On Wise Women with Daisy Khan, Daisy speaks with Imam Jamal Rahman, author of Spiritual Gems of Islam, The Fragrance of Faith, Religion Gone Astray, and his latest, The Fragrance of the Quran—about misconceptions of Islam and the role of interfaith dialogue.

Imam Rahman explains Islam as surrendering the ego to become a more complete human being, cleansing the heart, and serving God by serving creation, including humans, animals, and nature. He stresses moving from “knowledge of the tongue” to “knowledge of the heart,” especially through hardship, and highlights listening as essential to peacemaking. Drawing on the Interfaith Amigos’ work with a rabbi and pastor, he argues friendship and sincere, humble engagement reduce polarization. They discuss scripture’s universal vs. context-specific verses, cherry-picking, violence, women’s status, cultural bias, and the need to travel, meet others, and consult the heart.

00:00 Hard Questions

02:02 Heart of Islam Explained

04:21 Waking Up as a Seeker

06:48 Prayer as Service

09:32 Interfaith Friendship

12:56 Listening to Adversaries

14:34 Women and Quranic Justice

19:36 Religion Misused for Violence

23:25 How to Read Scripture Wisely

26:02 Travel and Expand Your Islam

28:27 Islam Answers Life Questions

30:44 Finding God Within

Jamal Rahman's Socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imamjamalrahman/?hl=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jamalrahman1011

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamal.rahman.395

Daisy's Socials:
Website: https://daisykhan.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daisykhan.nyc/?hl=en
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdaisykhan/
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X: https://x.com/DaisyKhan