She Speaks: Academic Muslimahs

Ramadan Mubarak!!! This episode is a re-airing of previously aired Ramadan & Eid ul Fitr special. I talked to Sana Rizvi about fasting within neoliberal academia, periods, and Ramzan memories. I talked to Nausheen Pasha about her journey to loving Ramadan, to Melinda González about true spirit of fasting and being mindful, and with Rose Deighton about appreciating the simplicity of Ramadan during times of COVID. Finally, I talked to Lamiyah Bahrainwala about celebrating Eid during a pandemic and with Zainab Kabba about her varied but wonderful experiences  of Eid around the world.

Video referenced on periods and fasting:

https://www.facebook.com/themuslimvibe/videos/1112038442284489/ (I couldn't find the desi version, if you do, please send it my way)

Dr. Elora Shehabuddin is Professor of Transnational Asian Studies and Core Faculty in the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. She is the author of Sisters in the Mirror: A History of Muslim Women and the Global Politics of Feminism. Today we talk about the stories of feminist struggles that provide a more nuanced picture, the conversation between Western feminists and Global South or Transnational feminists, and why it is so hard to have the more difficult conversations needed within feminist struggles. #Feminism #GlobalSouth #Intersectionality 

Linda Hyökki is a PhD Candidate in Civilization Studies at Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. In this episode, we talk about religious righteousness, whiteness, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment in Finland, and so much more. Hyökki PhD thesis and broader research interest focus on Islamophobia and convert Muslims. She has done fieldwork interviews with converts from Finland, her native country, exploring questions of whiteness, Finnishness, identity and recognition. She is currently the  coordinator of anti-Muslim racism working group at the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism. Along with some other consultancy works she is also the general secretary of European Forum of Muslim Women.  Currently, she lives with her Bosnian husband in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

An awesome interview with Sara Abdalla who is making art accessible and relatable to those who are traditionally excluded from the art world. We also talk about why immigrant parents might steer their kids away from artistic careers, why that is harmful, and how art can portray the depth of all our lives.

Sara Abdalla Director of design brand Cape Cairo Collective and Founder of Creative Visionaries studio. She is a multidisciplinary Scottish Egyptian Mural Artist, Maker, Activist and Teacher with hand painting, relief printing, photography, type and collage to communicate the narrative. She will be pursuing her PHD at the University of Middlesex and will investigate if Murals make the world a better place?

Aminah Beverly McCloud Al Deen is a Professor Emeritus  of Religious Studies and Director of Islamic World Studies program at DePaul University. She is one of the most eminent scholars on Islam in America and her areas of expertise include Islam in America, Muslim women, Islamic studies and the history, geography, politics, religion and philosophy of Islam. We talk about Islam in America, anti-Black racism within Muslim American communities, about Critical Talk, and a whole lot more. 

Dr. Saima Ansari recently completed her PhD from University of Salford in UK on Identity, religion, and clothing - the lives of British Muslim women. In this episode she talks to us about how hijab is negotiated both within non-Muslim communities and within Muslim communities, about Islamic feminism, and the #MeToo movement, among many other things.

This episode features an excellent conversation on the academic job market and alt-ac jobs with Dr. Fatemeh Mardi. Dr. Mardi has her bachelors and masters from Tehran, Iran, and her PhD in instructional technology from University of Missouri St. Louis, MO. She is currently working with Office of eLearning at University of Missouri System as an Instructional Designer. Among other things, Dr. Mardi talks about the toll on our mental and physical health through all the cycles of applying for academic jobs, and the amount of work required to stay competitive in an environment of scarce jobs.

This episode features Dr. Julie Prior, who has a PhD in early modern and eighteenth-century drama from the University of Toronto. She is currently an Assistant Professor of English at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Her research explores adaptations of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and is concerned with illuminating production history and intertextual resonances that are activated by performance. Here she talks about her journey to Islam, marriage, divorce, abuse, and Shakespeare. 

This episode is in Urdu & English. This conversation is prompted by the recent events in Pakistan, including the Noor Muqaddam case, Quratulain Baloch case, and the victim from Mohra village (name not yet released). We also talk about how patriarchy functions to attempt to shame women instead of bringing the perpetrator to justice, and why women don’t speak up about their experiences. Last, but not least, we talk about the ways some women are shielded by their privilege at the expense of other more vulnerably situated women.

how u doin?

This episode features Dr. Maha Nasaar is an Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. Today, we talk a little about history of Falestine or Palestine, the ongoing nakba or catastrophe, anti-Semitism as it relates to Palestinian liberation movements, Hamas, and issues of human rights.

Dr. Nassar specializes in Arab cultural and intellectual history with a focus on Palestinians. Her book, which received a 2018 Palestine Book Award, is titled Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World.

#Palestine #Israel #Nakba #Hamas #FreePalestine 

This episode is a re-airing of last year's Ramadan & Eid ul Fitr special. I talked to Sana Rizvi about fasting within neoliberal academia, periods, and Ramzan memories. I talked to Nausheen Pasha about her journey to loving Ramadan, to Melinda González about true spirit of fasting and being mindful, and with Rose Deighton about appreciating the simplicity of Ramadan during times of COVID. Finally, I talked to Lamiyah Bahrainwala about celebrating Eid during a pandemic and with Zainab Kabba about her varied but wonderful experiences  of Eid around the world.

Video referenced on periods and fasting:

https://www.facebook.com/themuslimvibe/videos/1112038442284489/ (I couldn't find the desi version, if you do, please send it my way)

Dr. Elora Halim Chowdhury is a Professor in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department and the Director of Human Rights Program at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her most recent book is an edited collection with Dr. Esha Niyogi De, titled South Asian Filmscapes: Transregional Encounters (2020). Dr. Chowdhury talks about her journey into academia, the Bangladeshi Liberation War, its impact on national identity, and about how foreign NGOs create boundaries of savior and poor clients. Finally, we talk about her and Dr. De’s latest book about South Asian cinema and its influence in envisioning healing and reconciliation.

This episode is with the very brave and brilliant Dr. Shireen Al-Adeimi. She talks about student-led discussions in classrooms, misplacement of kids in ESL due to bias, valuing diversity within educational settings, beginnings of Yemen war, USA UK and Saudi Arabia involvement, abandonment of Yemenis by Muslims ummah, and so much more.

#Pedagogy #Yemen #Saudi #Houthi #Shafi'i #Sunni #Zaidi #Shia #betrayal #malnutrition #MadeInUSA #MedicineBlockade

I am doing what I can and hard(ish?) at work recording the next episode of Academic Muslimahs. For now, I am rereleasing an episode with one of the smartest women, Dr. Kayla Wheeler. She talks about lots of issues, including starting the much needed #BlackIslamSyllabus and researching Black Muslim women's fashion. The episode was originally released on Feb 28th, 2020. I will be back with a new episode in two weeks!

In this episode, I talk to Associate Professor Nadia B. Ahmad, who is a delegate from Florida for the Democratic party and the Founder of Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition. She talks about mass incarceration, the need for the green new deal, and the impact of climate change on people of color. She also tells us why and how Muslims can get involved in progressive politics, and if Muslims should work to vote Trump out of office.

This is the season finale special on Ramadan and Eid. I talk to Sana Rizvi about fasting within neoliberal academia, periods, and Ramzan memories. I talk to Nausheen Pasha about her journey to loving Ramadan, to Melinda González about true spirit of fasting and being mindful, and with Rose Deighton about appreciating the simplicity of Ramadan during times of COVID. Finally, I talk to Lamiyah Bahrainwala about celebrating Eid during a pandemic and with Zainab Kabba about her varied but wonderful experiences  of Eid around the world.

Video referenced on periods and fasting:

https://www.facebook.com/themuslimvibe/videos/1112038442284489/ (I couldn't find the desi version, if you do, please send it my way)

The sisters are reunited! Together, Saba & Sana talk about coping with anxiety, performing productivity within a capitalist framework, putting essential workers on a pedestal, exploitation of labor, harms of using the war analogy when talking about fighting Coronavirus, and living through this pandemic

In this episode, I talk with Sadaf Jaffer, the first American Muslismah mayor in the United States of America. We talk about 'balancing it all,' pressures at Ivy Leagues, the significance of secular feminisms, and the place of Muslim Americans in American politics. The conversation is hopefully beyond the usual rhetoric of 'we belong,' and focuses on hurdles for our specific social location as Muslim Americans.

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Narjis Hyder from Walden University in The Riley College of Education and Leadership. We talk about what it means to be an academic and primary caregiver to a child with long term medical needs, the emotional and physical toll, the support village needed, and structural changes at universities to accommodate .... life. 

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Nyla Ali Khan, a Kashmiri American scholar, discusses the historical roots of the Kashmir conflict, the significance of Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution, what it meant to Kashmiris to have those articles abrogated by the BJP government, and the current state of affairs in Kashmir.

My guest today is Anbreen Bashir, Associate Professor of Biology at Harris Stowe State University. Together we talk about paradise on earth, visa sponsorship for work in the U.S., teaching training during grad school, how to make online teaching work, Monsanto (please don’t sue me), rice genetics, and tropospheric ozone due to climate change!

This episode, I talk to Tasneem Zaihra, an Assistant Professor in the Dept of Math at The College of Brockport SUNY, about her journey through academia as a first generation immigrant. We talk about migrating from India to pursue doctoral studies, finding religious communities, azaadari, marrying while studying, moving for academic posts, studying asthma using stats, having a non-American accent while teaching, teaching first generation students, and much more!

In this episode, I talk to Sakina Jangbar, who is at St. John's University in Queens. We talk about the power of rhetoric, how sexual assault is covered in the Pakistani drama 'Udaari', Benazir Bhutto's oratory skills, feminist expressions in South Asian cultures, Ghazala Khan at the Democratic convention in 2016, #girlsatDhaba, and thinking through about our cultures from the diaspora.

As-Salaam-Alaikum! In the pilot episode host, Dr. Saba Fatima is joined by guest, Dr. Sana Rizvi to discuss the journey to getting her PhD, how her appearance impacts her experience with jobs in academic spaces, fat phobia, and so much more. Episode produced by Erica Green.