This week's episode of the BTAM podcast is a narration this week's blog post by the same name.  It's an adaptation of a khutbah I wrote a couple of years ago.  Show notes are here - The Doors of Repentance are Always Open...Until They Aren't Please remember to subscribe and leave me a rating and review on iTunes:  Becoming the Alpha Muslim on iTunes

The Doors of Repentance are Always Open...Until they Aren't

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Self-Improvement

If you can bear with the awful audio quality of this recording, you are going to really enjoy this interview. Recently, I was interviewed by the BBC for their Heart and Soul podcast for a documentary about the rise of the Muslim manosphere. When I recorded this interview, I had to do it off of a screen share. I didn’t get the Zoom recording. I asked them for the recording but they refused, it’s not something they do. So I had to ninja record it. Alhamdulillah that I did, because they used less than 5% of a 45-minute interview. But the audio quality turned out to be really bad. So I had to manually go through and increase the levels when the host spoke. That took several hours. But it’s done now and the podcast is out on BBC too. You can listen to it here. What I would suggest though, is that you listen to this interview first and then go listen to the Heart and Soul documentary. Because the full unedited interview will give you more context on what we talked about, the tone of the discussion and the overall vibe, as opposed to the chopped-up clips that you’re going to hear on the BBC Heart and Soul podcast, which were edited to fit the story that they were trying to tell. So here’s the interview. Enjoy. Let me know what you think in the comments. And remember to subscribe to our newsletter.

TERRIBLE Audio EPIC Content - BBC Interviews MuslimMan™ Founder Nabeel Azeez

The Boys In The Cave podcast recently interviewed Becoming The Alpha Muslim. After publishing the episode, they faced criticism and pressure from SJW Muslims online. They caved to the pressure and took down the episode. Here is the full, unedited interview for your listening pleasure.  Full show notes are available here: http://bit.ly/boysinthecave

Boys in the Cave or BOYS CAVING IN?

I first came across Hodan Ibrahim in 2016, when she basically dropped everything she was doing in Canada and moved to Dubai to organize and host M-Powered Summit. This was a first-of-its-kind conference on Muslim startups and entrepreneurship. I ended up interviewing her and her co-founder for Ilmfeed, and also did writeups of the event. I haven't seen one like it, since. She hosted another, similar conference in Malaysia then next year, and has since moved on to bigger and better things. You see, Hodan is a serial entrepreneur. So the easiest thing that I did, and the hardest thing that I did, was becoming an entrepreneur. Um, it's, it's who I am. And I started out by failing a bunch of times and having little digital startups. The first company that worked out for me was a digital marketing agency that I had, um, and Alhamdulillah, after like three months. I went full-time on that. Being an entrepreneur is "cool" now...every other Instagram profile has the title splashed across their bio. But Hodan was in the entrepreneurship Game long before it was even a thing. As a first-generation, Somali-Canadian immigrant Muslim (her family fled because of the war,) she ticked multiple minority status boxes... And frequently found herself the only black woman in a room full of white men. There was not a single person of color in any of these rooms that could understand my perspective...I remember one incident where I went to CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.) This was the first event that I ever did, in Ottawa, and it was about supporting entrepreneurs of color. And I went and got an interview with the CBC, and they're just like, "Why does it matter if an entrepreneur is a person of color?...why can't you just learn from all types of entrepreneurs? Why don't you have white entrepreneurs?" None of this stopped her. What's interesting to me is how she didn't let her hamster run wild and create a narrative of victimhood (Feminism, Patriarchy, Toxic Masculinity, yadda yadda yadda.) She just did what she had to do to get where she needed to go. And it was her faith that aided her. In this episode of the Becoming the Alpha Muslim podcast, Hodan and I talk about:  Being a minority business owner as a first generation Somali-Canadian immigrant black Muslimah The historical context behind attitudes toward Muslim women today Feminism (and why Muslim women don't need it) How Muslim women can develop their self-worth and happiness Why she's pro-polygyny and thinks its the best relationship arrangement for her personality and lifestyle And a bunch of other topics  For complete show notes, visit our blog:  https://becomingthealphamuslim.com/muslimah-serial-entrepreneur-hodan-ibrahim

Muslimah Serial Entrepreneur Hodan Ibrahim on Minority Business Owners, Self-Worth, Feminism, Polygyny, and More

 Late last year, I had the chance to sit down to talk to Hussein Kesvani about his work as a Muslim journalist.    A lot happened between then and now that led to me not publishing this podcast episode soon after I recorded it.    I figure now's as good a time as any.   Hussein Kesvani is the UK/Europe editor for Mel Magazine, a publication ostensibly about men and masculinity (though I would argue it's perpetuating modern degeneracy and promoting men being Soyboys.)   This is most certainly a black mark against Hussein, who is otherwise a fine fellow and an accomplished, non-hacky journalist.    He's also written for Buzzfeed, Vice, The Independent, The Guardian, The New Statesman, The Shortlist, and Refinery29.    He's a co-host of the No Country For Brown Men Podcast and also the Trash Future podcast.   Here's what we talked about during our short chat:   The relationship between a writer and his editor, and why journalists publish pieces that can seem "editorialized" [4:55] What journalists and copywriters have in common when writing about "subjects" and clients [8:42] The challenge of writing on topics involving Muslims in a non-Muslim publication [13:05] How BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) people can get their foot in the door of fast-changing world of modern journalism [17:20] Where does Hussein place crowd-funded, independent citizen journalists like Mike Cernovich, Tim Pool, and Lauren Southern in the ecosystem of journalism as a whole [23:58] How the definition of "journalism" has changed in recent years [27:18] On the journalistic value of what many citizen journalists think passes for journalism [30:09] Do mainstream media publications have a responsibility to be impartial and objective? [35:26] How can Muslim men get their start in journalism? Hussein gives us practical advice. (Hint: copywriting is an important skill) [39:56] 

Muslim Men in Journalism: The World's Last Hope Against Fake News

It's a little after one year since Donald J Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America. In this episode, I'm joined by a surprise guest (hint: he's visiting from Chicago) as we talk about Trump's first year as president, the #metoo movement, Hollywood, and accountability.  Show Notes  I reveal our surprise guest [01:19] The luxuries of living in a Muslim country only a Muslim can truly appreciated [02:00] The one unique trait of Dubai making it the #1 destination for Muslims in the West who want to migrate to a Muslim country [04:00] Reclaiming the Alt-Bro…from pejorative to positive [05:30] The fundamental error Muslim men make when defining masculinity that makes them deficient in their manhood [09:18] Who decides the worth and quality of a man? [11:48] The two core attributes of men that, when devalued, lead to a complete breakdown in society [14:00] Trumpian communication in context…what the hell is he saying? [15:50] So, how did Trump’s first year go? What did he achieve? Where did he fail? How are people reacting to it? [17:00] When you frame Trump’s policy-making this way it all makes sense (and the two books where he tells you, “this is what I’m doing”) [24:25] The true meaning of the #metoo movement almost no one will admit [28:10] How many da’ees and shuyukh are #metoo victims? [31:30] The double standard and faulty logic of women’s “empowerment” [32:40] The one natural trait women should embrace to get the best out of the men in their lives [35:18] A perfect, very recent example of double standards in action - Asmi Fathelbab and Linda Sarsour [36:25] A disturbing trend in the behavior of some American da’ees and shuyukh, even though they have trained extensively in our Sacred Tradition [45:20] Muru’ah - propriety; the type of permissible behavior that is allowed for different ranks of men, and what kind of behavior violates muru’ah [49:00] The one solution to the current situation of the Ummah that most Muslims will dismiss [52:10] Our guest gives out some final parting advice [55:20]   

The Doors of Repentance are Always Open...Until they Aren't

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