Living with Intention Series
Join us for a four-part, biweekly guest-speaker & dinner series exploring how Islam is lived through ethical practice, service, and principled engagement.
Rather than simply asking: “what is permissible?,” this series asks: what is good, wise, and ethically sound in our time and place? It invites reflection on key questions, such as: what is demanded of us today, and how should we respond to urgent, often polarizing, questions and calls to action?
Session 4 | The Good Work: On Moral Courage, Clarity, and Consistency
Saturday, November 15, 4PM-6PM (dinner reception to follow)
What does it mean to do good work—with moral courage, clarity, and consistency? This closing session brings together Dr. Eman Abdelhadi and Ahmed Rehab to explore how to meet the demands of existing systems with integrity, and when necessary, ethical resistance.
The discussion considers how Islamic virtues, like courage in action, clarity in purpose, and consistency in principle, can guide ethical engagement in professional life and in the struggle against injustice. Together, the speakers will reflect on how faith can animate a commitment to justice and accountability, both within institutions and in public life.
Join us as we examine how we can sustain integrity in the workplace, uphold moral courage in civic spaces, and transform ethical conviction into meaningful, principled action.
Guest Speakers:
Eman Abdelhadi is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago. Her scholarship and public engagement address how Muslim Americans navigate faith, gender, and protest in the public sphere. In recent work and activism, she has spoken widely on the ethics of resistance, solidarity, and organizing around Palestine, offering a model for principled civic engagement rooted in justice.
Ahmed Rehab is Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago and National Strategic Communications Director for CAIR. A leading advocate for civil rights and social equity, he works at the intersection of faith, policy, and media to defend civil liberties and promote ethical leadership. His experience in organizing, strategic communication, and community empowerment offers a grounded perspective on how Muslims can uphold integrity and moral clarity in both professional and activist spaces.
RSVP FORM
Free and open to all. RSVP required; space is limited
Location: 5659 S Woodlawn Avenue (private residence)
Previous Sessions
Session 1: Standing Up When the World is Falling Down: Facing Crises with Integrity
Saturday, October 4, 4PM-6PM (dinner reception to follow)
The devastation we witness on our screens—foremost in Gaza—can leave us shaken, grieving, and asking not only what can we do, but also how can we be in the face of such suffering?
Join us for a discussion with Dr. H.A. Hellyer, a prolific voice on contemporary crises in both media and policy circles. Dr. Hellyer draws on his extensive experience across leading academic institutions (Cambridge, Harvard) and policy organizations (Brookings, Carnegie) to explore how moral and spiritual frameworks within Islam can guide our inner orientation to conflict, injustice, and human suffering. Participants will engage with the ways Islamic teachings offer grounding, clarity, and courage for navigating both individual and collective responsibilities in moments of moral urgency.
Dr. H.A. Hellyer is a distinguished expert in geopolitics in the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia, with two decades of experience at noted policy institutions such as Brookings and the Carnegie Endowment, and in academia, including Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Currently serving as Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, the world’s oldest think-tank, and at the Center for American Progress in Washington DC, Dr Hellyer also pursued advanced study of the Islamic intellectual tradition in the Arab world, South Africa, and Southeast Asia. He was also appointed as Professor of Islamic Thought, Politics, and International Affairs at Bayan, in partnership with Chicago Theological Seminary; as the first Senior Scholar of the renowned South African seminary, Azzawia Institute, and as the first professorial fellow in Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College.
Elected Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, Dr Hellyer has also been listed in the RISSC-Georgetown University “Muslim 500” since 2017. His insights are regularly sought by international media networks such as CNN and the BBC, with op-eds in the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, the New York Times, the Guardian, and Politico. His teaching and publications, including 10 books, focus on modern Arab politics, Western Muslim communities, Islam and modernity, Sufism, and security studies.
Session 2: Islam on the South Side of Chicago
Saturday, October 18, 4PM-6PM (dinner reception to follow)
We are honored to welcome Shaykh Abdullah Madyun, Imam of Masjid al-Ihsan in Bronzeville, for a talk on Islam on the South Side of Chicago. Imam Madyun will trace the rich, and often overlooked, history of Islam on the South Side, shaped by charismatic leaders and movements such as the Nation of Islam and the American Society of Muslims. He will reflect on his own journey between the Arab Gulf and his native Chicago, considering how Islamic teachings have been reinterpreted to meet the challenges of discrimination, inequality, and the search for truth and justice. We will also engage in an open discussion on the invisible lines that divide Hyde Park from the broader South Side and imagine new ways of moving forward together.
Born and raised in Chicago to first-generation Muslim parents, Imam Madyun was educated at Clara Mohammed School and Malcolm X College before pursuing Islamic studies at the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia. His life and work reflect a unique bridge between global Islamic scholarship and the lived realities of Chicago’s African American Muslim communities. At Masjid al-Ihsan, where he also directs the Islamic Institute of Urban Affairs, Imam Madyun continues this legacy of Muslim-based community organizing and engagement. His perspective offers an important corrective to the siloed experiences many of us encounter in relation to the South Side of Chicago, drawing our attention to the deep histories and enduring vitality of Muslim life in Chicago.
Session 3 | Healing the Self: The Body as Trust
Saturday, November 1, 4PM-6PM (dinner reception to follow)
Islamic tradition teaches that the body is an amānah, a sacred trust, given to each individual. What does it truly mean to care for the self—physically, spiritually, and emotionally—within this profound framework of responsibility and stewardship? This session thoughtfully brings together diverse perspectives on prophetic medicine, holistic mental wellness, and practices of community healing, inviting reflection on how these elements interconnect to support balanced and compassionate self-care.
Guest Speakers:
Yousef Casewit is an Associate Professor of Qur’anic Studies at the University of Chicago, specializing in medieval Qur’anic commentary, Islamic intellectual history, and the mystical theology of the Divine Names. Earlier this year, he taught a critical course on Islamic psychology that thoughtfully explored traditional approaches to mental well-being, while also engaging with contemporary frameworks that integrate classical Islamic insights alongside modern psychological theories and practices.
Mazen Atassi is a naturopathic doctor, homeopath, and somatic trauma counselor whose work bridges Islamic psychology and holistic medicine. As founder of Forward to Health and an educator with the Cambridge Muslim College, he explores healing as both a physical and spiritual restoration of ʿāfiyah (vital well-being) and fiṭrah (Original Balance). His practice and teaching center on reviving the Hikma tradition, where medicine, mindfulness, and meaning converge.
Abeer Bilqees is a Chicago native and co-founder of NIYA, Abeer Bilqees is a healthcare consultant and community organizer passionate about holistic well-being. Drawing from her own athletic journey, she helps Muslim women reconnect with movement and nourishment as forms of gratitude and trust, seeing the body not as an image to perfect, but as an amānah (responsibility) to honor.
Saira Rasheed is an ER nurse, personal trainer, and program director for a local Muslim community organization, currently pursuing her Nurse Practitioner degree. After overcoming her own challenges with health and discipline, she developed a deep passion for holistic wellness—embracing fitness, nutrition, and mental balance. Her journey inspired her to co-found NIYA. Through her work, she empowers others to live intentionally, build strength inside and out, and rise as a united community.