logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2
30m 20s

How Colonialism Hijacked the Muslim Worl...

YAQEEN INSTITUTE
About this episode

European colonialism didn’t just redraw borders, it dismantled the Muslim world from the inside out. From abolishing Islamic law to replacing scholars and institutions, the legacy of empire is everywhere—even in our own self-perception.

 In this episode of Focal Point, Imam Tom Facchine unpacks how colonialism restructured the Muslim world, and what Muslims must do to reclaim autonomy today.

Up next
Yesterday
The Real Story of Christopher Columbus | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine
Christopher Columbus has long been praised as a symbol of the American immigrant dream. But how did a mass murderer, a genocider, and a barbarian come to be celebrated in such a manner?Imam Tom dissects the anti-immigrant sentiment that shaped the future of Columbus’s legacy, hig ... Show More
20m 59s
Sep 25
The Hidden Bias in Every History Book | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine
Modern history claims to be neutral and objective, but what if it's blind to the most important part of reality?In this Focal Point episode, Imam Tom Facchine unpacks the Historical Critical Method, exploring its origins, hidden assumptions, and the worldview it quietly enforces. ... Show More
17m 20s
Sep 23
Representation Isn’t Working. Here’s Why. | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine
What if the Muslim representation we’ve been fighting for is actually working against us?In this Focal Point episode, Imam Tom Facchine explores the rise of Muslim representation in media, politics, and pop culture, and why it might be more harmful than helpful. From tokenism to ... Show More
10m 25s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
114: What Does The Reviver of Islam Look Like in the 21st Century? w. Dr. Ermin Sinanovic
Dr. Ermin Sinanovic, Executive Director of the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World at Shenandoah University and a Faculty Associate in Research at Cornell University, explores the concept of Mujaddid (the renewer of Islam) and their relevance in the 21st century. He studie ... Show More
56m 34s
Jul 24
Representation Isn’t Working. Here’s Why. | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine
What if the Muslim representation we’ve been fighting for is actually working against us?In this Focal Point episode, Imam Tom Facchine explores the rise of Muslim representation in media, politics, and pop culture, and why it might be more harmful than helpful. From tokenism to ... Show More
10m 25s
Aug 2024
Why Has the Muslim Ummah Failed Gaza? With Dr Tareq al-Suwaidan
Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslimGaza has been a hurtful experience. This year we saw the passing of a milestone, 100 years without a central leadership. The last Ottoman Caliphate, with all its faults, remained a global force and acted ... Show More
1 h
Mar 2025
Should Muslims Leave the West? - Fatima Barkatulla & Mufti Barkatulla
Shaykha Fatima Barkatulla was joined by her father Mufti Abdul Qadir Barkatulla where they discussed the place of Muslims in the West and how Muslims can be a force for good at a time when the West is collapsing spirtually and morally. 00:00 - Introduction 01:42 - Early Muslim Co ... Show More
1h 3m
Apr 2024
Arsalan Khan, "The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan" (Cornell UP, 2024)
The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan (Cornell University Press, 2024) by Arsalan Khan is an incisive ethnographic study of Pakistan’s Tablighi movement. This piety movement attracts Pakistani Muslim men across class, caste, and social contexts a ... Show More
1h 21m
Dec 2024
Why Europe has a Muslim Problem? With Mehreen Khan
Become a member to ger access to exclusive monthly calls: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/membershipIs the European Union a model for Muslim unity? Can the often fractious and politically weak Muslim world improve its regional strength and international standing by pooling economi ... Show More
1h 1m
May 2025
123: How Horses Collapsed The Muslim Empire w. Saad Yaqoub
Georgetown PHD Candidate ,Saad Yaqoub, reveals the untold history of the rise and fall of Muslim civilization. The answer is: horses? Saad also debunks the myth of a unified and monolithic Islamic empire and the notion of “golden ages” in history. Lastly he gives a blueprint for ... Show More
1h 19m
Jan 2024
How Zionism Indoctrinated the West with Ahmed Paul Keeler
Zionism is the ideology that underpins the barbarism that has been meted out on Palestinians, its latest chapter being the slaughter that is currently happening in Gaza. Yet its ideals remain respectable in establishment circles. In the United States, political leaders fall over ... Show More
1h 10m
May 2018
Al Andalus and Islamic Spain
What is Al Andalus and the history of Islam in the Iberian Peninsula? Join us as we take a closer look at the Muslim expansions into Portugal and Spain. In part one of two of discussing Islam in the Maghreb, we examine the Berber and Moorish influences on art, architecture, cultu ... Show More
1 h
Jun 2018
Maghreb and Islam in Africa
Islam expanded first into Africa before anywhere else. In this episode we trace the history of Islam in Africa. Starting with the hijra to Axum/Aksum by the early Muslim community, we trace the political conquests of the Rashidun and the Umayyad. We examine the importance of trad ... Show More
39m 56s