It's the end! At least of this season. One year after we started, the week of 9/11, feels like the perfect time to say goodbye—for now. In this episode, we share our reflections on the series and sign off with our hopes for the future. Thank you for taking this emotional, cathartic, moving journey into the past with us.

References:

The Trojan Horse Affair vs. the British Press

New information on the Shamima Begum case

The Trump administration's plan to denaturalize citizens

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Editor: Anisa Khalifa

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty

Mansoor Adayfi is a former Guantánamo detainee, coordinator of CAGE’s Guantánamo Project, and author. In his unforgettable, haunting memoir, Don’t Forget Us Here, he recounts his 14 years of detention, torture, resistance and brotherhood in the vile camps of Guantánamo. In this interview, Mansoor tells us how his living nightmare started, how faith, art and brotherhood sustained him, and how, amazingly, he’s held onto both his sense of humor and his hope for the future. 

References:

Buy Mansoor's book, Don't Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantánamo

Muslim filmmakers and activists respond to Islamophobic Sundance film Jihad Rehab

Seton Hall University's Guantánamo Reports

Art from Guantánamo

Support CAGE, advocates against the injustices of the War on Terror

Amy Goodman's interview with Mansoor, who wears his signature orange

Follow Mansoor on social media @MansoorAdayfi

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Editor: Anisa Khalifa

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty

The Qarawiyyin Project is a global initiative aimed at reviving Islamic discourse among Muslim women. Through their work, they analyse contemporary challenges through an Islamic lens. We talk to Aisha and Sarah of TQP, who, like us, are on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Unlike us, however, they never really experienced a pre-9/11 world.

We discuss the legacies of the early response of Muslim communities to 9/11 and the shape of the post-War on Terror world, how Muslim identity has been fashioned by apologetics instead of creed, and whether the concept of "identity" is even a meaningful benchmark for who we are or should be, as Muslims.

Check out The Qarawiyyin Project and The Qarawiyyin Podcast. Follow The Qarawiyyin Project on Twitter and Facebook.

References:

I Refuse to Condemn by Dr. Asim Qureshi

The Ummatics Colloquium

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Editor: Khadija Khalil

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty

Joshua Salaam is the Muslim Chaplain at Duke University and a member of iconic musical group Native Deen. He has a Doctorate of Ministry from Hartford Seminary and has mentored youth throughout his career. He talked to us about becoming Native Deen almost by accident—or perhaps destiny—his years in the army, and how his professional life took shape post-9/11. We tackled the hard questions, like our relationship with the military as American Muslims, and how to deal with anti-Black racism in our communities. In Brother Joshua’s words, we jumped right into the ocean!  

Check out Native Deen's music:

"Small Deeds"

"M.U.S.L.I.M" from Not Afraid to Stand Alone and "Worldly Satisfaction" from MYNA Raps 1999 used with permission.

References:

The Washington Post's 2002 feature on Native Deen

Dr. Jamillah Karim's work on race in the Muslim community

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty

Johana Bhuiyan is a senior tech reporter and editor at The Guardian. A born and raised New Yorker now residing in San Francisco, she's been a journalist since 2013, and has previously worked at the Los Angeles Times, Recode, BuzzFeed News, and Politico.

Johana talks about growing up in New York after 9/11, and how the current state of surveillance of marginalised communities has evolved over the last 20 years. She shares her personal experiences as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman in newsrooms and other places throughout her career, how she got into the very specific field of tech accountability, and what it's like to see her work result in real-world change.

Note: we recorded this interview back in November, so bear that in mind when we make time references.

References:

Johana's reporting about Amazon withholding tips from drivers, which led to a massive settlement

Camera company would identify Uyghurs and alert police

Voyager, the tech that scrapes social media feeds to "predict crime"

The NYPD's Muslim Surveillance and Mapping Program

Supreme Court hears case on FBI surveillance of California Muslims

The harms of the LAPD's former predictive policing program

Follow Johana on Twitter and check out her work.

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Editor: Anisa Khalifa

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty

Dr. Mehreen Faruqi is the Greens Senator for New South Wales in the Australian Parliament and the first Muslim woman to hold public office in the history of Australia. She is a civil and environmental engineer and lifelong activist for social and environmental justice. Mehreen tells us about migrating to Australia from Pakistan, how she made a home and then a political career down under, and how things changed in Australia post-9/11. We cover the rise of right-wing populism, the influence of media on government, dealing with Islamophobic abuse and harassment, how environmental justice is inextricable from racial justice, and why grassroots politics is the best way to make change.

References:

Buy Mehreen's excellent memoir, Too Migrant, Too Muslim, Too Loud, here.

Watch her first speech to the Australian Senate, which went viral. Transcript here.

Love Letters to Mehreen, her tongue-in-cheek response to hateful messages.

Mehreen calls out right-wing Murdoch media outlet Sky News, and it is so satisfying.

Follow Mehreen on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @MehreenFaruqi.

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Editor: Anisa Khalifa

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty

Dr. Khadijah Elshayyal, Associate Fellow at the Alwaleed Centre (University of Edinburgh) and specialist in contemporary British Muslim history, joins us this episode to trace the changing relationship of British Muslims and the state, before and after 9/11.

Khadijah relives her experience of the day of the 7/7 bombings in London and looks at its impact on counter-terrorism policy, and the initiation of the Prevent strategy. We finish with a discussion on the dark legacies of empire, what "identity politics" really means, and whether we can close the chasm of rights inequalities to claim citizenship - and humanity - on an equal footing, while retaining our Muslim identities.

References

Muslim Identity Politics: Islam, activism and equality in Britain by Dr. Khadijah Elshayyal (IB Tauris, 2020)

Find Khadijah on Twitter @DrKElshayyal.

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Editor: Khadija Khalil

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty

Dr. Jasmine Gani, a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of St. Andrews, sits down with us for a deeply moving conversation about her journey through the academy, as a student and a teacher, as well as her experiences with community organizing. Our discussion was so wide-ranging that we had to split it into two parts! Listen to Part 1.

In Part 2, Jasmine tells us why she chose academia as a career, the sacred duty of mentorship, and how and why we make space for the discourse of justice.

References:

Find Jasmine’s work on her blog.

On the horrors of extraordinary rendition, read about Gareth Peirce's work and the infamous case of Maher Arar.

Peggy McIntosh initially coined the “invisible backpack” metaphor Anisa mentions for white privilege, but it has since been adopted to describe the trauma of racialisation and/or abuse.

Follow us on Twitter. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com. Support the show.

Hosts and Producers: Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil

Consulting Producer: Paroma Chakravarty