Podcasts are the ultimate way to indulge your interests in audio size bytes while you travel, exercise or just cook up a storm for dinner. A steady increase of Muslim podcasters is joining the airwaves and they are as diverse as our 1.5 billion Muslim population across the world.
There is a podcast for everyone: those doing soul searching for their spiritual self, the mom trying to carve out some me time, the Muslim professional launching their first start-up and on and on. You just have to take a look to find your favorite Muslim podcasts.
Here are nine spectacular Muslim podcasters to jump start your collection. These voices are powerful, captivating, and thought provoking.
1. Accidental Muslims Podcast
Khalil Aleker, one of the founders of the Accidental Muslims podcast, wanted to create a platform that when people engage with it or see its logo or listen to their podcast, they would ask the introspective question, “Am I Muslim by accident or on purpose?” This podcast, now in its fifth season, has interviewed authors, mothers, cooks, cricket players, and even Mufti Menk. It showcases how Muslims are changing their narratives in their own communities.
When I asked Khalil, where are they in terms of listenership stats and figures, he interestingly enough had this to say, “Very difficult to give exact stats on our listenership. We get thousands of episodes downloads/listens per month. We have also for the past year been live streaming our interviews via Facebook and Instagram live. The key is to focus less on downloads, shares and likes but rather on your intentions and impact on the ground. Are you changing perspectives? Are you weaving together communities? Are you helping people find purpose? These are the key questions we ask ourselves.”
*The podcast also has a great series focusing on depression.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb9p2HRhNMe/
2. This Muslim Girl Podcast
This Muslim Girl Podcast was started by Noor, who was born in Yemen and raised in the Central Valley of California.
Noor started the podcast as a way to share her thought bubbles. She writes on her blog, “Originally, the idea of a podcast was as an outlet for me to discuss with others things that interested me. It was especially important for me to bring issues I felt weren’t being discussed at the forefront. As I started recording I realized that this was evolving into a resource for women to share their stories and to utilize this platform to help others through communication.
I’m sure with time the podcast will continue to evolve naturally into its true purpose. Muslim women narratives are often misrepresented and molded into the oppressed, regressive, sob story we see too often in the media. But aside from issues faced from being a muslim and a female, there is so much more that we can discuss. What roles these women play in our community, how they are branching out into the public sphere doing what they love, and how female empowerment amongst ourselves is more necessary today than ever.”
The fuss about hijab was one of the most interesting discussions I listened to on This Muslim Girl Podcast. It’s a must listen.
3. The Mad Mamluks
The Mad Mamluks emerged in 2016 to put the spotlight on Muslim talent in Chicago. After two and half million downloads the podcast has grown to a weekly podcast and a YouTube channel that focuses on the latest issues relating to Muslims, including faith, politics, social issues, and current events. Guests come from around the world.
Their website explains that Mamluks were: “Turkic slaves that originally came to power in India but are more known for the Egyptian faction that rescued the Muslim world from the Mongol armies of the East.” The show is an extension of the diversity of Muslims and aims to stimulate a conversation towards providing an antidote to the Muslim condition. Their tagline says, “Tired of the same old same old with Muslim media?” The latest episode of Mad Mamluks is titled, “Bad Reputation: Dialogue with Muslim Feminists, with Hind Makki and Saadia Yacoob.”
I suggest taking the long route home so you have more time to indulge in the super stimulating conversations on this podcast.
4. Salam Girl!
My daughter will be a teenager in a few years and I’m really glad that this podcast is around when we start traversing that stage of her life. Salam Girl! is a podcast for Muslim girls, hosted by Monica Traverzo and Nicole Queen. They started the podcast to fill a void in the podcasting category of Muslim woman. Salam Girl! Focuses on encouragement, sharing their experiences so that Muslim woman do not have to feel guilty or feel that they are alone in the various choices they make. The podcast is ultimately a journey of self discovery and embracing their identity as American Muslim women.
My personal favorites: My Phone is Ruining My Life, Self Care and Me Time, and I Converted for a Man. Let me just, say you will look for any excuse to just listen to “one more episode” of this inspiring show.
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