immigration crisis, often starting the narrative at the U.S.-Mexico border without considering the broader historical context.

De La Torre rejects the notion that Latin Americans should be thankful for U.S. hospitality, arguing instead that the resources stolen from Latin America—such as sugar, tobacco, and rum—were foundational in making the U.S. powerful. U.S. actions in other regions like Vietnam, not just Latin America, contribute to mass migration. Similarly, western Christianity has been manipulated to support white supremacy. This fusion of religion with nationalism, he argues, serves to marginalize, disenfranchise, and even commit acts of genocide against vulnerable populations. In closing, De La Torre delves into the violence embedded within the U.S. immigration system and the challenge of confronting such institutionalized violence

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest Dr. Miguel De La Torre.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu

Our 7 Neighbors – Miguel de La Torre – Show Notes

Episode 2: Dr. Nichole Flores

Welcome to season four of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories through an intersectional lens of Latinx voices. This season explores themes of immigration, mass migration and colonization and how diverse faith traditions can and do affect the story. The season is hosted by Dr. José Francisco Morales Torres, and in today’s episode he is joined by Dr. Nichole Flores, who is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. She specializes in Catholic and Latinx theologies notions of justice and aesthetics to the life of democracy.

To begin, Dr. Nichole Flores defines the common terms surrounding immigration. The biggest difference between migrant and immigrant is that an immigrant moves with the intention to settle down in the new place, while a migrant may move back to where they’re from. Undocumented is that someone is present in a jurisdiction where they don’t yet have documentation or evidence to be present in the country, while illegal is a derogatory word aimed to undercut the legality and morally undercut the person. Next, she shares her background in being a Mexican American and having grandparents that were born in Northern Mexico and in South Texas. She also burns with passion for her Catholic faith and wants to have justice for others. They also discuss Catholic social teaching and how it informs the way one talks about immigration. Catholic social teaching has a very robust and thick moral positioning which is a strong tradition in the faith and how God commands Catholics to act in the world. They believe in putting that tradition into practice that calls for a lived faith and to take action to alleviate suffering. Dr. Nichole Flores also discusses how 40% of Latinos had infections during COVID, but they only comprised 25% of the population. That is because the Latinos were the ones still working without masks and protections.

In addition, they discuss the symbols and images in the Catholic faith that are powerful sources of resilience and strength. Dr. Flores talks about Our Lady of Guadalupe and how her abuelita was named after her. Her grandmother loved Guadalupe and Dr. Nichole became fascinated with how people turned to Guadalupe in times of trouble, suffering and instability. Guadalupe has turned into the symbol of the pro-life movement, and she represents powerful images in the way migrant people seek her out for strength and comfort, and empowerment. Catholicism has two amazing strands: the intellectual tradition and theology, and the aesthetics, which are the incense, the candles, the cathedral, etc. She found that people around her appreciated both of those things, but it was hard to bring them together. In her first book, she grappled with those elements and says the aesthetic is essential to building those relationships. In closing, she talks about her future plans and right now, she is focusing on defending democracy and writing a book that is called, “A Political Theology of Advent” and it articulates a Christian political theology in feelings of despair and holding that together with light and hope.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Episode 4 guest: Dr. Anandi Knuppel

Welcome to season four of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories through an intersectional lens of Latinx voices, this season explores themes of immigration, mass migration and colonization and how diverse faith traditions can and do affect the story we tell. The season is hosted by Dr. José Francisco Morales Torres, and in today’s episode he is joined by Dr. Anandi Silva Knuppel. Dr. Knuppel is an independent scholar and the Strategic Initiatives and Projects Specialist for the American Institute of Indian Studies. She teaches religious texts and performs Indian dance and sees both of these spheres of work as mutually contingent.

To begin, Dr. Knuppel shares her background in that her mother was from Mexico and her father was from the United States. She grew up in San Antonio, Texas and they only visited Mexico when family members were ill or passed. Her family has a strong Mexican Catholic worldview, but then also visited the local Hindu temple. They went to temple as often as they went to mass and when she learned about religion in school, she was confused and conflicted by their definition of religion. She says the time for expansion on the idea of religion is now– there is an overlap with religion and our daily lives are very messy. Dr. Knuppel states that transactional religion is how it works on a global scale, and how religion is lived out in daily lives in various movements and flows. She lived in transnational communities for years and saw what peoples’ lives looked like. She states that she stopped trying to find an answer and instead viewed religion as an organic model.

In addition, Dr. Knuppel discusses the role of technology in an ethnographic use case. She started working in digital communities when she studied transnational Hinduism in the US. She pushed back on the assumptions that she needed to study in India, and instead was a part of virtual live streams of their daily Darshan. She was able to experience the presence of divination, and many temples had devotional evenings and other events live streamed, which added a whole other layer in these virtual spaces. She taught a class on ethnography and expanded what religious studies and what a religious self is. In terms of immigration and migration, Dr. Knuppel says there is a beautiful diversity that can happen that is not always visible in the intersectionality. She shares an experience where her mother was getting her citizenship during raids in Atlanta. She could not understand her mother’s experience, and each member experiences each moment so differently. She taught a class during COVID in Wisconsin where students held Zoom interviews with social justice organizations on how people are shaping the discourse within their own organizations. It was less about the specifics of Hinduism, but more philosophical ideas of it. Lastly, she talks about a book she is currently writing on manuscript transformation and her next project will be with the American Institute of Indian Studies.

Links to organizations mentioned:

www.sadhana.org

www.equitylabs.org

www.hindusforhumanrights.org

Learn more about today’s guest

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu

Episode 3: Dr. Laura Limonic

Welcome to season 4 Our Seven Neighbors, Diversifying the Narrative, Immigration and Religion in America, brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary.  Through an intersectional lens of Latinx voices, this season explores themes of immigration, mass migration, and colonization, and how diverse faith traditions can and do affect the story. Your host is Dr. José Francisco Morales-Torres, who is joined in today’s episode by Dr. Laura Limonic, Associate Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York, Old Westbury. Dr. Limonic’s research focuses on contemporary immigration in the United States, specifically the integration of ethnic and ethno-religious groups, particularly Latinx immigrants. Her recent book, Kugel and Frijoles: Latino Jews in the United States, addresses the intersections of ethnicity, race, class, and religion.

To begin, Dr. Limonic reflects on her family’s experience as Jewish, Hispanic immigrants in a predominantly non-Jewish community. She emphasizes the cultural contrast between her Jewish upbringing in Argentina and the new environment in the U.S., where language barriers and being a minority made adaptation challenging. Her family began to celebrate Christian holidays with their Catholic neighbors as a means of building community, underscoring the complexity of navigating multiple identities. Her experiences as an immigrant shaped her sociological perspective, particularly her interest in the intersection of religion and identity. She explains how Jewishness and other ethno-religious identities are context-dependent, shifting based on the surrounding community, and how immigrants develop strategies, like code-switching, to navigate these multiple identities and fit in.

Then, Dr. Limonic explains that while many people believe Spanish-speaking Jews are a recent phenomenon, Jews have migrated to Latin America for centuries. Some Caribbean regions were home to thriving Jewish communities under Dutch colonial rule, which were not subject to the same religious persecution. These early migrations laid the foundation for today’s Latin American Jewish communities, often migrating due to persecution and economic hardship. As various political and economic crises affected countries in Latin America, including the Southern Cone, many Jews fled to the U.S. Jewish institutions in the U.S. are working to be more inclusive, recognizing Jews who don’t fit the traditional Ashkenazi, white, second or third-generation American profile. These efforts are increasingly focused on groups like Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Latino Jews. Latino Jews also face unique challenges when navigating political activism and religious identity. In closing, Dr. Limonic highlights the need for more understanding, empathy, and dialogue, especially in the face of rising antisemitism and the challenges of contemporary politics.

Links:

Learn more about today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu

Our 7 Neighbors – Dr. Laura Limonic – Show Notes

Episode guest: Amor Craun Reyes

Welcome to season 4 Our Seven Neighbors, Diversifying the Narrative, Immigration and Religion in America, brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary.  Through an intersectional lens of Latinx voices, this season explores themes of immigration, mass migration, and colonization, and how diverse faith traditions can and do affect the story. Your host is Dr. José Francisco Morales-Torres, who is joined in today’s episode by Amor Craun Reyess, an Indigenous Latina Muslim activist with roots in the Veracruz and Purépecha traditions. As the first Hijabi Brown Beret in history, Amor serves various vulnerable communities, including migrants, refugees, and survivors of violence, across the Americas.

To begin, Amor recounts her childhood in Michoacán, Mexico, where violence was normalized due to political instability and cartel influence. The influx of U.S. weapons into Mexico exacerbated the violence, forcing many, including her family, to flee. She reflects on the deep pain of leaving behind her traditions and home to seek safety. Amor also discusses her spiritual evolution, beginning with her time as an adherent of La Santa Muerte. During a life-threatening experience, she felt abandoned by La Santa Muerte and turned instead to God. This moment marked a turning point in her faith journey, ultimately leading her to Islam after arriving in the United States. Discovering Islam in Spanish made it accessible for her and how her detention at an ICE facility solidified her resolve to help others in similar situations.

Amor transitions to discussing her on-the-ground activism, particularly in response to U.S. immigration policies. During Trump’s presidency, she co-founded a Muslim shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, to support families separated at the border. She criticizes the current Biden administration for prioritizing foreign policy over domestic needs. Amor also poses a critique of the contradiction between faith-based values and political support for figures or policies that seem to oppose those values, particularly in regard to social justice and equity. The conversation highlights the need for grassroots organizing to provide support to vulnerable populations, including those fleeing from violence, persecution, or climate crises. There is a sense of preparedness among activists who have been consistently working to protect marginalized communities, regardless of political changes. Amor underscores the looming challenges of sustaining safety and solidarity amidst rising threats of white supremacy.

In closing, Amor highlights the importance of unity and mutual aid as powerful forms of resistance against systemic oppression. She calls for communities to overcome individualism and foster a sense of collective responsibility, especially in the face of unjust policies. Building and sustaining community networks, caring for one another, and organizing at local levels are identified as key strategies. Resistance begins with individuals finding their role in the community and contributing to the greater good.

Links:

www.globalmuslimlife.com/global-muslim-life

www.imancentral.org

www.instagram.com/elxalaltacos/profilecard/?igsh=Zmp4ejMyZnlrcmlh

www.taleefcollective.org

Episode Guest: Dr. Daniel White Hodge

Welcome to season four of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories through an intersectional lens of Latinx voices, this season explores themes of immigration, mass migration and colonization and how diverse faith traditions can and do affect the story we tell. The season is hosted by Dr. José Francisco Morales Torres, and in today’s episode he is joined by Dr. Daniel White Hodge, a Professor of Communications and Chair at North Park University in Chicago. He is a renowned scholar of hip hop and his interests also include the cultural deconstruction of media and messaging.

To begin, Dr. Hodge discusses the term “Blaxican,” which is a Black Mexican. Racially, Dr. Hodge is Black but he is also Mexican. Race is always on display, but ethnically you can always hide. His Mom was third generation Mexican and he has always struggled with both identities. Spanish was his first language and the only place where he has been treated as an Afro Latino is in Miami. He discusses how both sides of his identity get erased because the United States does not like multi-ethnic identities. It’s also not just the identity that gets erased, but the culture, the terms, the being. It is not as mild or innocent as it seems to not accept both identities. His roots are in Texas, and his mom became pregnant with him out of wedlock, so his biological Grandma sent his mom to live with his great Aunt. Growing up, Dr. Hodge was not accepted in both of his identities as a Black and Mexican man. They considered him an outsider while they were insiders. Both Black and Brown people are pitted against each other, but they are fighting the same fight. The main way he is seen is as Black, and Black and Brown lives are not valued in the United States. In order to bridge that divide, he suggests reminding both Black and Brown people that they are all in the same boat and they will bond over that. He says to be on the ground and be that bridge, but it is a challenging place to be.

Next, Dr. Hodge discusses his research including hip hop. He says hip hop is a holy ground where Black and Brown people can find a connection and an avenue for expression and activism. We need something that is unifying, and hip hop can do that by bringing people together. The pews can be segregated, but hip hop has a multicultural audience. Hip hop stretches across all boundaries and helps you get back into your body. Your brain lies to you all the time, but your body never lies. We need to get out of our heads and listen to your body. Lastly, Dr. Hodge shares what he is doing right now. He is working on connection and community building in his neighborhood with block parties, which has been refreshing and healing in many ways. He also wrote a pedagogy textbook on intercultural communications designed for the classroom and students. He has multiple book projects coming together where Black and Afro American folks can find themselves in connection to white supremacy.

In addition, he has an ongoing podcast called, “Profane Faith Podcast.” —available wherever you find great podcasts.  More can be found at www.whitehodge.com and www.whitehodgepodcasts.com

Episode: 3. How a Grocery Store Can Create Equity

Welcome to season three of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories from the birth of the Chicago Civil Rights Movement presented by the InterReligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Each week, we’ll pair an interview from the Jesse Jackson Oral History Project with a special guest who is doing the work of justice today. The season is hosted by Reverend Brian E. Smith, and in today’s episode he is joined by Jim Seidler, Grocery Sales Manager for Jewel Foods. He plays a key role in identifying, recruiting and supporting minority vendors and partners.

Before getting into our conversation with Jim, we hear a short interview clip with Reverend Martin Deppe. He was instrumental in implementing the Chicago Breadbasket Project and served faithfully on the south side of Chicago during a period of great turmoil and transition. He was the key negotiator for the Jewel Foods Partnership Covenant, which stands to this day.  To begin, he explains how Martin Luther King was drawn to expanding his efforts from the south to the northern states. Although the Chicago movement was an important movement symbolically, it was considered a loss in the short term effort. However, out of Dr. King’s efforts in Chicago came the long term Breadbasket Movement and a Metropolitan Housing Committee. Then, he unpacks Operation Breadbasket’s “selective patronage”.

Jim Seidler is key in recruiting vendors from the Black community in his role at Jewel foods. To begin, Jim shares Jewel Osco’s longstanding mission to be part of their communities, help communities grow and support the minority population both at their stores and on the shelves at Jewel Osco. He relates Breadbasket selective patronage to the philosophy when buying for the Jewel Osco store. One of the biggest ways Jewel Osco supports the minority communities is by buying from minority-owned local Chicago brands, which in turn benefits the people employed by these companies as well as the small businesses themselves. Then, hear how the Chicago community and Jewel joined forces after the riots following the murder of George Floyd. The Jewel Osco locations in the south side of Chicago have a legacy for truly being part of their communities for birthdays, holidays and celebrations. What sets Jewel Osco apart from other businesses, Jim explains, is their culture of supporting local through the lens of diversity and inclusion.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Episode: 4. Trailblazers

Welcome to season three of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories from the birth of the Chicago Civil Rights Movement presented in partnership with the Interreligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Each week, we’ll pair an interview from the Jesse Jackson Archive Project with a special guest who is doing the work of justice today. The season is hosted by Reverend Brian E. Smith, and in today’s episode he is joined by Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie.

Before getting into our conversation with Vashti, we hear a short interview clip with Reverend Dr. Janette Wilson, Advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson and Director of PUSH. She also serves as Pastor of Maple Park United Methodist Church. She became involved in the civil rights movement from an early age, attending Breadbasket meetings and advocating for fresh food security in black neighborhoods. The women of the Breadbasket Movement taught her how to organize people and the importance of negotiating. She saw women role models involved in both ministry and the business side of the organization. The role of women in the civil rights movement, she explains, have been immensely underappreciated. It was the women who largely carried the movement behind the scenes, but the men who were given the platform.

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is the Interim President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. She is also a retired bishop of the African Methodist Church. In 2011, she became the first woman to be elected as Bishop in the denomination’s history. She served as President of the Council of Bishops, becoming the first woman to serve as titular head of the AME church. Kicking off the conversation, Bishop McKenzie identifies the parallels between Reverend Wilson’s experience and her own. She highly related to her statement that the women doing the work behind the scenes often didn’t get the credit they deserved. When the integration of schools came to Baltimore city, Bishop McKenzie was part of a group of kids who were selected to be sent to an integrated school. She recalls the feeling of being treated differently in her new school and missed her home school where was part of the community. This was when she learned that she needed to prove herself worthy of being there. Next, she unpacks the challenges of being a strong woman in a traditionally male-dominated context. It is crucial that we trust the process and understand that God is going to help us along the path we are supposed to be on. It was instilled in her from an early age that if God has blessed you with a gift or skill, you have a responsibility to actively use it. In order to get to a place where we are able to leverage our power like the Breadbasket Movement did, we must understand that everyone has something unique to bring to the table.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Episode 5: Media in the Movement

Welcome to season three of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which features stories from the birth of the Chicago Civil Rights Movement presented by the InterReligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Each week, we pair an interview from the Jesse Jackson Archive Project with a special guest who is doing the work of justice today. The season is hosted by Reverend Brian E. Smith, and in today’s episode he is joined by Brandis Friedman. Brandis is a co-anchor and correspondent for Chicago Tonight on WTTW.

Before getting into our conversation with Brandis, we hear an interview with Hermene Hartman, the founder of Chicago’s leading African American magapaper N’DIGO, host of N’DIGO Studio and one of the few African American women in publishing. Listen as she shares how she became involved in Operation Breadbasket under the leadership of Jesse Jackson. When she was in school, black women were often forced to choose whether they wanted to be part of the feminist movement or the civil rights movement. She delves into that discussion.

Brandis Friedman is a leader in journalism based in the Chicago area, an African American woman and a product of a historically black university. She grew up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans and received her Master’s from the journalism school at Columbia University in New York. To begin, Brandis shares her initial impressions at Hermene’s story of getting involved with Breadbasket. She reflects on the lesson Hermene’s mother taught her about not being afraid to get involved in things when the opportunity is presented. Next, she unpacks Hermene’s reflections on the other powerful women who were involved in the movement at the time. She was not surprised to learn about how many women were involved in the movement in different ways, given just how many instances there are of black women not getting the credit they deserve. These women were not merely backup, they were the ones running the movement on their backs. She also found it notable that the women in the movement were forced to choose between the civil rights movement and the feminist movement. As a black female journalist, Brandis recognizes some parallels between Hermene’s story and her own experience in the field. Before wrapping up, the conversation shifts to discussing how media power can be leveraged for good. Brandis’ show Black Voices is constantly lifting up all kinds of voices. Finally, Brandis offers her best advice for young professionals and those hoping to enter into the media industry.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu

Podcast Name: Our 7 Neighbors

Episode 1 Crosstown with Kalia, featuring Kalia Abiade

Welcome to season two of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories from the Black spiritual diaspora. In partnership with the Muslim Wellness Foundation and Bayan Islamic Graduate School, the InterReligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary presents this new season. The season will be hosted by Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad, and today’s episode Dr. Rashad interviews guest Kalia Abiade. Don’t miss her story, which spans her fondness for the 60s-70s, her connection to her father through music and her spiritual journey.

Kalia is a Black, muslim woman who draws on over two decades of experience advocating for equity and racial justice in media, policy and philanthropy. Additionally, Kalia is the Vice President of Programs at Pillars Fund in Chicago where she advocates for these goals. Taking us back to her childhood, Kalia recalls a time in which she felt a sense of wonder at finding her place within the world. Like her father, Kalia is a huge fan of music and remembers the ways it has always surrounded her throughout her life. Kalia’s was raised predominantly Catholic, and she became Muslim herself at the age of 21. She recalls the foundational role religion and spirituality played in her early life.

Kalia shares that her father would happily take the credit for his daughter’s gravitation to her Muslim faith. As she learned from her parents, it is nearly impossible to find true comfort in your faith if your earthly endeavors don’t align. Until she was seeking her own spiritual journey, she didn’t fully understand that of her fathers. Often, Kalia was the only black person in the Catholic and Penecostal churches she attended, so finding her sense of self was crucial. She joined the Muslim community just after 9/11 and recalls the unfamiliarity of the silence, vastly different from Catholic culture.

As parents, Kalia and her husband has done her best to integrate all aspects of her identity into their own stories. She recognizes there will be a moment in which their children choose their own path regardless of the religion they have been born into.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Learn more about The Interreligious Institute at CTS, and connect on Facebook and Instagram.

Podcast Name: Our 7 Neighbors

Episode: The Boxing Bishop

Welcome to season two of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories from the Black spiritual diaspora.  In partnership with the Muslim Wellness Foundation and Bayon Islamic Graduate School, the Interreligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary presents this new season.  The season will be hosted by Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad, and for the season’s inaugural episode, Dr. Rashad interviews guest Shonin Myokei Caine-Barrett.  Bishop Myokei is the Resident Priest at Myoken-ji Temple in Houston, TX.  Her story spans her experiences with boxing and belly dancing, her journey of faith and identity, and so much more.

Bishop Myokei is a first for her order of Buddhism – the first American woman and first person of African American and Japanese descent to be ordained. Starting her story at its beginning, Bishop Myokei shares about her family.  Her father was a large, dark-skinned military man who embodied safety to her.  He taught his son and daughter to box, and warned them that they may need to fight someday.  He met his future wife by accident, as Bishop Myokei finally learned from her mother.  Bishop Myokei’s mother is a reserved Japanese woman who is generally uninterested in religion because of her negative experiences with it.

If Bishop Myokei was to write a story of her life, it would be called Between.  She grew up belonging to two cultures and ethnicities, and trying to be a bridge between them.  She faced discrimination over all kinds of things, and as she sought a sense of identity and purpose, she had to reckon with two homes, the politics of personhood, her own anger, and the pervasive experience of excursion and separation.  As a teenager, she became a Buddhist, though she was not actually very religious until later in life.  Bishop Myokei learned that she would have to forge her own path, building on the simple foundation that her parents gave her: the fact that she was a Caine, her father’s daughter, and responsible to live up to that name.

Looking back to her teenage self, Bishop Myokei would have told her to stay the course and stand in her own truth.  This is, after all, how Bishop Myokei developed a strong conviction in the value of faith and the fact that each person is a gift to the world with a purpose and mission.  Her particular path took her deeply into Buddhism, and as she followed her path toward a life with meaning, she found that she had actually made her way to the faith traditions of her Japanese ancestors.  Not only that, but she could tell that her mother, always uninterested in religion, was proud of her.  Somehow, her own difficult journey of self-integration was, while a process of forging her own path, also a kind of returning.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Learn more about The Interreligious Institute at CTS, and connect on Facebook and Instagram.

Podcast Name: Our 7 Neighbors

Episode: Passports and Parents

Welcome to season two of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which will feature stories from the black spiritual diaspora. In partnership with the Muslim Wellness Foundation and Bayan Islamic Graduate School, the InterReligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary presents this new season. The season is hosted by Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad, and today’s episode Dr. Rashad interviews guest Imam Abdul-Malik Merchant as he tells the story of his conversion to Islam and what his passport means to him.

If Imam Merchant were to title the story of his life, it would be something like Introspection. The overarching themes of the story include his parents divorce, moving around with his mother and finally ending up in what he considered a Muslim bubble in northern Virginia. For the first time, he learned what it was like to truly be in with a muslim community. Thus the question of defining himself and his own place in the world came about.

The reason for his parents divorce was his mothers conversion to Islam. He recalls his mothers wisdom in slowly integrating different facets of Islam into the lives of her children. It wasn’t until Abdul-Malik was 16 that he intentionally claimed Islam for his own life. Shortly after the divorce, his father reconnected with his own Christian faith. At the time, their conflicting faiths became a strain on their relationship, though they are now able to discuss faith with each other from a place of love. When Abdul-Malik’s mother converted to Islam, she was the same age he is now. Her own family was agnostic, but she found her own connections to religion and spirituality in different facets of life. Her own explorations led her to fully embracing Islam when her son was 8 years old.

Growing up in two separate, lively Muslim communities, Abdul-Malik has first hand experience on the common characteristics of children born into the faith. With his own son, Abdul-Malik focuses more on manners than on religion. He knows that God guides people and strives to create a healthy environment that isn’t forceful or antagonistic. Because his children were born into the religion, he prefers to be gentle with the religion. Then, he shares the guiding forces of self exploration, faith and honor which dictate his life. Finally, he shares his hope that his children see how beautiful Islam is.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Learn more about The Interreligious Institute at CTS, and connect on Facebook and Instagram.

Podcast Name: Our 7 Neighbors

Episode 5: Spiritual Food

Welcome to season two of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which features stories from the Black spiritual diaspora!  In partnership with the Muslim Wellness Foundation and Bayan Islamic Graduate School, the InterReligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary presents this new season.  The season is produced by Kim Schultz, Coordinator of Creative Initiatives for the Interreligious Institute, and is hosted by Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad.  On today’s episode, Dr. Rashad welcomes guest Najaa Young, a filmmaker, creative, photographer, writer, and so much more.  Najaa can see her identity within the Black spiritual diaspora shaped by her cultural and family heritage, multiple faith paths, and the influence of the divine.  These and other shaping factors come together for her with a particular poignancy in the formative objects she selected: two of the books of Octavia E. Spencer, a black female author of sci-fi/speculative-fi.

Najaa was introduced to Octavia E. Spencer by her aunt, and quickly fell in love.  In the novel of her life, which would be called The Unbelievable Life and Remarkable Stories of a Black Girl, the chapter of finding and being shaped by Spencer’s books would fall early.  Settling in as chapter two or three, the story would be called “The Discovery” or “The Acceptance.”  While other sci-fi shows like Star Trek boasted one black character and mainly Caucasians or aliens otherwise, Spencer’s Afro-futurism reflected Najaa back to herself in new ways and demonstrated for her the importance of black people sharing their stories.  Najaa’s spirituality was shaped as she saw the power of what one thinks of God, and her sense of heritage was altered as her desire to fit in gave way to a settled pride in her African birthright.

Najaa is from a family of educators, learners, pan-Africanists – a family with members like Uncle Donald the Muslim Imam, Najaa’s parents the self-proclaimed revolutionaries, and a number of Yoruba priests.  There’s a lot going on at the family dinner table, and it’s a beautiful scene.  Najaa’s rich spiritual lineage encompasses the Catholic influence of the orphanage where her great grandmother grew up, the traditions of her father’s family, and the way in which the whole family is bound together by some mysterious tether.  It would seem that there was a divine hand in Najaa’s parents finding each other, as their comradeship is deep; Naja sees the same divine hand working fluidly throughout the family, nourishing each one with the spiritual food that will satisfy each unique soul.  Najaa’s heritage is one of embracing many different ways to the divine, and of finding unity around African roots.  In terms of faiths, Naja’s family embraces exploration and expansion and says, “We’re all of it.”  There is room for personal growth, spirituality, and choice, and the family is not threatened; its roots in Pan-Africanism are a grounding and bond.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and find information on today’s guest (along with her selected formative books!).

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Learn more about The Interreligious Institute at CTS, and connect on Facebook and Instagram

Podcast Name: Our 7 Neighbors

Episode: The 2 R Words

Welcome to season two of the Our 7 Neighbors podcast, which features stories from the Black spiritual diaspora!  In partnership with the Muslim Wellness Foundation and Bayan Islamic Graduate School, the Interreligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary presents this new season. The season is produced by Kim Schultz, Coordinator of Creative Initiatives for the Interreligious Institute, and is hosted by Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad.  On today’s episode, Dr. Rashad welcomes guest Sar Ahmadiel ben Yehuda, Minister of Information & National Spokesman for the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem.

Raised in a very literate household and often home as punishment for mischief, Sar gravitated towards books from an early age. His parents offered him the choice in his teen years to accompany his mother to Methodist church or with his father to the Catholic services, and he often chose the latter. A few of the most influential books Sar has read include Invisible Man, Black Rage and The Souls of Black Folk. While Sar’s horizons were expanded through literature during his teenage years, he points out a few of the ways he reacted irrationally with the new knowledge he was acquiring. All the while, he maintained a quest for God by claiming agnosticism. These discoveries occurred during a turbulent time of political uncertainty for everyone in America.

Through one of his professors at the American University, Sar managed to get an internship on Capitol Hill. At the time, he thought becoming a lawyer or politician was a viable way to help his people. However, he soon realized that the politicians he admired weren’t actually doing anything, but rather using their roles as a facade. Nevertheless, he maintained his relationship with God and the Bible during this time. After an eye-opening visit to a friend in Detroit in 1975, he knew it was his calling to be in Israel, the home of his people. Two years after his initial visit, he moved there permanently. Discussing the serendipity of his journey, Sar shares his belief that signs are only for those who can read them. The African Hebrew Israelites in Israel total around 3,000 members today, each of whom had a different path leading them there. Sar knew Israel was his ancestral home and all his research only reaffirms that he made the right choice by living there. After 11 years, he returned to America for the very first time since his move, blessed to find his grandmother still alive. It wasn’t until after her death that Sar discovered she had been Jewish, a fact which moved and astonished him. In closing, Sar shares one message he would like to be said clear, so that it is beautiful.

Links:

Learn more about Our 7 Neighbors and find information on today’s guest.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

Learn more about The Interreligious Institute at CTS, and connect on Facebook and Instagram.

In this inaugural episode, host Kim Schultz introduces three guests that will explore with us being a Muslim in America and the idea of allyship.The first segment of the episode features a story from Lela Ali, an Egyptian Muslim woman and social justice advocate with Muslim Women For. She discusses the experience for Muslims in the U.S. and addresses the fear and anxiety at play, along with the refusal to negotiate the respect due to oneself and one’s community. She calls for an intersectional approach to all injustice, which will allow for the roots of injustice to be addressed.

Next, Kim interviews Catherine Orsborn. Catherine is the director of an organization called Shoulder to Shoulder, which recently sponsored a “Ramadan Roadtrip” to foster understanding and allyship across religious lines. She talks about the experience of the trip, the significance of story in the push for allyship, the forms the work of justice and allyship can take, and the value of jumping into the work in whatever context one finds oneself. After all, issues of injustice impact us all; all of us are touched by violence in our society, and all of us share a concern for religious freedom. Allyship owns the fact that injustice to one impacts all, and strives to enter into the cause of others.

Finally, Kim turns to a conversation with Najeeba Syeed, a Muslim scholar and peacemaker, and Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva, a professor at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Najeeba shares part of what is central to her in the experience of Ramadan: fasting. Fasting connects Jewish and Muslim communities; it is in one sense a distinctly Muslim thing, but at the same time, it is an old, unifying practice. She and Rabbi Mikva discuss the history of Islamaphobia, touching on the racialization of religion and the connections between election cycles and Islamaphobia. The two conclude their conversation with a consideration of what allyship looks like; it includes solidarity, intradependence, a collective sense of dignity, and humility.

Learn more about Lela Ali and Muslim Women For

Learn about Catherine Orsborn and Shoulder to Shoulder

Learn about Najeeba Syeed and Dr. Rachel Mikva

You can find out more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at www.ctschicago.edu

To provide feedback or other comments, you can reach a voicemail account at 773.896.2529.

This episode begins with President and Co-Founder of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures, Okolo Rashid. This is America’s first Islamic History and Culture Museum. One goal of the museum is to manifest the idea of Muslim diversity. She shares what it was like opening the museum in 2001 right before 9/11. Okolo says, “And so I’m very hopeful that the work that we’re doing and the work that other groups and organizations are doing to really bring us together to really understand this common humanity – It’s going to really make a difference…”

Next, Ted Terry, joins host Kim Schultz at Refuge Coffee. Ted Terry is the former Mayor of Clarkston, Georgia, a small town right outside Atlanta. Ted shares that “Clarkston’s known as the most ethnically diverse square mile in America.” With different cultures, languages, and religions all around you, Ted describes the benefits of living somewhere that you can constantly learn and grow from others. He says that his community has mutual respect for one another. The United States as a whole could look to Clarkston as a positive example of living together without tension. Ted explains some impacts on his community with fewer refugees coming to Clarkston. He explains the importance of compassion towards others.

Having listened to both parts of this episode, Susan Thistlethwaite and CTS faculty Dr. Rachel Mikva share their perspectives. Why is acting locally important? Oftentimes, you can see the measure of acting locally. The local issues can help you to see what the global issues are. The two discuss how we can get out of our comfort zones.

Learn more about The Muslim Mix Here.

Learn more about the International Museum of Muslim Cultures Here.

Learn more about Okola Rashid Here.

Learn more about Refuge Coffee Here.

Follow Ted Terry on Twitter Here.

Learn more about Susan B. Thistlethwaite Here and  Dr. Rachel Mikva Here.

To provide feedback or other comments, you can reach a voicemail account at 773.896.2529.

You can find out more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at https://www.ctschicago.edu/

Episode: 3. Immigrant Matters

This episode, hosted by Kim Schultz, features a story from Soummaye Maqsudi; an Interview with Hoda Katebi, Blue Tin Productions; and a conversation with Suzanne Sahloul, Syrian Community Network and Dr. Rachel Mikva, Chicago Theological Seminary.

We first meet Somayye Maqsoudi, an Afghan refugee who has resettled in Georgia, who tells us about her experience as an immigrant.  Soummaye was concerned she would face animosity arising from people’s fear of her in her new home, but she instead met with kindness.  She also had the opportunity to participate in a job training program, which helped to resolve much of the confusion and difficulty in her life as an immigrant, and which helped her to think about her future and develop dreams.

Kim then interviews Hoda Katebi, a Muslim woman and community organizer living in Chicago, who has also described herself as an “angry daughter of immigrants.”  Hoda founded the fashion co-op Blue Tin Productions, which works in ethical fashion.  Kim and Hoda discuss the intersection of fashion ethics with religion, social justice, and immigrant rights.  They also address the systemic changes needed in the US, the validity of anger as a response to injustice, the political nature of fashion, the reality of privilege, and the value of interfaith work for shared good.

The episode concludes with a conversation between Suzanne Sahloul of Syrian Community Network and CTS faculty Dr. Rachel Mikva, in which they discuss the previous segments of the episode.  They talk about the dynamic of immigrant expectations introduced by Soummaye, and about the great work and limitations of resettlement agencies.  They consider Hoda’s challenge about language as a means of rationalizing state violence, and touch on such topics as immigrant value and contributions in American society and the politicization of the hijab.

Learn more about Refuge Coffee in Clarkston, GA.

Learn more about Blue Tin and Hoda Katebi.

Learn more about Suzanne Sahloul and Syrian Community Network.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary.

Please leave any comments on the Our 7 Neighbors voicemail at 773.896.2529

Episode 4: Female While Muslim

This episode begins with Heart Women and Girl’s Director of Education and Training, Sameera Qureshi. Sameera identifies as, “a Muslim who is super passionate about sexual health.” This passion, she believes, goes back to her early life where she grew up in a very religious household without access to sufficient sexual education. As a survivor of sexual assault in her childhood, it wasn’t until she started working in the field that she was able to understand what actually happened to her. She believes her parents truly wanted to help and were well intentioned, but were not provided the resources and tools needed to have conversations about sexual health with her. All of these experiences have informed her current career and motivations. As a Muslim, she believes that it is an obligation to take care of oneself in all ways, including sexually. She hopes to help individuals find a voice and feel whole. 

Next, Founder & Executive Director of Heart Women and Girls, Nadiah Mohajir joins the podcast to discuss her perspective on sexual health and sexual assault in Muslim communities. She founded Heart Women and Girls out of a need for proper secual education and resources in both public health and faith-based communities. Part of her education is helping individuals discover which practices and beliefs are truly part of the faith tradition and which are learned by cultural and societal influences. She often receives pushback from the Islamic community for her work and she addresses textual evidence and history to support the work that Heart Women and Girls is doing. Since sex is a reality in Muslim communities, she emphasizes that there has to be a safe environment to learn and obtain resources. In her opinion, changing harmful narratives comes with time and baby steps. These narratives come along over the course of years and decades and they cannot be unlearned quickly, but rather with patience and care.

Having listened to both parts of this episode, Saadia Yacoob  from Williams College and CTS faculty Dr. Rachel Mikva share their perspectives. They unpack the ways in which the Muslim tradition can affirm and support sexual desire and learing more about sexuality and sexual wellness. The two emphasize the importance of the communal work that Heart is doing.

Learn more about Heart Women and Girls Here.

Learn more about Sameera Qureshi Here.

Learn more about Nadiah Mohajir Here.

Learn more about Saadia Yacoob Here.

Learn more about Dr. Rachel Mikva Here.

To provide feedback or other comments, you can reach a voicemail account at 773.896.2529. You can find out more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at https://www.ctschicago.edu/ 

Episode: 5. Confronting the Hate

The Our 7 Neighbors podcast is brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Each episode shares a story, an interview and a conversation to help us be better neighbors in an interfaith world.  This episode, hosted by Kim Schultz, features a story from Rohyngan refugee Abdul Jabar, an Interview with Madihha Ahussain of Muslim Advocates,  and a conversation between Jihad Turk of the Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School and Dr. Rachel Mikva of the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS).

In the first part of the conversation, Abdul Jabar, or AJ, shares about his experience as a Rohyngan refugee living in Chicago.  Many of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group facing genocide in their native Myanmar, have sought refuge outside of their homeland, and about 1,600 of them reside in Chicago.  AJ tells his own story of being born in Burma, moving to Malaysia for a time, and living in fear in both places.  He has been separated from his mother since he was 12 years old, and still has family living in both Burma and Bangladesh.  In the US, AJ finds that he has greater security and freedom than he had anywhere else; he considers Chicago his home, and helps fellow refugees through the Rohingya Cultural Center.

Next, Kim interviews Madihha Ahussain, Special Counsel for Anti-Muslim Bigotry with Muslim Advocates.  Muslim Advocates is a Washington DC-based organization aiming to halt hate and bigotry in its tracks.  San Francisco-based Madihha’s job involves looking at trends in bigotry and hate, their impact on vulnerable communities, and ways to push back against these trends.  Madihha and Kim address the challenges of 2020, the slow process of seeing results, the need to grapple with whether or not we’re failing and what else we can do, the reality of hate crimes against Muslims, the Muslim ban situation, small- and large-scale ways change can be effected, and the problem of bigotry being accepted in mainstream society.

Finally, Dr. Rachel Mikva interviews Jihad Turk, the founding President of the Bayan Islamic Graduate School, which has recently partnered with CTS in order to offer deep and diverse religious studies.  Rachel and Jihad consider pressures on Muslim people around the world, challenges transitioning to modernity (rooted in such things as colonialism), the problems of racialized tribalism and religious tribalism, Islamophobia in the US and its politics, and the work that individuals and communities can do (and are doing!) to serve humanity together.  Jihad specifically shares about interfaith work being done in Chicago to serve the homeless.

Learn more about the Rohingya Community Center.

Learn more about Muslim Advocates.

Learn more about Bayan Islamic Graduate School.

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

You may also leave any comments on the Our 7 Neighbors voicemail at 773.896.2529.

Episode: 6. At the Intersections

The Our 7 Neighbors podcast is brought to you by the InterReligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Each episode shares a story, an interview, and a conversation to help us be better neighbors in an interfaith world.  This episode is hosted by Kim Schultz, and it includes a story from Amirah Kahera of IMAN Central, an interview with Sana Syed of IMAN Chicago,  and a conversation with author and activist Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur and Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva of the Chicago Theological Seminary.

The first segment of the episode helps listeners get to know Amirah Kahera.  Amirah is a black hijabi woman living in Atlanta, and Kim first asks her about being Muslim in America and being a black Muslim in America.  Amirah talks about the way in which her identity involves interconnected facets, focusing on the way she lives her faith out through her womanhood and blackness.  She also talks about supporting the uplifting and equality of people, including oneself, about this generation’s focus on such work, and about how the first election of a Muslim woman to Congress renewed her motivation and excitement.

Next, Kim interviews Sana Syed, the Senior Development Manager at IMAN in Chicago.  She shares about her own background and the work she does with IMAN, including with the Weekend Warriors project.  Sana also explains the value and need to incorporate the whole person in interfaith, intersectional work, as well as the importance of engaging both the individual and the community.  She addresses IMAN’s focus on the arts and context of Chicago, her own motivation for her work, the rhyme present in human experience, and more.

The final segment of the episode features a conversation with Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur and Dr. Rachel Mikva.  Saleemah is is an Atlanta-based author and activist, as well as the editor of the anthology, Living Islam Out Loud.  She consults on various interfaith projects and volunteer efforts and is a frequent presenter on Islam and women.  She and Dr. Mikva talk about the reality and dynamics of multi-faceted personal identity, as well as the language of intersectionality.  They also consider the black Muslim community, realities of history and experience, institutional and systemic manifestations of intersectionality, the work of IMAN, and Saleemah’s own work.

Learn about Amirah Kahera.

Learn about Sana Syed and IMAN.

Learn about Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur and Living Islam Out Loud.

Learn more about Georgia Muslim Voter Project

Learn about Shoulder to Shoulder and find the 6 themed videos here

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

You may also leave any comments on the Our 7 Neighbors voicemail at 773.896.2529.

Episode: 7. Changing the Narrative

The Our 7 Neighbors podcast is brought to you by the Interreligious Institute at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Each episode shares a story, an interview, and a conversation to help us be better neighbors in an interfaith world.  This episode is hosted by Kim Schultz, and it includes a story from artist Sarvin Haghighi, an interview with Kristian Ramos of Autonomy Strategies,  and a conversation between Zainab Chaudary of Big Canvas PR and Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva of the Chicago Theological Seminary.

The first segment of this final episode of the season introduces listeners to Sarvin Haghighi.  Sarvin is an Iranian-American visual artist based in Chicago.  Sarvin shares about her experience with the Muslim ban, including her being stranded in Australia and the pain of not being able to have her parents visit the US.  When Sarvin was pregnant, she had to move to Australia for several months in order for her parents to be included in the birth of her child.  As much as she loves the US, Sarvin still does not feel that it is home because of the ban.  However, through her experiences, she has leaned into love and made a point to use her art to share love and culture, aiming to bridge the gap between people and initiate dialogue.

Next, Kim interviews Kristian Ramos about best practices in messaging in these turbulent times.  Kristian talks about opposing narratives and the need to have tough conversations to enact change.  While groups such as anti-Muslim groups have a sophisticated online presence that fosters community, storytelling is an effective way to combat lies and bring people together.  Kristian also explains that conservative messaging tends to make “you” the hero of the story, whereas progressive messaging tends to make “you” part of the problem.

Finally, Dr. Rachel Mikva has a conversation with Zainab Chaudary about how to change the narrative surrounding islamophobia, xenophobia, and racism, specifically focusing on the current narrative about Muslims in the US.  Zainab considers relevant data, as well as the problem of calling Muslims to water down their identities.  She challenges listeners working for change by noting the strengths of conservative messaging techniques and the unhelpfulness of progressive “social justice word salad.”  She and Rachel discuss the difference between empathy and compassion, how to create compassion, and ways in which the current moment is shaping the work at hand.

Learn more about Sarvin Haghighi.

Learn more about Kristian Ramos and Autonomy Strategies.

Learn more about Zainab Chaudary and Big Canvas PR

Learn more about the Chicago Theological Seminary at CTSChicago.edu.

You may also leave any comments on the Our 7 Neighbors voicemail at 773.896.2529.

We hope you’ll join us for another season beginning in fall 2020!