15 episodes
Muslim in Plain Sight Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil
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- News
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5.0 • 5 Ratings
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Twenty years after 9/11, producers and hosts Anisa Khalifa and Khadija Khalil explore what it meant to come of age in that moment. With a lineup of amazing guests who, like us, grew up Muslim in the shadow of 9/11, we’ll dig into how that changed the trajectories of our lives, and how the experience differed either side of the Atlantic.
Muslim in Plain Sight features interviews with artists, activists, academics, religious leaders, and more. As a generation, we were just discovering our own voices when they were suddenly silenced from mainstream narratives. Instantly, we became both invisible and hypervisible.
Our conversations here are a small attempt to remedy that erasure. Join us as we talk about how our world changed, and how we changed the world.
Follow us on Twitter at @mipspod. Email us at musliminplainsight@gmail.com.
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Plant a tree at the apocalypse
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 -
Lost and found at Guantánamo with Mansoor Adayfi
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 -
A little less fearful, a little more fierce with The Qarawiyyin Project
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 -
Do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way with Chaplain Joshua Salaam
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 -
Fake personas and real surveillance with Johana Bhuiyan
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 -
Every little thing can create a change with Senator Mehreen Faruqi
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
Customer Reviews
MashaAllah
MashaAllah! You girls are natural! It is delightful to listen to intelligent young ladies with a sense of humor. Listening to the episodes, I can relate on so many levels, even though I was not in USA at the time of 9/11.
I am happy and proud that you started this podcast. As you said, our generation is silent or has been silenced, and it’s great to hear you speak up and shed some light onto the subject. It gives a much needed outlet for emotions, thoughts, reflections in a healthy way.
Also, I was not familiar with the guest speakers and some information you have been presenting in the episodes, so thank you for educating me. Great job on choosing awesome people to interview! I’m looking them up on social media as I learn. They are truly inspirational!
This has been such an enlightening podcast so far with three episodes and I’m definitely looking forward to more.
Jazak Allah Khayr 🌸