{"id":94284,"date":"2026-01-20T07:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muslimmatters.org\/?p=94284"},"modified":"2026-01-20T14:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T19:03:11","slug":"podcast-muslim-allyship-conservative-progressive-imam-dawud-walid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muslimmatters.org\/2026\/01\/20\/podcast-muslim-allyship-conservative-progressive-imam-dawud-walid\/","title":{"rendered":"[Podcast] Should Muslims Ally with Conservatives or Progressives? | Imam Dawud Walid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/9db07b0c-afd8-4ce9-b3d2-d8ce55dcf328?dark=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Muslims swept off the street by ICE, Somalis in Minnesota targeted by racism from the President of America, Palestinian activists illegally detained: post-Trump America is a hellish dystopia&#8230; yet one that many Muslims voted for.<\/p>\n<p>In this episode of the MuslimMatters Podcast, Zainab bint Younus speaks to Imam Dawud Walid about the political and cultural pendulum swinging to the right after the leftist allyship of the 2010s, and the phenomenon of Muslims voting for Trump in the last election. She asks him about his book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.ihrc.org\/collections\/dawud-walid\/products\/towards-sacred-activism-dawud-walid-1\">Towards Sacred Activism&#8221;<\/a> and what priorities Muslims need to keep in mind before choosing to engage with or seek allyship with political and cultural groups in the West. Are Muslims meant to be right-wing or left-wing? Tune into this episode for a deep dive into this contentious discussion.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Imam Dawud Walid<\/strong> is currently the Executive Director of CAIR-Michigan, member of the Imams Council of Michigan, and advisory board member of Muslim Endorsement Council (MEC) which is a national endorsement and support organization for Islamic chaplaincy. Imam Dawud has ijazaat in various disciplines of the Islamic sciences, has served an imam for many years, in addition to <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.ihrc.org\/collections\/dawud-walid\">writing several books,<\/a> authoring essays, and speaking at multiple institutions around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Transcript:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Note: This transcript was generated and organized by AI, with potential for error. If you notice any errors, please let us know in the comments.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welcome to the Muslim Matters Podcast. Today\u2019s guest is Imam Dawud Walid. Imam Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of CAIR Michigan, a member of the Imams Council of Michigan, and an advisory board member of the Muslim Endorsement Council, which is a national endorsement and support organization for Islamic chaplaincy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imam Dawud has ij\u0101z\u0101t in various disciplines of Islamic sciences, has served as an imam for many years, and has also written multiple books, authored many essays, and spoken at institutions around the world. Imam Dawud, welcome to the podcast. I\u2019m really excited for this episode.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I recently read your book <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Towards Sacred Activism<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which was originally published in 2018 and has come out again in a second edition fairly recently. This book came out at a unique time in Western Muslim history. The 2010s were characterized by a surge in Muslims\u2014whether laypeople or religious leaders\u2014engaging in social justice activism at local and national levels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Could you summarize some of the main points of your book for our audience today?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First of all, thank you for having me on, and thank you to MuslimMatters for hosting this important conversation. Many beneficial articles and podcasts have been produced by MuslimMatters over the years, and may Allah bless and preserve this noble work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With regard to the reasoning behind writing <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Towards Sacred Activism<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it goes back quite a ways\u2014about fifteen or sixteen years ago\u2014when I was part of a fellowship at a major university on the West Coast of the United States. In that fellowship, there were Muslims from various backgrounds, and what I noticed was the rise of what people call \u201cMuslimness\u201d or \u201cMuslim identity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People were getting involved in activism and community organizing, but instead of it being Qur\u2019an- and Sunnah-centric\u2014where being Muslim is a state of being\u2014I began to see people treating \u201cMuslim\u201d as a quasi-ethnic identity that leaned toward progressive or far-left sensibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we look back at the year 2010, which was less than a decade after the tragedy of 9\/11, the Republican Party was very overtly hostile to Muslims\u2014not just in public policy, but in rhetoric. Then we had the unjust invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other domestic policies like the Patriot Act.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many Muslims felt that, at least in the United States, their friends were with the party of the donkey. That produced a set of sensibilities that I viewed as not being in line with the Qur\u2019an and the Sunnah. I truly believe that there can be no success for us in the dunya\u2014much less in the \u0101khirah\u2014if we go outside the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u1e25ud\u016bd<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the boundaries set by the Sacred Law of Allah, as taught to us and directed to us by al-\u1e24ab\u012bb al-Mu\u1e63\u1e6daf\u0101 Mu\u1e25ammad \ufdfa.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is the origin of the book.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I wanted to do in the book\u2014and what I attempt to do\u2014starting with asking my mentor, Imam Zaid Shakir (\u1e25afi\u1e93ahu All\u0101h ta\u02bf\u0101l\u0101), to write the foreword, was to reset Muslims\u2019 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">heartset<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014I use the word heartset instead of mindset\u2014around what our priorities are.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As much as we want to see justice, ultimate and perfect justice exists only in the \u0101khirah. But we still do our best to try to create a better reality for all human beings, and especially for Muslims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The book begins by defining what justice is according to Islamic theology and the Sacred Law\u2014not simply adopting a Western-only, leftist-only, or neo-Marxist definition of justice. It then goes through the different aspects of enjoining good and forbidding evil\u2014both as a communal obligation and, at times, an individual obligation\u2014what those circumstances are, and what the consequences are for abandoning enjoining good and forbidding evil in the societies we live in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I also discuss the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adab<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014the etiquettes\u2014of enjoining good and forbidding evil, because we do not believe that the ends justify the means. The objective has to be sacred, and the means have to be sacred as well, if we want any activism or community organizing to be pleasing to Allah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I then discuss the differences between coalitions and alliances, based on the Qur\u2019anic definition of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">awliy\u0101\u2019<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014how Allah describes who are true allies and who are not, according to the Qur\u2019an.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After that, I touched on what was, at the time, one of the most prominent <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shubuh\u0101t<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Muslims were dealing with in activist spaces: engagement with what is commonly called the alphabet agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I addressed that, and then I ended the book with the importance of spiritual self-care.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is the overall framework of the book. It was written as a primer, but I also designed workshops and classes around it. Each chapter corresponds to a class session where I go into more detail, answer questions, and receive feedback from participants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve taught this workshop in Canada\u2014in Mississauga at SeekersGuidance when the book first came out\u2014in the UK, here in the United States, in West Africa, and online in South Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s great to know. I love workshops and think they\u2019re an incredibly underrated form of community education that we sorely need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I really appreciated about the book is that you don\u2019t dismiss the entire concept of social justice\u2014which we unfortunately saw as a reaction to what was happening at the time\u2014but instead you keep the focus on the fact that seeking justice is part of the d\u012bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a personal obligation for all of us to fight oppression and uphold justice\u2014divine justice in particular, as you specified. I also appreciated how clearly you distinguished between allyship and joining a coalition for a specific cause.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You emphasize that when the goals of a cause align with Islamic ethics, it is something we should consider supporting. You give the example of the Prophet \ufdfa speaking about <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u1e24ilf al-Fu\u1e0d\u016bl<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the pact to uphold justice during the time of J\u0101hiliyyah. After Islam, the Prophet \ufdfa said that if he were invited to join it again, he would.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is significant because it involved the Quraysh\u2014non-believers and pagans\u2014yet the higher principles of the pact aligned with the values of the d\u012bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I\u2019d like to explore further is something you pointed out regarding the expectation of reciprocal allyship. At the time, Muslims were often expected to support a wide range of causes in return for solidarity against Islamophobia or support for Palestine. This included indigenous rights, Black Lives Matter, feminism, and the LGBTQ movement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That last issue, in particular, generated significant concern among Muslims\u2014especially the distinction between advocating for civil rights versus normalizing what is considered a major sin in the d\u012bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your book is the only work I\u2019ve seen that systematically lays out principles for Muslim activism while also explicitly addressing concerns around the LGBTQ movement. You discuss coalitions versus alliances, centering faith as a higher moral framework, and maintaining a clear religious identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You also provide practical advice on navigating real-life situations where activist Muslims interact with LGBTQ-aligned individuals\u2014on campus, at protests, and elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What advice from the book do you think still holds true today?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a touchy subject then, and it remains a touchy subject now. This is where moral courage comes in, as well as preserving our <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u02bfizzah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014our dignity and honor\u2014through financial independence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After that chapter was published, I was disinvited from speaking at some universities. The same thing happened to Dr. Yasir Qadhi\u2014not because of homophobic comments, but because he urged caution on this issue. In one instance, Muslims aligned with leftist movements protested my presence and got me canceled.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In my own work, there was also grant funding that was cut off\u2014one grant over two years\u2014because of a stance we took in Michigan regarding controversial books being made available to children in Dearborn public schools. These books related to the alphabet agenda, and the issue made national news.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I mention these examples because moral courage and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u02bfizzah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are closely tied to financial independence. I\u2019ve said for years: <\/span><b>who funds you, runs you<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the major problems in our community\u2014especially in activist and political organizing spaces\u2014is that many organizations are almost entirely funded by left-leaning foundations. This either incentivizes activists to promote those foundations\u2019 views, or it silences them from taking Islamically principled positions out of fear of losing funding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is why I believe Muslims must investigate who funds the activists and organizations they support. This issue has been neglected for far too long.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here in Michigan, we do not take money from left-leaning or right-leaning foundations. Independence matters. The Prophet \ufdfa taught that the upper hand\u2014the one that gives\u2014is better than the lower hand that begs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid (continued):<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We want to maintain our independence and not feel beholden to individuals or institutions that expect us to promote positions that contradict our d\u012bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And it\u2019s not just one issue alone. It\u2019s not only the alphabet agenda. It\u2019s an entire package of positions that come together. For example, the claim that \u201csex work is real work,\u201d which pushes for the decriminalization of prostitution. The current mayor of New York, who is Muslim, supports decriminalization of prostitution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also about having no restrictions on abortion in the second or third trimester without addressing the primary reasons abortions occur. The overwhelming majority of abortions in America are not due to rape or incest; they are due to zin\u0101. That reality is rarely addressed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then there is the push to decriminalize drugs. So it\u2019s not just one issue\u2014it\u2019s a whole bundle. What happens is that Muslims align with people who may be pro-Palestine, but those same activists then pressure Muslims to advance causes that Allah and His Messenger \ufdfa have explicitly cursed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no success in advancing anything that Allah and His Messenger \ufdfa have cursed. Absolutely none.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absolutely. I think another major issue at the time\u2014and one that still persists\u2014is that there was very little room for nuance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On one extreme, there were people who reacted to these very real problems by rejecting <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">all<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> social justice discourse entirely. Issues like housing insecurity, food insecurity, indigenous rights, or opposition to pipelines running through indigenous lands\u2014causes that clearly align with Islamic ethics\u2014were dismissed simply because they were perceived as \u201cleftist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other extreme, the far left was saying that if you didn\u2019t support <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">every<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> cause they promoted, you were no better than a far-right conservative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And then, unfortunately, you had Muslims who allied with far-right conservatives who rejected everything outright and labeled it socialism or corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It became nearly impossible to have principled conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, I would argue that the pendulum has swung in the other direction. Especially after the Trump era\u2014both his first election and the second\u2014we are seeing more religious Muslims, including religious leaders, actively seeking alliance with right-wing movements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially, this was framed as a response to pro-LGBTQ legislation, books in schools, Pride Month, and similar developments. But at the same time, these same right-wing movements have been responsible for increased Islamophobia and the direct targeting of Muslims\u2014especially post\u2013October 7 with regard to Palestine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before that, we saw immigration bans, Muslim bans under Trump, and more. Figures like Charlie Kirk and others have publicly made blasphemous and vile statements about Rasulullah \ufdfa\u2014classic Orientalist Islamophobia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet we see Muslims making excuses for them, claiming it is necessary for the \u201cgreater good,\u201d though that greater good is often undefined.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The argument usually defaults to \u201cthe left is worse,\u201d even though some left-aligned causes are indeed incompatible with Islam, while others are not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Islam is not right-wing or left-wing. Muslims are struggling to grasp that complexity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right now, Muslims are being targeted by ICE. We are seeing Somali communities terrorized by Trump\u2019s rhetoric. Muslims are victims of this right-wing movement not just individually, but systematically.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seems incredibly short-sighted\u2014if not na\u00efve\u2014to believe that people who openly speak about wanting Muslims imprisoned or dead somehow share our values.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what are your thoughts on this trend of Muslim leaders seeking alliance with the right? And can you also address the co-opting of the word \u201cconservative\u201d? Many Muslims assume that being religiously conservative translates to American political conservatism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I still believe, based on my work on the ground, that the majority of Muslims in America who are politically engaged still incline toward the left or toward progressives. However, there has been a noticeable rise in Muslims leaning toward the right over the past few years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I even have friends who hold this position\u2014one of them is a scholar\u2014who believes we should ally with the right because the left is morally corrupt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the root of this is a crisis of leadership and authority in our community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For far too long, there has been insufficient collaboration between scholars and activists. People are talking <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> each other instead of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> each other. There is a lack of coordination, and instead, we see fragmentation. It feels like a soft cold war within the American Muslim community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This became very visible during the last election. I live in Michigan, and the cities of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights\u2014both majority Muslim\u2014voted for Trump. The mayor of Hamtramck, a Yemeni American Muslim, endorsed Trump, as did one of the well-known shuy\u016bkh there, who is also Yemeni American.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some people continue to excuse far-right figures who mock Rasulullah \ufdfa. But we are prohibited from allying with anyone who mocks the Prophet \ufdfa. We would never ally with someone who mocked our parents\u2014yet Rasulullah \ufdfa is more beloved to us than our parents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Something is fundamentally wrong with how we approach activism and organizing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are not developing <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fiqh al-awlawiyy\u0101t<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014a jurisprudence of priorities\u2014based on the objectives of the Sacred Law. Instead, politics has become tribal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regarding conservatism: Allah describes this ummah as a <\/span><b>middle community<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Prophet \ufdfa taught that the best of matters are those in the middle. Imam al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b, in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">M\u012bz\u0101n al-\u02bfAmal<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, explains moderation as avoiding both excess and neglect with respect to the Sacred Law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are not meant to be aligned with either the left or the right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Muslims have been trapped in a political duopoly, believing that if we reject the donkey, we must embrace the elephant. But even symbolically, both animals are criticized in the Qur\u2019an.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I remember reading S\u016brat al-Jumu\u02bfah during Ramadan and reflecting on how donkeys are used as a metaphor for people who carry knowledge without understanding. Likewise, the Companions of the Elephant are condemned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We don\u2019t need to label ourselves liberals or conservatives. Those labels belong to a political order that does not define us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What advice would you give to Muslims who believe that, no matter the issue, it is always safer or better to side with the right instead of the left?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve seen Muslims align themselves with evangelical right-wing movements on issues like abortion, for example. Some say that because the left advocates abortion at any stage, Muslims should take the position that life begins at conception and reject even the commonly cited Islamic fiqh position of 120 days, except in extreme cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They argue that the right-wing position is closer to the d\u012bn, especially since the right \u201cbelieves in God.\u201d Personally, I find this ironic because the Christian right\u2019s conception of God is very different from ours, and involves shirk. Meanwhile, the far left often rejects belief in Allah entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also a blind spot regarding hypocrisy. Many who promote \u201cfamily values\u201d on the right are later exposed as pedophiles, rapists, or sexual predators. There are repeated scandals involving far-right figures engaging secretly in homosexual behavior, while publicly condemning it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet Muslims often overlook this, while being hypercritical of the left.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I believe we must be extremely cautious with both sides. We are not meant to be co-opted. We are meant to be our own ummah\u2014moral leaders in society, not followers of false promises from either group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What advice do you have for Muslims who feel that, regardless of the situation, siding with the right is always the correct choice?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You raised the issue of abortion, so I want to address that directly before returning to broader principles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the M\u0101lik\u012b school, once conception occurs, abortion is generally prohibited\u2014this position is actually closer to the Catholic stance. However, all fuqah\u0101\u02be agree that if a woman\u2019s life is in danger, abortion is permitted because the life of the living takes precedence over the unborn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is legitimate difference of opinion within our tradition. I studied the M\u0101lik\u012b school, and I do not believe Muslims must abandon their jurisprudential positions simply to conform to a majority opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Politics, however, is a dirty game. When we vote or support candidates, much of this falls under <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u1e93ann\u012b<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> matters\u2014speculative judgments. We are often choosing what we perceive to be the lesser of two evils.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a legal principle that the truly intelligent person is not the one who can distinguish between clear good and clear evil, but the one who can distinguish between two goods and choose the better, or between two harms and avoid the greater.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, participation in society requires choosing the lesser of two harms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is possible to support a candidate who holds problematic positions while remaining clear about our priorities and the objectives of the Sacred Law. For example, someone might vote for a Republican in a local election due to concerns about public safety, school curricula, or fiscal responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In another race\u2014state or federal\u2014they might vote for a Democrat or a progressive, or even choose not to vote if they see no clear lesser evil.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This requires clarity on principles and commitment to principles over parties and personalities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We also must allow space for disagreement. Many political matters are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ijtih\u0101d\u012b<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Disagreement should be brotherly and sisterly\u2014not accusatory. Unfortunately, in the last election, Muslims were labeling one another as sellouts or Uncle Toms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take Palestine as an example. We all agree the genocide is wrong. It is permissible to disagree about the means of addressing it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many people claimed it was an all-or-nothing issue. Yet both major parties support the Zionist regime at their core. Even figures like Bernie Sanders\u2014whom some Arab Americans referred to as \u201cAmal Bernie,\u201d going so far as to make du\u02bf\u0101\u02be for him\u2014are atheists. That kind of behavior reflects a loss of principle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We become so absorbed in labels that we forget who we are.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes the safest choice may be to vote only in local elections, or not vote in a particular race at all if harms appear equal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this requires nuance, discussion, and mercy among ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The political context in the U.S. is especially difficult. I\u2019m Canadian, so my perspective is different, but American politics tends to dominate global discourse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I want to highlight something you said earlier about humility\u2014being willing to admit when we are wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Humility is critical. That is what <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tawbah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ll give a personal example. I was one of the imams who supported abandoning Biden and then abandoning Harris, because I believed the Democratic Party could not take the Muslim vote for granted. I believed we had survived Trump\u2019s first term and could survive another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I voted for a third-party candidate and encouraged others privately to do the same\u2014not from the minbar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In retrospect, Trump is far worse now than in his first term. He is doing greater harm to society and to Muslims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am stating clearly on this MuslimMatters podcast: <\/span><b>I made an error in that calculation.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The level of harm we are seeing now\u2014ICE shootings, terrorizing Somali communities, increased support for the Zionist regime, talk of annexing Canada, occupying Greenland, supporting proxy wars like Yemen\u2014this is worse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I acknowledge that Trump is a greater harm than Kamala Harris. That was my misjudgment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I appreciate your honesty. I hope others reflect similarly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be clear, I did not vote for Trump either. I did not join pro-Trump Muslims in Hamtramck or Dearborn Heights, nor did I meet Trump over shawarma.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My concern is the spiritual and intellectual health of Muslims\u2014being repeatedly courted and co-opted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What would you say are the top principles Muslims should keep in mind, both politically and beyond politics, when engaging in social change for the sake of Allah?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I would quote the former Speaker of the House, the late Tip O\u2019Neill, who said that all politics is local.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is okay for us to have disagreements about local priorities. Unity does not mean uniformity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">America is a very large country. I live in southeastern Michigan, where there are about 300,000 Muslims, and it is one of the densest Muslim populations per capita in the United States. The political environment here is very different from, for example, Dallas\u2013Fort Worth, where there is also a large Muslim population and where Dr. Yasir Qadhi and Dr. Omar Suleiman are based.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Different states have different governors, different laws, and different pressures. In Michigan, for example, there have been attempts to label CAIR and even the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations\u2014something that the governor does not have the authority to do under state law, and which is currently being challenged in court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why it is essential for the intelligentsia of the community\u2014those learned in Islamic law, those involved in activism and politics, attorneys, immigrants, and those born and raised here\u2014to engage in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sh\u016br\u0101<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, meaningful consultation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first principle must be the <\/span><b>maq\u0101\u1e63id al-shar\u012b\u02bfah<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the objectives of the Sacred Law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the top of those objectives is the preservation of d\u012bn. After that comes preservation of life, preservation of intellect (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u02bfaql<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), preservation of wealth, and preservation of lineage (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nasl<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Muslims living in the West, our priority must be safeguarding our ability to transmit the d\u012bn to future generations and to practice and propagate Islam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Pew Research data from 2019, one out of every four people born into a Muslim family in America leaves Islam by adulthood. I believe the number is now closer to one in three.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That does not even include those who identify as \u201ccultural Muslims\u201d while rejecting matters that are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ma\u02bfl\u016bm min al-d\u012bn bi-l-\u1e0dar\u016brah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014core beliefs whose rejection constitutes kufr.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an existential crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our funding priorities, institutional building, and political calculations should be shaped by this reality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We must also understand levels of necessity within the Sacred Law:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u1e0car\u016br\u012b<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> matters \u2014 absolute necessities (life and death)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u1e24\u0101j\u012b<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> matters \u2014 strong needs that prevent hardship<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ta\u1e25s\u012bn\u012b<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> matters \u2014 matters that beautify life but are not essential<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using this framework from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">u\u1e63\u016bl al-fiqh<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we should assess issues locally, nationally, and globally\u2014not emotionally or reactively, but principled.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, many of our decisions today are driven by emotion, social media pressure, or whoever has the loudest microphone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we do not mature as a community and return to principled thinking grounded in the d\u012bn, we will regress\u2014regardless of how many doctors, engineers, or entrepreneurs we produce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Degrees will not save us if our spiritual foundations collapse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, this moment presents an opportunity. Americans have lost trust in nearly all institutions\u2014the media, political parties, churches, corporations, even their jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is one of the greatest opportunities for da\u02bfwah that I have seen in my lifetime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But we must see ourselves as a people of mission\u2014not as defensive minorities hiding under someone else\u2019s umbrella, nor as people who retreat from society entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If even 25% of Muslims in America could unite around shared principles\u2014without requiring total agreement\u2014we could have significant impact. The same applies to Canada, the UK, and Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We often underestimate how much guidance we already have in our own history\u2014especially the s\u012brah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allah took a small, oppressed group and transformed them into a community that ruled vast lands with justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We also have countless historical examples of Muslim movements that emerged from severe oppression yet succeeded by holding firmly to faith, engaging difficult conversations, and committing to community building.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turning back to our history is essential if we want to apply Islam meaningfully in the West.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What would be your final advice for Muslims who want to avoid being co-opted while still engaging in social and political change for the sake of Allah?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Imam Dawud Walid:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My advice has two interconnected parts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First: <\/span><b>truth is unified<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but there is a hierarchy of knowledge. The highest form of knowledge comes from the Qur\u2019an and the authentic, widely transmitted Sunnah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding objective truth requires literacy in Islamic law and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">u\u1e63\u016bl al-fiqh<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Activism and community organizing should not be divorced from this knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This learning cannot be limited to a small scholarly class. Anyone involved in activism must have a baseline grounding in Islamic legal methodology.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets. Activists must sit at their feet\u2014not cherry-pick \u0101y\u0101t or a\u1e25\u0101d\u012bth to justify left- or right-wing political platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second: spiritual purification (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tazkiyat al-nafs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is essential.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Sherman Abdul-Hakim Jackson often says, \u201cThe heart work is the hard work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We cannot build unity while egos run unchecked. Much of our division is not intellectual\u2014it is spiritual.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all agree that genocide in Palestine is wrong, that oppression of the Rohingya is wrong, that deportations are wrong. But diseased hearts prevent cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a problem of the heart, not the head.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">History shows us the solution. During the First Crusade, Jerusalem fell and 70,000 Muslims were slaughtered within weeks. Muslims could not pray in al-Masjid al-Aq\u1e63\u0101 for 98 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet Jerusalem was eventually reclaimed by \u1e62al\u0101\u1e25 al-D\u012bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through revival, education in the d\u012bn, and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tazkiyah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is said that half of \u1e62al\u0101\u1e25 al-D\u012bn\u2019s army were students of Shaykh \u02bfAbd al-Q\u0101dir al-J\u012bl\u0101n\u012b, and the other half were influenced by the teachings of Im\u0101m al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arabs, Persians, Africans followed a Kurdish leader because hearts were purified and united.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is the work we must prioritize.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hard work is the hard work. I\u2019ve spoken about this often, especially since the genocide in Gaza began. During the First Crusade, Jerusalem was taken, and according to Ibn al-Ath\u012br, 70,000 people were killed within five weeks. That number is comparable to what we\u2019ve seen in the first weeks of this most recent genocide\u2014except the Crusaders didn\u2019t have bombs, helicopters, white phosphorus, or cluster munitions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Muslims were barred from praying in al-Masjid al-Aq\u1e63\u0101 for 98 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet those who were slaughtered and humiliated eventually reclaimed Jerusalem. How? Through revival, through education in the sciences of the d\u012bn, and especially through <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tazkiyat al-nafs<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is reported that roughly half of \u1e62al\u0101\u1e25 al-D\u012bn\u2019s army came from the educational legacy of Shaykh \u02bfAbd al-Q\u0101dir al-J\u012bl\u0101n\u012b al-\u1e24anbal\u012b (ra\u1e25imahu All\u0101h), and the other half from the intellectual and spiritual influence of Ab\u016b \u1e24\u0101mid al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You had Arabs, Persians, and Africans united under a Kurdish leader. They did not say, \u201cWe must be led only by someone from our ethnicity.\u201d Their hearts were purified, and they followed righteousness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the priority for us today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May Allah purify our hearts, grant us gratitude, guide us as an ummah, and unite us as brothers and sisters in faith.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Zainab bint Younus:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u0100m\u012bn. JazakAllahu khayran for your advice, your reflections, and for sharing your experience and wisdom with us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I truly appreciate this conversation and the time you took to engage with these difficult but necessary topics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Muslims in the West\u2014and indeed Muslims everywhere\u2014it is critical that we reflect on the role each of us plays in the revival of the ummah. Our priorities cannot be selfish, nor can they be partisan in the sense of allowing ourselves to be co-opted by political groups for their own agendas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We must consistently return to what Allah asks of us in every aspect of our lives\u2014beginning with our families, especially given the alarming number of Muslim children who drift away from the d\u012bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We ask Allah to guide us all back to Islam and to strengthen us upon it, so that we may become an ummah of positive change\u2014bringing others to Islam not only through ritual observance, but through embodying the holistic ethos of the d\u012bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That means improving society as a whole: eradicating poverty, addressing food insecurity, supporting struggling families, defending the rights of immigrants and refugees, and addressing the social ills that affect Muslims and non-Muslims alike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are not meant to live in silos, focused only on ourselves. Islam obligates us to care for our neighbors and the broader society in which we live.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you again, Imam Dawud, for joining us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To our listeners: I strongly recommend picking up <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Towards Sacred Activism<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It provides a valuable framework for navigating these issues\u2014whether you\u2019re reading the news, engaging with peers on campus, participating in masjid discussions, or having difficult conversations with family members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out MuslimMatters daily at <\/span><b>muslimmatters.org<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you for listening, and we\u2019ll see you next time, in sh\u0101\u02be All\u0101h.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>As-sal\u0101mu \u02bfalaykum wa ra\u1e25matull\u0101hi wa barak\u0101tuh.<\/b><\/p>\n<h4>Related:<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"QZvXDRvES6\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/muslimmatters.org\/2020\/06\/30\/podcast-priorities-protest-muslim-activism-dawud-walid-omar-suleiman\/\">Podcast: Priorities and Protest | On Muslim Activism with Shaykhs Dawud Walid and Omar Suleiman<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Podcast: Priorities and Protest | On Muslim Activism with Shaykhs Dawud Walid and Omar Suleiman&#8221; &#8212; MuslimMatters.org\" src=\"https:\/\/muslimmatters.org\/2020\/06\/30\/podcast-priorities-protest-muslim-activism-dawud-walid-omar-suleiman\/embed\/#?secret=3Ir18mgF2T#?secret=QZvXDRvES6\" data-secret=\"QZvXDRvES6\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"EkMka9uEZu\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/muslimmatters.org\/2024\/05\/30\/holding-onto-prophetic-etiquettes-when-protesting-encouragement-and-advice-for-muslim-human-rights-advocates\/\">Holding Onto Prophetic Etiquettes When Protesting: Encouragement And Advice For Muslim Human Rights Advocates<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Holding Onto Prophetic Etiquettes When Protesting: Encouragement And Advice For Muslim Human Rights Advocates&#8221; &#8212; MuslimMatters.org\" src=\"https:\/\/muslimmatters.org\/2024\/05\/30\/holding-onto-prophetic-etiquettes-when-protesting-encouragement-and-advice-for-muslim-human-rights-advocates\/embed\/#?secret=fS8lZroZaA#?secret=EkMka9uEZu\" data-secret=\"EkMka9uEZu\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Muslims swept off the street by ICE, Somalis in Minnesota targeted by racism from the President of America, Palestinian activists illegally detained: post-Trump America is a hellish dystopia&#8230; yet one that many Muslims voted for. In this episode of the MuslimMatters Podcast, Zainab bint Younus speaks to Imam Dawud Walid about the political and cultural [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":94334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10162779835525413_128059875822":"","twitter_22332114_22332114":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[{"account":"facebook_10162779835525413_128059875822","service":"facebook","timestamp":1768910478,"status":"success"},{"account":"twitter_22332114_22332114","service":"twitter","timestamp":1768910478,"status":"error"}],"rop_publish_now_status":"done","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_payment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_user_ghostwriter":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6040,6043,6050,8992,115,7657,6054],"tags":[1373,8302,8338,786,10318,10777,4158,11674,157,7239,632,4729,128],"coauthors":[4538],"class_list":["post-94284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","category-society","category-audio","category-featured","category-politics","category-social-justice","category-united-states","tag-activism","tag-alliances","tag-allies","tag-audio-2","tag-culture-wars","tag-current-events","tag-featured","tag-left-wing","tag-podcast","tag-politics","tag-right-wing","tag-social-justice","tag-society-3"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>[Podcast] Should Muslims Ally with Conservatives or Progressives? 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