Maybe Drake was right, trigger fingers have turned to Twitter fingers. In the world of social justice Twitter it’s all too tempting to go for the clap back—but is that the best way to communicate and advocate for change? Ikhlas and Makkah talk to activist and prolific tweeter Yasmin Yonis and co-founder of MuslimARC (Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative) Margari Hill about race, class, privilege, healing and how to live your best life.

Guests:
Yasmin Yonis, @YasminYonis, human rights activist, writer and organizer. She’s currently a Union Theological Seminary Presidential Scholar pursuing a master’s in social ethics.

Margari Hill, @Margari_Aziza, Margari Aziza Hill is co-founder and programming director of Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC), assistant editor at AltM, columnist at MuslimMatters and co-founder of Muslims Make it Plain.

Episode Details:
(00:01:55) We talk about about how we’ve tried, succeeded and failed at clapping back. It’s not easy.
(00:06:20) We interview Yasmin Yonis about what it means to be woke, self-care vs. healing and navigating debates in the Twitterverse.
**We care about sound quality as much as you do—we promise! We had some technical difficulties so it’s not up to our standard but you know we always deliver on the content so please keep listening.**
(00:29:20) Yasmin remembers the time she called out Chelsea Clinton and the other time she angered Muslim men online by talking about sex.
(00:32:27) We interview Margari Hill about anti-racism work and being Black, Muslim and a woman in these spaces.
(00:34:03) Listen, PASS THE MIC.
(00:38:11) We talk about celebrity shaykhs and scholars and Margari coins a term that we’re definitely stealing – “Islam-o-tainment.”
(01:13:03) We say goodbye because it’s our last episode of Season 2!

Thanks for listening, here’s where you can find us:

Subscribe and follow Identity Politics on iTunes, Soundcloud, Acast and Stitcher so you’ll never miss an episode. And don’t forget to rate and review us: itun.es/us/oSeegb.c

Follow us on Twitter: @i_saleem, @MsMakkah and @identitypolpod
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/identitypolitics

Questions, comments, suggestions? Email identitypoliticspodcast@gmail.com

Intro and Outro Music:
RSPN by Blank and Kytt, CC-licensed: freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__K…ious_-_08_RSPN

In episode 15, two podcast worlds collide. #GoodMuslimBadMuslim hosts Taz Ahmed and Zahra Noorbakhsh discuss podcasting while Muslim, Iranian, Bengali, American, feminist, comedian, artist, activist…(you get the point). We talk about what it’s like to walk the fine line between what it means to be a good and bad Muslim — and no we’re not talking about hijab.

Guests:
Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed, @tazzystar, is an activist, storyteller and politico based in Los Angeles.

Zahra Noorbakhsh, @ZahraComedy, is a writer, actor and comedian based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Listen to #GoodMuslimBadMuslim: http://www.goodmuslimbadmuslim.com

All this month, we’re also asking you to tell a friend about a podcast they’ll love. Right now, think of a friend, your mom, anyone you care about—what podcast would they really love. Got it? Now do it—tell them about it in real life or on social media, and if they don’t know about podcasts, show them how! Tell us what you recommended with #Trypod. 

Meet the women behind Identity Politics, here’s our interview with Wellesley Underground: http://wellesleyunderground.com/post/158516234587/followfriday-the-badass-women-of-identity

Episode Details:

(1:05) Ikhlas and Makkah are recording from the same place!! Plus we shoutout our amazing listeners and share some of the feedback y’all have been sending our way.
(6:09) We share some of our favorite podcasts and ask you to do the same by using #Trypod and letting us know by tagging @identitypolpod.
(8:38) Taz and Zahra of the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast share the story of how they met and how their podcast started.
(12:13) Taz and Zahra discuss their art and activism and how the role of “Muslimness” in their work evolved over time.
(29:40) We talk about target audiences and what it was like to discover that white people listened to our podcasts.

Thanks for listening, here’s where you can find us:

Subscribe and follow Identity Politics on iTunes, Soundcloud, Acast and Stitcher so you’ll never miss an episode. And don’t forget to rate and review us: itun.es/us/oSeegb.c

Follow us on Twitter: @i_saleem, @MsMakkah and @identitypolpod

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/identitypolitics

Questions, comments, suggestions? Email identitypoliticspodcast@gmail.com

Intro and Outro Music:
RSPN by Blank and Kytt, CC-licensed: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__Kytt/Heavy_Crazy_Serious/Blank__Kytt_-_Heavy_Crazy_Serious_-_08_RSPN

Is it possible to be “just Muslim?” In Episode 14, Sarrah AbuLughod and Shereen Yousuf reflect on Shia erasure and being invisible minorities in the American Muslim community.

Guests:

Sarrah AbuLughod, @SarrahABL, is the Community Engagement Manager at The Family and Youth Institute and a graduate student of Islamic Studies, Christian Muslim Relations, and Islamic Chaplaincy at Hartford Seminary.

Shereen Yousuf, @ShereenYousuf, is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture Program. She has been a community organizer within the Shia community and is deeply interested in how Muslims are negotiating their sense of belonging within American Muslim communities.

Episode Details:

(1:10) Sarrah recalls the first time she was labelled as a Shia Muslim.
(4:00) Ikhlas and Makkah reflect on when they learned about the many ways that Islam is practiced throughout the world.
(12:40) We discuss what we learned about #TeamMuslim from Mahershala Ali’s Oscar Win.
(18:13) Makkah asks her friend Sarrah to break down the different experiences that Shia and Sunni Muslims have in America and gets a little advice on how to frame (and not to frame) this episode.
(27:54) A chat with Shereen about the big and small ways that Shia erasure occurs within our communities and what we can do about it.

Episode Resources:

“Shiaphobia at the Intersection and Why it Matters”
www.patheos.com/blogs/hindtrospec…d-why-it-matters/
“Someone Murdered the Prophet’s Grandson and you ask why I Mourn Him?”
sapelosquare.com/2016/10/12/someo…why-i-mourn-him/
“10 Tips to Make MSAs More Shia Friendly”
muharraminmanhattan.com/2014/11/14/msa_tips/
After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam
www.amazon.com/Shiite-Allamah-Sa…bai/dp/0873953908
The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate https://www.amazon.com/Succession-Muhammad-Study-Early-Caliphate/dp/0521646960
“Religious Authenticity in the Face of Anti-Muslim Sentiment”
www.altmuslimah.com/2017/03/religio…slim-sentiment/

Subscribe and follow Identity Politics on iTunes, Soundcloud, Acast and Stitcher so you’ll never miss an episode. And don’t forget to rate and review us: itun.es/us/oSeegb.c

Follow us on Twitter: @i_saleem, @MsMakkah and @identitypolpod

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/identitypolitics

Questions, comments, suggestions? Email identitypoliticspodcast@gmail.com

Intro and Outro Music:
RSPN by Blank and Kytt, CC-licensed: freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__K…ious_-_08_RSPN

Where are you from? No, where are you *really* from? It’s a question that many Black Americans don’t always want to or know how to answer. As Black History Month winds down, Makkah and Ikhlas speak with Kameelah Rashad and Bashirah Mack about why they decided to learn more about who they are and where they come from, and the emotional journeys that ensued.

Guests:
Bashirah Mack, @msbmack, Social Media Coordinator for Sapelo Square.

Kameelah Rashad, @KameelahRashad, founder of the Muslim Wellness Foundation and the interfaith fellow for spirituality, wellness & social justice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Episode details:
(1:08) Ikhlas and Makkah talk about what Black History Month means to them, the sometimes painful task of uncovering family history and being inspired by those who do the work.
(13:47) Conversation with Bashirah Mack and Kameelah Rashad where they discuss everything from longing to know their history, to connecting the family tree and figuring out what to do with the information they collect.
(53:03) Bashirah reveals DNA Ancestry results and you’ll be surprised what she finds out.

Subscribe and follow Identity Politics on iTunes, Soundcloud, Acast and Stitcher so you’ll never miss an episode. And don’t forget to rate and review us: itun.es/us/oSeegb.c

Follow us on Twitter: @i_saleem, @MsMakkah and @identitypolpod.
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/identitypolitics
Check out our website: http://www.altmuslimah.com/category/culture/identity-politics

Questions, comments, suggestions? Email identitypoliticspodcast@gmail.com

Intro and Outro Music:
RSPN by Blank and Kytt, CC-licensed: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__Kytt/Heavy_Crazy_Serious/Blank__Kytt_-_Heavy_Crazy_Serious_-_08_RSPN

Transition music:
Emo Step Show by The Custodian of Records, CC-licensed:
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Custodian_of_Records/She_Hate_Me/Emo_Step_Show

Do you ever feel like you exist in a world that doesn’t have space for someone like you? In Episode 12, Ikhlas interviews her good friend Yasmine Muhammad about her struggle to find her voice within Islam. We also speak with writers and poets Fatimah Asghar, Safia Elhillo and Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib about how and why they use their art to shine a light on experiences that young Muslims aren’t always encouraged to share.

Guests:
Yasmine Muhammad: Sailor in the U.S. Navy, communications specialist and mother of two.

Fatimah Asghar: Poet, educator and creator of the new webseries Brown Girls.

Safia Elhillo: Writer, poet and co-editor (with Fatimah Asghar) of HALAL IF YOU HEAR ME, a collection of writing by Muslim women, gender non conforming, queer and trans writers. Safia’s first full-length collection, The January Children, is coming soon.

Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib: Poet, essayist and MTV cultural critic. His book of poetry, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much, is available now.

Episode details:

(1:05) Ikhlas and Makkah talk about who you should be following on Twitter, why you should go see James Baldwin’s “I Am Not Your Negro” and the role Muslim artists play in affirming the identities of young Muslims.
(11:30) Ikhlas speaks to her longtime friend from Yasmine Muhammad about growing up as an aspiring artist and not seeing herself reflected within the Muslim community.
(25:00) A chat with artists Hanif, Fatimah and Safia on why they do the work they do.
(31:30) We’re a little obsessed with Zayn Malik and what it means to be Muslim.
(37:45) Where, unlike in your parents’ home, Fatimah talks about desire and her new web series Brown Girls. (Somehow, Zayn Malik also manages to come up again)

Subscribe and follow Identity Politics on iTunes, Soundcloud, Acast and Stitcher so you’ll never miss an episode. And don’t forget to rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/identity-politics-podcast/id1175472910?mt=2

Follow us on Twitter: @i_saleem, @msMakkah and @identitypolpod.
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/identitypolitics/
Check out our website: http://www.altmuslimah.com/category/culture/identity-politics/

Questions, comments, suggestions? Email identitypoliticspodcast@gmail.com

Intro and Outro Music:
RSPN by Blank and Kytt, CC-licensed: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__Kytt/Heavy_Crazy_Serious/Blank__Kytt_-_Heavy_Crazy_Serious_-_08_RSPN

Transition music:
Broke For Free by Night Owl, CC-licensed:
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_01_Night_Owl

It’s time to talk about race with one group of American Muslims we don’t often hear from on this topic: white people. In Episode 11, we chat with Alex and Lauren, two young white Americans, about how being Muslim influences the way they think about, talk about and experience race.

Guests: Alex and Lauren

Episode details:

(1:01) A look back on 2016 and how the podcast went from being a hot mess to Ikhlas and Makkah realizing they might be on to something

(4:48) The #RIS2016 controversy and why racial competency is more important than ever

(11:00) Making a case for why it’s time to bring white people into conversations about race in America

(13:30) An interview with two young white Muslims about how being Muslim complicates their relationship to whiteness

Subscribe and follow Identity Politics on iTunes, Soundcloud, Acast and Stitcher so you’ll never miss an episode. And don’t forget to rate and review us: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ident…d1175472910?mt=2

Follow us on Twitter: @i_saleem, @msMakkah and @identitypolpod.
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/identitypolitics/
Check out our website: www.altmuslimah.com/category/cultur…ntity-politics/

Questions, comments, suggestions? Email identitypoliticspodcast@gmail.com

Intro and Outro Music:
RSPN by Blank and Kytt, CC-licensed: freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__K…ious_-_08_RSPN

Transition music:
Cash Rules by Ari de Niro, CC-licensed: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ari_de_Niro/Jules_Lives/Cash_Rules
Trap Lyfe by Ari de Niro, CC-licensed: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ari_de_Niro/Jules_Lives/Trap_Lyfe