Dr. Omid Safi

Released Monday, 24th August 2020

Good episode? Give it some love!

Dr. Omid Safi

Monday, 24th August 2020

Good episode? Give it some love!

Rate Episode

Today on Carry the Fire Podcast we are joined by Dr. Omid Safi.

Omid is a Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He specializes in contemporary Islamic thought and classical Islam, including mystical Persian poetry, especially the poet Rumi, which he explores in his book Radical Love and also now in his online course which we’ll talk about a bit later. I spent a lot of time preparing for this one and then barely asked any of the questions I prepared, which always means it was a good conversation.

We discuss the way that great art is always universal but still should not be severed from its roots and context, Omid shares about how he’s benefited from his engagement with other religious traditions, and we talk about why reading nearly 800 year old poetry can be important not only for nourishing our own souls, but also for bringing about justice and making love real in the world today. This was one of my favorite conversations so far and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Let’s dive in.