Best Fahad I Podcasts (2025)

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Muslim Matrimonial Events: A Lifeline or a Hot Mess? 36:03

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2h ago36:03

36:03

Tired of “halal speed dating” that feels like a performance instead of a real path to marriage? In this episode, we get honest about the modern Muslim matrimonial scene—what’s actually helping people connect and what’s just… awkward. From wild rotation stories to on-stage “auditions,” we break down why five-minute pitches and public biodata walls n…

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Basit Kareem Iqbal, "The Dread Heights: Tribulation and Refuge after the Syrian Revolution" (Fordham UP, 2025) 1:16:50

4d ago1:16:50

1:16:50

Basit Kareem Iqbal's new book The Dread Heights: Tribulation and Refuge after the Syrian Revolution (Fordham UP, 2025) uses ethnographic scenes from Jordan and Canada to contextualize the role of Muslim charities and community organizations that support displaced refugees from the Syrian catastrophe. Through these encounters, however, we learn not …

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Justin Marozzi, "Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World" (Pegasus Books, 2025) 40:01

44m ago40:01

40:01

Slavery has been a ubiquitous practice throughout much of world history–and the Muslim world was no exception. Slave soldiers, concubines, and eunuchs can be found throughout Muslim writings—which, as Justin Marozzi points out in his book Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World (Pegasus Books, 2025), e…

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Nerina Rustomji, "The Beauty of the Houri: Heavenly Virgins and Feminine Ideals" (Oxford UP, 2021) 49:28

4d ago49:28

49:28

In her scintillating new book, The Beauty of the Houri: Heavenly Virgins, Feminine Ideals (Oxford UP, 2021), Nerina Rustomji presents a fascinating and multilayered intellectual and cultural history of the category of the “Houri” and the multiple ideological projects in which it has been inserted over time and space. Nimbly moving between a vast ra…

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Behind Closed Doors: Single Muslims and Porn w/ Dr. Fahad Khan 52:08

8d ago52:08

52:08

Let’s be real, porn is everywhere. And yes, Muslims are watching it too, way more than anyone admits. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Fahad Khan, a clinical psychologist and an expert in Islamic psychology. We talk about why so many singles fall into it, how hard it’s become to get married, and how that mix messes with the mind, the heart, an…

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13.4 - Zumretay Arkin 1:01:13

4d ago1:01:13

1:01:13

In this episode, Chella Ward and Claudia Radiven were in conversation with Zumretay Arkin, discussing the Uyghur genocide in East Turkestan. Zumretay is Chair of the Women’s Committee at the World Uyghur Congress (WUC). The WUC is an international organization acting as an umbrella organization representing and advocating for Uyghurs around the wor…

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Fahad Ahmad Bishara, "Monsoon Voyagers: An Indian Ocean History" (U California Press, 2025) 1:49:59

12d ago1:49:59

1:49:59

Monsoon Voyagers follows the voyage of a single dhow (sailing vessel), the Crooked, along with its captain and crew, from Kuwait to port cities around the Persian Gulf and Western Indian Ocean, from 1924 to 1925. Through his account of the voyage, Fahad Ahmad Bishara unpacks a much broader history of circulation and exchange across the Arabian Sea …

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The 2nd Most Important Talk to Have Before Marriage w/ Maysaa Fahour 58:18

6d ago58:18

58:18

Most single people think parenting is a future problem, something to worry about after having children. But the truth is, the way you’ll handle kids one day is already showing up in how you argue, apologize, or deal with stress today. The problem isn’t the kids, it’s us. How we handle emotions, set boundaries, and respond to conflict often reflects…

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13.3 – Ismail Patel and Hatem Bazian 1:07:59

18d ago1:07:59

1:07:59

In this episode, Claudia Radiven and Chella Ward spoke with Ismail Patel and Hatem Bazian about Pro-Palestinian resistance and the nature of protests - from the Iraq war demonstrations to the recent protests after the events of October 7th 2023. This conversation extended into the nature of colonial projects of occupation and the role coloniality s…

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What if I Never Get Married? 26:52

14d ago26:52

26:52

What if marriage never happens? Not as a gloomy thought, but as a real, quiet one many of us have whispered at some point. What if you’ve prayed, tried, and waited, and it still doesn’t come? What then? This episode speaks to that space between faith and fatigue, the longing, the grief, and the slow work of finding joy again. We talk about what it …

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13:2 - Sherman Jackson Part 2 57:26

14d ago57:26

57:26

In this episode, Hizer Mir and Salman Sayyid continue the conversation with Professor Sherman Jackson, discussing his work on the Islamic secular, Islamic studies and the state. The second half of this special episode discusses religious pluralism, the modern state and the secular, and the relationship between Sharia and the political. Sherman Jack…

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Is Lowering the Gaze Still Relevant Today? 27:50

20d ago27:50

27:50

Have you ever been told to “lower your gaze” and wondered what that’s supposed to look like in 2025 when the hardest place to lower it isn’t the street, but your screen? One innocent scroll can turn into a full-blown spiral before you even realize it. We’re talking about the subtle stuff: how comparison, curiosity, and constant exposure slowly shap…

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13:1 - Sherman Jackson Part I 59:14

24d ago59:14

59:14

This is Radio ReOrient. Welcome to Season 13. This our tenth year of navigating the post-Western and connecting the Islamosphere. In this episode, Sherman Jackson joins our regular hosts, Salman Sayyid and Hizer Mir, to talk about his new book, The Islamic Secular (Oxford UP, 2024). The book provocatively challenges the assumption that the secular …

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James Grehan, "Empire of Manners: Ottoman Sociability and War-Making in the Long Eighteenth Century" (Stanford UP, 2025) 36:22

1M ago36:22

36:22

It is easy to believe that manners are empty gestures, little more than social artifice or practiced etiquette whose sole purpose is to project civility and facilitate social interaction. But if we look more closely, they can tell us much more than we might first suppose, revealing what conventional accounts of state, economy, and religion often ig…

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Kathryn Hurlock, "Holy Places: How Pilgrimage Changed the World" (Profile, 2025) 55:07

1M ago55:07

55:07

This year, as they have for millennia, many people around the world will set out on pilgrimages. But these are not only journeys of personal and spiritual devotion - they are also political acts, affirmations of identity and engagements with deep-rooted historical narratives. In Holy Places: How Pilgrimage Changed the World (Profile, 2025) Professo…

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Ashis Roy, "Intimacy in Alienation: A Psychoanalytic Study of Hindu-muslim Relationships" (Yoda Press, 2024) 1:01:57

1M ago1:01:57

1:01:57

What happens when an analyst conducts interviews—and I am not speaking here about interviewing other analysts as we do at NBiP, but rather what happens when an analyst does field research, and researches one of the eternal subjects of our field which is to say love and also, to borrow from Gregorio Kohon, its’ vicissitudes? Locating within himself …

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This Could Save Your Marriage Before It Starts w/ Hina Mirza 1:05:10

1M ago1:05:10

1:05:10

Most couples obsess over the wedding details: venues, flowers, guest lists... but skip the one step that actually prepares you for marriage. We know because we skipped it too. And trust us, it’s a mistake we don't want you to make. Today we sit down with psychotherapist Hina Mirza to uncover why premarital counseling isn’t some boring checklist, it…

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Jamal J. Elias, "After Rumi: The Mevlevis and Their World" (Harvard UP, 2025) 1:02:52

2M ago1:02:52

1:02:52

Jamal J. Elias' new book After Rumi: The Mevlevis & Their World (Harvard UP, 2025) takes us on a historical journey through the development of the Mevlevi community after Jalaluddin Rumi’s passing in 1273. He frames the Mevlevis as an “emotional community” that is anchored in affective engagements with Rumi and his Masnavi. The book is organized ar…

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Gina Vale, "The Unforgotten Women of the Islamic State" (Oxford UP, 2024) 56:55

2M ago56:55

56:55

The Unforgotten Women of the Islamic State (Oxford University Press, 2024) by Dr. Gina Vale explores the governance of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization through the lives and words of local Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish women. While the roles and activities of foreign (predominantly Western), pro-IS women have garnered significant attentio…

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How Much To Share About Your Past? 44:19

1M ago44:19

44:19

“Should I tell them about my past?” It’s the question that makes every single Muslim pause. And let’s be real, our communities don’t make it easier. Men often get a pass, while women get judged twice as hard for the same mistakes. In this episode, we confront the myths and double standards around sharing your past in marriage conversations. What mu…

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Wendell Marsh, "Textual Life: Islam, Africa, and the Fate of the Humanities" (Columbia UP, 2025) 53:46

2M ago53:46

53:46

Textual Life: Islam, Africa, and the Fate of the Humanities (Columbia University Press, 2025), is a groundbreaking book that recasts the role of knowledge in the making of a colonial and postcolonial nation. It makes a case for a new literary and intellectual-historical approach to Islam in Africa. The Senegalese Muslim scholar Shaykh Musa Kamara (…

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What Men & Women Think About Each Other 42:29

2M ago42:29

42:29

“Men only care about looks.” “Women only care about money.” Sound bites like these have turned the Muslim marriage search into a battle of stereotypes. But are men really afraid of commitment? Are women really desperate for it? In this episode, we call out the misconceptions that pit men and women against each other and dig into how they’re sabotag…

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Masculinity in Crisis: Between Toxic and Weak w/ Dr. Omar Husain 1:03:15

2M ago1:03:15

1:03:15

Masculinity is either glorified or vilified, and single Muslims often pay the price. Women get told to avoid “dominant” men, while men are told to tone themselves down to avoid being toxic. The result? Confusion, frustration, and marriages built on false expectations. In this conversation with Dr. Omar Husain, we confront the uncomfortable truths a…

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Steve Tibble, "Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood" (Yale UP, 2025) 56:13

2M ago56:13

56:13

The Assassins and the Templars are two of history’s most legendary groups. One was a Shi’ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order created to defend the Holy Land. Violently opposed, they had vastly different reputations, followings, and ambitions. Yet they developed strikingly similar strategies—and their intertwined stories have, o…

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Localisation of Islamic Arts in Malaysia 22:50

2M ago22:50

22:50

The Malay world boasts a wealth of diverse cultures. The arrival of Islam in the Malay world during the 12th to 13th centuries permanently transformed the aesthetic landscape, and even European colonisation could not stem this change. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Dr. Dz…

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“If I Must Die” MEMO in Conversation with Yousef Aljamal 31:58

2M ago31:58

31:58

In this episode of A Conversation with MEMO, we speak with Yousef M Aljamal, editor of the book If I Must Die by the late Dr Refaat Alareer. The episode focuses on Refaat’s final poem, written shortly before he was assassinated by Israel, and how the book came together in the months after his death. Yousef talks about the personal and political mea…

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The Talking Stage: How Long Is Too Long? 32:12

2M ago32:12

32:12

How long should the talking stage really last? For many Muslims, what starts as a way to assess compatibility drags on for months or even years with no real progress. In this episode we dive into the question every single faces: when does talking cross the line from intentional to wasted time? We explore why so many get stuck, the signs it has gone…

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Mutaz al-Khatib, "Key Classical Works on Islamic Ethics" (Brill, 2024) 27:35

3M ago27:35

27:35

In this episode of Unlocking Academia, host Raja Aderdor speaks with Dr. Mutaz Al-Khatib, Associate Professor at the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics and Director of the Master’s program in Applied Islamic Ethics at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Together, they explore Key Classical Works on Islamic Ethics (Brill, 2024), a groundbr…

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Aliyah Khan, "Far From Mecca: Globalizing the Muslim Caribbean" (Rutgers UP, 2020) 45:03

3M ago45:03

45:03

Muslims have lived in the Caribbean for centuries. Far From Mecca: Globalizing the Muslim Caribbean (Rutgers University Press, 2020) examines the archive of autobiography, literature, music and public celebrations in Guyana and Trinidad, offering an analysis of the ways Islam became integral to the Caribbean, and the ways the Caribbean shaped Islam…

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Awkward Talks: Childbirth Before Marriage w/ Hebaa Rizeq 40:56

2M ago40:56

40:56

Childbirth talk when you’re single? Awkward. “Not for public discussion”? Maybe. “Only for women”? Definitely what most people think. But here’s the truth: understanding this journey before marriage could transform your future relationship. In this episode, we chat with certified doula Hebaa Rizeq about why pregnancy prep isn’t just a “married wome…

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Islam, Society, and Politics in Indonesia: An Interview with Robert Hefner 1:07:30

3M ago1:07:30

1:07:30

Today’s episode focuses on the intersection of Islam, society, and politics in Indonesia, the world’s single-largest majority Muslim country and the world’s third biggest democracy. Indonesian Islam is notable for its diversity, its associational strength, and its prominent role in both the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy in the lat…