Ep. 76: Beards, European Hats & Coffee: Being Muslim or Imitating Others? - Youshaa Patel

“Whoever imitates a people becomes one of them." This well-known hadith on tashabbuh (imitation), debated by scholars over centuries, continues to play a role in how Muslims see both themselves and others. Dr. Youshaa Patel, author of the book, “The Muslim Difference: Defining the Line between Believers and Unbelievers from Early Islam to the Present”, joins the podcast to explore the many different layers of tashabbuh, weaving through scholarly commentaries, psychology, history, style and culture. CHAPTERS: 1:18 - What is Tashabbuh? 11:08 - Tashabbuh in Early Islam 14:50 - Parting the Hair 17:12 - Changing the Qibla: A Distinctive Community 18:58 - Projecting Identity in the Public Space 20:59 - The Scale of Style: Small or Stark Differences? 27:55 - Imitation and Hierarchy in the Age of Empire 33:88 - More Than Just Imitating Non-Muslims 36:12 - Reinforcing Hierarchies in Empire 39:57 - Prioritizing Order in Society 41:36 - Ibn Taymiyyah Weighs In 44:08 - Bad Imitators: Festivals and Muslims Blurring Into Non-Muslims 49:32 - Can the Hadith of Imitation Go Both Ways? 50:53 - Tracing Anxieties Over the Ummah Through Tashabbuh 54:22 - Ibn Taymiyyah and Tashabbuh in Non-Muslim Lands 55:46 - Coffee, Controversy & Najm-ud-Din al-Ghazi 1:01:23 - Aligning Fiqh With Beauty 1:04:19 - The Coffeehouse: The Devil's Lair 1:06:09 - Good Imitation and the Path to Piety 1:09:43 - A Transformative Technology of the Self 1:10:33 - Animals as Role Models? 1:11:57 - Wearing European Hats 1:13:00 - The Most Controversial Fatwa in the History of Islam 1:19:46 - Power of Symbols in Shaping Communal Identity 1:22:57 - Tashabbuh Today: How Do Muslims Be Different Now? 1:33:21 - Internal Imitation: The Intellectual Onslaught on the Muslim Psyche 1:41:36 - Muslim Pride: Me Against Them? 1:44:56 - Figuring Out How to Be Muslim 1:47:01 - Elevating Ourselves and the Other