Imam Dawud Walid

The Journey

Assalamu alaykum,

As I begin my own spiritual journey, I want to hear from those who have taken this path before me. This podcast focuses on them and listening to their stories — uninterrupted. My name is Hebah Masood and I invite you to reflect on the trajectories of their lives, and the guidance and blessings provided by Allah swt along that journey.

Imam Dawud Walid grew up south of the Mason-Dixon line in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was commonplace to see Confederate flags and signs like “The South will rise again.” Like others of his generation, listening to hip hop, watching Spike Lee’s “X,” and the protests following the brutal beating of Rodney King and murder of Amadou Diallo played a huge role. They awakened in him not only an interest in social justice but also Islam. He wanted to learn Classical Arabic to better understand the Quran. At that time, the best place to learn Arabic in the U.S. was in Detroit, Michigan, and so he moved to the Midwest.

His spiritual journey would take him from learning in Detroit to eventually traveling to Ghana, Mali and Senegal. Today, Dawud Walid heads Cair-Michigan. He has authored four books. Two titled “Centering Black Narratives,” a third titled "Towards Sacred Activism," and a fourth, coming out this February InshaAllah titled “Blackness in Islam.”

In this episode, he sheds light on the importance of learning Black Muslim history and the relationship of tasawwuf with sacred activism and anti-racism work within our communities.

His story intersects with many familiar names: Shaykh Ali Suleiman Ali, Imam Salim Abdulrahman, Dr. Sherman Jackson, Shaykh Abdullah Bin Hamid Ali, Shaykh AbdulKarim Yahya, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Sidi Ahmad Mubarak, Chris Abdur-Rahman Blauvelt.

***Pre-order his new book "Blackness in Islam" here!***

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