Sidi Wendell Uthman Ames’ story begins at a hip hop store in Southern California where he worked during high school. He watched his manager take breaks during the day to pray in a back room. A group of Filipino converts began visiting the store further triggering his interest in Islam. The Filipino converts would befriend him, and he took his shahada with them at the age of 17, MashaAllah! He began driving with them to the Bay Area to take classes with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. This is pre-Zaytuna College. Sidi Uthman would eventually move to the Bay Area and live with Sidi Usama Canon. He’s now a well-known munshid and shares his beautiful voice at gatherings all over the world. Many of you may have heard him at Al-Maqasid or Ta'leef Collective. In this episode, he talks about what many call the “Golden era” of converts coming to Islam in California, watching institutions like Zaytuna and Ta’leef develop from the ground up, and his own spiritual development over the years. He’s met many beautiful teachers and befriended many familiar names along his journey: Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Nuh Keller, Shaykh Yahya Rhodus, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Ustadh Amjad Tarsin, Dr. Shadee Elmasry, Sidi Usama Canon, Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah, Shaykh Tameem Ahmadi, Ustadh Tarif Arabi, Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, Dr. Hatem Bazian, Amir Muhammad Shareef, Shaykh Muhammed al-Yaqoubi, Mauritanian scholars like Shaykh Khutri and Shaykh Abdullah, Shaykh Walead Mohammed Mosaad, Shaykh Abdullah Qadi, Shaykh Mahmud Kellner, Shaykha Maryam Dhuhayb, Shaykh Faraz Khan, Habib Ali al-Jifri English, Feraidoon Mojadedi, Mustafa Davis, Shaykh Jihad Hashim Brown Editor’s note - in the podcast Sidi Uthman says he converted at the age of 19. He was actually 17 at the time.