This week we bring together two commentators and analysts to make sense of the regional and international dimensions to the crisis. Sami Hamdi is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Interest. Ibrahim Moiz is a writer on South Asia with considerable insight into Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The project to reform Islam has certainly become a popular pursuit, especially of western-based think tanks and policy institutes. This week we bring together two scholars, each on either side of the reform debate, Mustafa Akyol and Dr Ovamir Anjum.

This week we have probably one of the most learned authorities on the subject. Professor Joseph Kaminski from the University of Sarajevo has recently published a really important academic work on the subject, titled Islam, Liberalism, and Ontology.

In this episode, we talk to Dr Yakoob Ahmed, an Ottoman specialist on decline and what he calls a collective Muslim amnesia as Ottoman history is erased from our lives.

In this episode, we talk to Ustadh Iyad Hilal from al-Arqam Institute about how Muslims should understand this Masjid and its precincts.

Farhat Amin speaks to Zara Choudhary founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sacred Footsteps. Zara talks about her recent article "Unveiling the Algerienne, French colonial photography", which looks at the central obsession of French colonialism to unveil Muslim women.

This week we discuss the politics of Palestine with the veteran commentator Dr Azam Tamimi. Dr Tamimi is no stranger to the debate, he has thoughtfully and with consistency raised the issues of Palestine at immense personal cost.

Mohamedou Slahi’s period of unlawful detention in Guantanamo Bey has recently been portrayed in the film ‘The Mauritanian’. His resilience and sense of human dignity comes through in the movie. In this episode, we reached out to Mohamedou to find out what gave him the ability to remain strong throughout his ordeal?

This week we speak to Ustadh Nuh Saunders, who has given a lifetime of service to inculcating a love for the book of Allah. His passion for the Qur’an can be seen through his social media interactions, in a recent post he talked of his desire to build a Qur’an school in every black inner-city neighbourhood in America.

Ustadh Iyad Hilal talks through all the evidences on the matter of moon sighting and discusses issues of using calculations, local vs global sighting, what is a witness and following countries such as Saudi Arabia exclusively.

Author, campaigner, ex-Guantanamo prisoner and Director of Outreach at CAGE, Moazzam Begg joins us again this week to discuss ‘The Mauritanian’, a new film that follows the gripping story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi. Slahi was falsely accused of links to Al-Qaeda and without recourse to due process, ended up spending 14 long years in Camp X-Ray.

Dr Asad Zaman is currently serving on the Economic Advisory Committee of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan. He has a unique view of modern economics and argues that capitalism is a house of cards masquerading as objective truths.

In today’s rather poisoned landscape, kings and presidents endow scholarly positions through patronage and western liberal states seek to promote a ‘reformation’ from within. We speak to scholar and academic Dr. Osman Umarji on Maqasid al Shari’ah, understanding the objectives of the Shari'ah.

Author, public speaker and educator Hamza Tzortzis joins us this week to discuss Freedom of Speech from an Islamic perspective. This is a special extended interview, so strap in for a great episode insha’Allah.

Doctor, pharmaceutical scientist and clinical researcher Dr Hisham Abdullah joins us this week to discuss vaccines. How should we think about them? Are they dangerous? Why should we listen to experts in the field when we’ve been lied to before? We go through all these questions and more.

This week we speak to the esteemed author of ‘Studies in Usul Ul Fiqh’, Ustadh Iyad Hilal, of the Al Arqam Institute of California. We discuss vaccines, medicines in general, how a Muslim should arrive at judgments and our responsibility to not fall prey to theories not grounded in reality.

Joining us this week is Almir Colan, director of the Australian Centre for Islamic Finance and host of the ‘Islamic Finance’ podcast. We speak about the issues with the current paradigms of capitalism and socialism and how greater thinking on Islamic economics needs to take place.

Writer and activist Iyad El-Baghdadi join us this week to discuss his valuable experience and analysis on the Arab Spring, as well as his forecast for the years ahead. Iyad’s perspective is critical if we are to learn the lessons from the last decade.

Islamic theologian and scholar Dr. Yasir Qadhi joins us this week to discuss the current crisis in France, how we should defend the honour of the Messenger of Allah (SAW), the position of minority communities and the role of scholarship in politics. Inevitably the thorny subject of scholars and despotic rulers comes up, and Dr. Qadhi gives his frank opinion on the matter.

Lecturer and academic Mohammed Hannini joins us this week to discuss the elections in the United States, the chaotic state of politics in the country, and how American Muslims engage with it all. Brother Mohammed has a B.A. in Islamic History and a Masters in Islamic Studies with a focus in Fiqh.