Omar Suleiman: An American Muslim scholar and civil rights leader, founder and president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University. He is a Palestinian-American imam known for interfaith work and activism in Dallas.
What this episode covers
Omar Suleiman explains the core theology of Islam to Lex Fridman: the nature of God, prayer, fasting in Ramadan, the pilgrimage to Mecca, the prophets, and the Quran. The conversation then turns to Islamophobia in post-9/11 America, including armed protests outside Dallas mosques and the political marginalization of Muslims. Suleiman recounts firsthand experiences with hate, including a BBC documentary where he disarmed a protester's prejudice, and the Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis. The latter portion is a candid, critical discussion of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which Suleiman frames as a political occupation rather than a religious war. Throughout, he returns to themes of empathy, dehumanization, and faith as a source of resilience.
Recommended on this episode
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Malcolm X and Alex Haley
“well I think reading his autobiography is extremely important for anyone that wants to understand him right so you read him his own words”— Omar Suleiman
United States of Hate: Muslims Under Attack
BBC
“the BBC documentary that um it's kind of interesting that people should check out it's called United States of hate Muslims under attack”— Lex Fridman
Inside the Battle for Jerusalem
Vice
“I tell people to just watch the vice documentaries for example the mini documentaries I'd sent them to you as well inside the battle for Jerusalem”— Omar Suleiman
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
The Quran
“the Quran is the word of God with a promise that he will guard it for all of time and it's probably one of the greatest Miracles”— Omar Suleiman
Big reveals from this episode
- A gun-wielding anti-Muslim protester met Suleiman and a Syrian refugee family in a park and, teary-eyed, said 'I feel like an idiot' for dehumanizing them.
- Suleiman recounts driving to the Colleyville synagogue during the 2022 hostage crisis to offer support, after spending that very morning telling his kids about helping people.
- Suleiman states the legal threshold for apartheid has been crossed regarding Palestinians, citing Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Harvard Law Review.
- Calls Benjamin Netanyahu a fascist with 'a lot of blood on his hands' who he believes will one day be prosecuted.
- Names UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov as one of the great modern representatives of Islam for his humility and devotion to family.
- Explains why he wrote an article opposing the Abraham Accords, arguing Abraham's name shouldn't justify arms deals that disenfranchise Palestinians.
- Lex opens with an unusual extended personal note about his fears and intentions covering Israel and Palestine.
Worth remembering
- Suleiman says the Quran has been preserved identically for 1400 years through oral and written transmission, with only one version recited the same way by ~2 billion Muslims.
- He notes there is enough food in the world for everyone to have a 3,200 calorie daily diet, framing hunger as a human rather than divine failure.
- Ramadan fasting means no food, water, or intimacy from before sunrise to sunset for a month, on a lunar calendar that shifts ~10 days earlier each year.
- The word 'masjid' (mosque) means 'place of sujood,' or place of prostration, the most intimate part of prayer.
- Suleiman cites a study that media gives up to 300% more coverage to violence by Muslims and stamps it with Islam compared to other perpetrators.
- He describes a 108-year-old Turkish Islamic scholar who could still bow and prostrate in prayer.
- Islam venerates many shared prophets including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, but rejects the Trinity and the idea of a begotten son of God.
- The Christchurch mosque attacker killed 51 and injured 40, and Suleiman notes his next intended target was a Muslim daycare.
- Suleiman quotes the Prophet Muhammad that the most beloved deeds to God are the consistent ones, even if small.