Humanity is a Chorus,
and the earth is ready for a new song.
SHIREEN QUDOSI
Author of The Song of the Human Heart,
re-imaginING Islam as a seed faith to be buried in the mythological Dark.
Founder of Dark ISlam,
Tracing Islam’s Origin Story Through PRIMORDIAL Goddess CoSMOGoNY.
Counter-extremism consultant
focused on mythic reimagining rooted in the sacred feminine.
alchemize chaos and confusion into song
What I Do
I help navigate seismic cultural shifts by alchemizing chaos and confusion into song. I invite us to use our deepest vulnerabilities and wounds as a key to unlock what it means to be human. My work is an invitation to move beyond the splintered identities dwarfing the vastness of human belonging and toward the full breadth of what it means to belong to oneself, how to belong in the world, and how to live in intimate cooperation with a greater chorus of voices.
THE BOOK
The Song of the Human Heart REIMAGINES Islam as a "Dark" Faith.
After 22 years of studying religious conflict, I discovered Islam is a seed faith and our task was to bury it in the mythological Dark. This is an idea that has never before existed across the arc of 1400 years.
REVIEW
“I recommend The Song of the Human Heart: Dawn of the Dark Feminine in Islam to anyone on a journey or in search of transformational beauty in their religious faith. Shireen shares her own deeply personal and mystical Islamic journey and her glimpse of true transcendent beauty. May you too find what it means for your life to become a prayer. Shireen speaks to something beautiful which has been hidden and lost for far too long.”
— i.P
How to Work With Me
STORYTELLING
I work with select organizations and individuals to help find your unique, heart-rooted story.
RISING ABOVE Extremism
Building on nearly a decade of experience in preventing violent extremism and counter-terrorism work, I offer boutique workshops and trainings for schools, organizations, leaders, and communities interested in protecting themselves against radicalization and extremism.
REVIEWS
“Thank you for a potently inclusive peace. I am always blessed by your masterful explanations of all things complex. Your voice ought to be heard.”
— Professor Kasonde Musoma
ON “CORD-CUTTING FROM THE AYATOLLAH”
“Thank you, Shireen, for this deeper insight. May women (and men) in Iran be free of their chains that perversions of Islam have forged.”
— Dr. Mark Force
ON “CORD-CUTTING FROM THE AYATOLLAH”
“Beautiful take. Thank you, Shireen. The women do have the power to end this. May they have the continued strength and protection as they fight.
— CHANEL RION, JOURANLIST
On “Cord-Cutting from the Ayatollah”
Dr. Henry Musoma, “The Professor of Kindness”
“IN MY NATIVE TONGUE (BEMBA) THEY SAY ‘UMUSHA AFWA NEFYEBO MUKANWA’ MEANING A SLAVE DIES WITH WORDS IN HIS OR HER MOUTH. THERE IS POWER IN ONE WHO SPEAKS AND LIVES IN THEIR TRUTH. THERE IS EVEN MORE POWER IN ONE WHO HELPS OTHERS SPEAK AND LIVE IN THEIR TRUTH. SHIREEN HAS AN EAR WHICH LISTENS AND CALLS DEEPLY. SHE COUNSELS WITH A PATIENT EAR.”
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Once upon a time, a rabbi told me to “crawl back into the cave you came from." The words became an invitation. What if I did crawl back into the cave I came from — what could that look like?
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A song can be a thread between what is lost and what is trying to be found, often speaking more honestly about the world than the surface layer of reality.
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Music as Initiation: Across time and culture, song has been a marker of initiation acknowledging that a significant threshold has been crossed.
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“The song is the medicine of the birds,” we’re told by Rasu, one of the four members of the Yawanawá. “My father said in the forest we learn from the birds that some birds are soft, some strong, with different calls and different stories. If singing from the heart and believe in what you’re singing — that’s all that matters. In the forest, we are all singing, women, men, children, elders, and leaders. The more people are singing, the more the world can heal.”
