History Speaks

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal is joined by Dr. Asif Majid to explore how British Muslim youth in Manchester use performance — on stage and in everyday life — to navigate identity, belonging, and race. Together, they discuss what it means to define “Muslimness” as something performed rather than fixed, how these communities responded in the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, and why performance offers a powerful lens for understanding racialization and community-making. From devised theatre to the politics of visibility and absence, this conversation opens a window onto a rich and understudied intersection of religion, race, and art.

Asif Majid writes fiction, (academic) non-fiction, and plays. Using community-based participatory theatre and (auto)ethnography, he works at the intersection of Islam, performance, and race as a theatre maker, educator, researcher, and consultant. His work scripts, stages, and traces local and global nodes of power, politics, and (de)coloniality. Currently, he is Assistant Professor of Theatre and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut, where he is also Area Head of Theatre Studies and Affiliate Faculty in Anthropology; Asian and Asian American Studies; Intersectional Indigeneity, Race, Ethnicity, and Politics; Middle East Studies; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Asif has earned over $500,000 in grant and fellowship funding from funders as diverse as the Asian Cultural Council, Mellon Foundation, Wallace Foundation, and Fulbright Program. His performance work has taken him from the Kennedy Center to Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. He completed his practice-based PhD in Anthropology, Media, and Performance at The University of Manchester, and is the author of Making Muslimness: Race, Religion, and Performance in Contemporary Manchester. Asif is online at www.asifmajid.com and on Substack at Deeds and Du’as.

Dr. Roshan Iqbal hails from a small hamlet of 20 million–Karachi, Pakistan. She received her PhD in Islamic Studies from Georgetown University. Prior to this she read for her MPhil at the University of Cambridge. She has studied in Pakistan, the US, Morocco, Egypt, Jordon, the UK, and Iran. Her research interests include gender and sexuality in the Qur’an, Islamic Law, Film and Media Studies, and modern Muslim intellectuals. Her recent book is titled, ‘Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law: Rethinking Temporary Marriage.’ As an associate professor at Agnes Scott College, she teaches classes in the Religious Studies department and also classes that are cross-listed with Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Film Studies. When she is not working, she loves talking to her family and friends on the phone (thank you, unlimited plans), tracking fashion (sartorial flourishes are such fun), watching films (love! love! love!), reading novels (never enough), painting watercolors (less and less poorly), and cooking new dishes (sometimes successfully).

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal speaks with Dr. Deanna Ferree Womack, Associate Professor of History of Religions and Interfaith Studies at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, about her new book Re-inventing Islam: Gender and the Protestant Roots of American Islamophobia (Oxford University Press, 2025). Together they trace how Anglo-American Protestant missionaries, through texts, images, and material culture, reshaped ideas about Islam and Muslim women across four centuries — and how those inherited narratives still echo in American Islamophobia today. The conversation asks a question that reaches beyond the book itself: why do we see others the way we do, and what would it take to see differently?


The Rev. Dr. Deanna Ferree Womack is Associate Professor of History of Religions and Interfaith Studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. She teaches courses on Christian-Muslim relations, interreligious dialogue, and Middle Eastern Christianity. From 2022 to 2025 she directed Candler’s Master of Arts in Religion and Leadership program, and she served from 2015 to 2020 as director of the Leadership and Multifaith Program (LAMP), established with the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech. Womack came to Candler from Princeton Theological Seminary, where she earned her MDiv, ThM and PhD. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal is joined by Dr. Akif Tahieev to explore a topic that rarely appears in mainstream scholarship: Shia Muslim communities in post-Soviet Eastern Europe. Together, they discuss who these communities are, how they live and practice their faith, and why their stories have been overlooked in both Islamic studies and European studies. From questions of identity and conversion to the impact of recent conflicts, this conversation opens a window onto a world many listeners may not know exists.

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal sits down with Dr. Martin Nguyen, author of Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the World with Faith and Imagination, to explore what it means to imagine a “Muslim Malcolm X.” Together, they discuss how Malcolm’s faith shaped his vision of justice, community, and how retelling his story from the vantage point of his religious imagination invites us to see him anew. This conversation reflects on Malcolm X not only as a civil rights icon, but as a transformative Muslim thinker whose legacy continues to nourish contemporary struggles for liberation.

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal speaks with Dr. Santiago Slabodsky, who holds the Florence and Robert Kaufman Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies and directs the Jewish Studies program at Hofstra University. Drawing on his award-winning book Decolonial Judaism: Triumphal Failures of Barbaric Thinking, Dr. Slabodsky explores the erasure of the Judeo-Islamic tradition and the invention of the “Judeo-Christian” West. Together, they discuss how colonialism, epistemic dominance, and modernity have shaped the way we understand history, power, and religion. The conversation invites us to reconsider what was lost with the disappearance of the Judeo-Islamic world — and what might be recovered when we imagine history beyond Europe’s frame.

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal speaks with Dr. Sarra Tlili, author of Animals in the Qur’an, a groundbreaking work—translated into Arabic—that has reshaped scholarship on Islam, ethics, and the environment. Together, they explore her thesis that the Qur’an is theocentric and not an anthropocentric text and what this means for how we understand creation and ourselves. This episode is dedicated, with Dr. Tlili’s permission, to the life and legacy of Jane Goodall.

In this episode of History Speaks, I talk with Dr. Natalie Khazaal, Associate Professor in the School of Modern Languages at Georgia Tech. Drawing from her research, we explore how racism, speciesism, and cultural bias are embedded in animated films and how they shape what audiences learn about difference and belonging. We also discuss the MARS test, an original intervention Dr. Ghazaal developed, with two other colleagues, to analyze these biases in media and animation. Our conversation is framed by a larger question: how does animation reflect and reinforce societal prejudices, often without viewers even noticing? We consider how creative choices, protest, and advocacy can challenge these narratives. Ultimately, we ask: what does it mean to see - and be seen - accurately in stories meant for everyone?

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal speaks with Dr. Younus Mirza, founding director of the Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University, about his recent book The Islamic Mary. Together, they explore Maryam/Mary in the Qur’an, Hadith, Sufi thought, and the broader Muslim imagination. The conversation concludes by highlighting how significant Maryam/Mary is, how often her legacy is overlooked, and how much untapped potential it holds for Muslim spirituality and interfaith dialogue.

In this episode of History Speaks, Dr. Roshan Iqbal speaks with Dr. Elliot Bazzano, Associate Professor at Le Moyne College, about Islamophobia, the election of Zohran Mamdani, and what his success means for U.S. Muslims. Together, they unpack the roots and impact of Islamophobia, tracing how it shapes both public perception and everyday Muslim life. Their conversation situates Mamdani’s rise within a broader history, one shaped by the quiet labor of parents, elders, and countless famous and not-famous Muslim figures who have sustained their communities with resilience and care. They end by reflecting on why Mamdani’s achievement holds such symbolic and personal significance for Muslims across the United States.

In this episode, Dr. Roshan Iqbal speaks with Dr. Saba Fatima, Professor of Philosophy at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, about her new book, A Brief Guide to Shia Islam: Beliefs, Practices, and Exemplars. Together, they explore the core tenets, rich traditions, and influential figures of Shia Islam in a conversation designed to be accessible and engaging. This episode offers a warm and informative introduction for students and curious listeners alike, inviting deeper understanding and appreciation of one of Islam’s major
traditions.

Dr. Saba Fatima (pronounced Subb/a  Fath-ma) is a Professor of Philosophy at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Her work primarily explores the intersections of feminism, race theory, and contemporary Islamic thought. With a focus on issues of social justice, gender, and identity, Fatima’s scholarship offers nuanced perspectives on the lived experiences of marginalized communities, particularly Muslim women in Western societies. Her writings often challenge conventional paradigms, advocating for a more inclusive and empathetic understanding of cultural and religious diversity. In addition to her academic publications, she is an engaging speaker and educator, dedicated to fostering dialogue and critical thinking in both scholarly and public spheres. She was also the host of the podcast, She Speaks: Academic Muslimahs.