It all started one day when a pastor told Brandon Estes that he couldn't put his face to the ground, just like Jesus had. This propelled Estes, a Cowboy in Texas, to ask questions and pursue the truth for himself. In a town where no one had heard of Muslims, Estes managed to get a hold of the Holy Qur'an, which sparked a lifelong journey till today.

It is no secret that social media wields great power and has far reaching impact. But with great power comes great responsibility. Guest Marina Hasan, a social activist whose work has reached millions across the world, joins the discussion at TMJ's For God and Country. On her Instagram, Hasan has amassed 122k followers, many of her videos also going viral. She speaks on her journey in navigating the world of fame, and what it means to be a responsible social media netizen.

Mainstream media celebrates the burning of hijab, champions only those who remove the veil and promotes the desecration of Islamic sanctities. But what if there is something sinister about the politicization of the veil, heightened media obsession of the hijab post Mahsa Amini's death in Iran, and the broader colonialist agenda. TMJ News Network brings you the latest episode of For God and Country.

This week on the For God and Country podcast Zainabrights is joined by Tarek Bazzi, to talk about the failing education system, the importance of spiritual education for young Muslims and rebuilding the social fabric in the Muslim communities. If you like this episode with Tarek Bazzi and want to see more of For God and Country be sure to subscribe to our podcast via any podcast streaming catalog to access our full catalog.

Things are quickly shaping up in the media world, especially with the ever increasing influence of social media. The current dynamic is leading to narrative wars, where it is almost as if people are living in entirely different worlds. A major element of this is disinformation, amplified by the social media dynamic and an effective tool for centers of power. Other elements include the echo chamber effect on social media on hot topics such as Ukraine crisis, the pandemic, recent events in Iran etc. Host Zainabrights and guest Fatima El-Zein discuss what it means to be journalists in today's narrative wars and the backend obstacles journalists are faced with today on reporting truthful news stories.

Stephanie Butler, a mom of 4, found pornographic material in the school's libraries. She reveals everything she found including sexual guides, dangerous content and leads to child trafficking websites.

There is mounting evidence that social media leads a coordinated effort to silence the Palestinian narrative. Yousef Bazzi of the Purpose Project is one of many victims of this censorship when his page got censored for creating a short reels video about Palestinian children which went viral. In the second episode of the podcast 'For God and Country' we talk about social media censorship, big tech programs and Yousef's experience.

Karbala is often looked at as a historical tragedy in Islam's history, but the bigger picture is often missed. With the first episode of TMJ's new show 'For God and Country' with journalist Zainabrights and guest Tarek Bazzi, the subject of Karbala is broached, the choice of human morality examined and connections are made in the global landscape today.