Mommying While Muslim

"Would you be willing to come on a podcast and talk about that?" Zaiba asked Uzma almost 3 years ago about racial profiling of Muslim Americans by TSA.

"Sure. What do I have to do?" Uzma had no idea what a podcast was, or that she could find them right on her smartphone!

Find out our how-to's on getting started, podcasting (while staying friends), and how-to party on this with our giveaway we did live for our audience. This is our 100th episode alhamdulillah.

Links:

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com
2. Email: [email protected]
3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group
4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Trigger alert: child loss

Abeeha Hassan joins us today to discuss the very recent stillbirth of her newborn. She talks to us about how she grieved her daughter and talks about normalizing it contrary to what most Muslim cultures permit in society. Her process of closure may seem familiar to someone else who has gone this journey alone and we are so touched that Abeeha chose to share her story with us. We pray a momsister finds comfort in knowing there’s someone sharing her story of loss and is available to talk about it.

This month's series is about how to do hard things, and in our opinion, burying our own children is the hardest. Abeeha is a model of sabr, taqwa, as well as normalizing our emotions. She helps us understand that saying Jannah’s name is normal. We always seek to better support our moms in all their situations, and the education she provides on how to do that is invaluable. Grab a Kleenex, but there are moments where we find gratitude and laugh through the tears.

Note: 

1)    Miscarriage-pregnancy loss before 20 weeks

1)    Stillbirth-pregnancy loss after 20 weeks (intrauterine fetal demise)

2)    Neonatal death-death within the first 28 days of life

Links:

1. Discrimination vs. hijab in Kansas City, MO: https://apnews.com/article/73d2c6104c891672e4d9cad88290a8f6 
2. Find Abeeha on IG: @mamaofalittleangel
3. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com
4. Email: [email protected]
5. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group
6. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Shazia Siddiqi MA, LPC, ATR-BC of Let’s Art About It studio rejoins us today to talk about art therapy, a misunderstood or poorly understood therapeutic modality for trauma, anxiety, or depression. She’s here to explain the science behind it, and your co-hosts will share some of their experiences with art that accidentally healed them or their loved ones. Find out some easy ways you can use art therapy in your virtual school or homeschool schedule! We will use whatever we need to protect our mental health and that of our kids. Wouldn’t you?

The sound on this episode is not our usual quality, but it’s the jinn in Uzma’s computer that did it. You’ll still get a lot of it God willing.

Links:

1. The truth about the podcast Caliphate by the New York Times: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/18/944594193/new-york-times-retracts-hit-podcast-series-caliphate-on-isis-executioner 
2. Contact the New York Times to pull Caliphate off all podcast platforms: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/homepage/contact-newsroom.html 
3. Let’s Art About it for virtual or in-person art therapy informed activities on IG: @letsartaboutitstudio
4. Let’s Art About it website: https://letsartaboutit.com/
5. Contact Shazia by phone to set up a virtual event: (248) 210-5118
6. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com
7. Email: [email protected]
8. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group
9. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Summayah Poonah joins us today to talk about an important resource to assist our Muslim teens’ mental health needs. She is Head of Operations at Naseeha Mental Health, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting communities and individuals in their journey towards positive mental health and wellbeing. Did ya’ll even know that there is a hotline for Muslim teens to call or text a counselor 7 days a week no matter where they live? Yes, that’s Naseeha! Why is a safe space like this necessary, and what can we do to support our teens? Research has shown that mainstream resources often cannot understand the cultural backgrounds of our kids’ families of origin, and what they don’t know can hurt our kids.

Muslim teens have indicated they’re FIVE TIMES as likely to feel depressed this year, but only about 20% are accessing mental health care in person or electronically. They’re FOUR TIMES as likely to hurt themselves—this is a Muslim public mental health emergency.

We talk coping, crisis, confidentiality, and continued support that Naseeha has been offering since 2007. It’s a gem in our midst we need to grow, especially during these times when our older sets are suffering, some in silence. 

Break the silence. Break the stigma. Help our teens use Naseeha’s free phone-based peer support counseling, group counseling sessions, and psychoeducational workshops for racialized youth. 

Links:https://youtu.be/NrB8Iamo0OA

1. Naseeha website: https://naseeha.org/about-us/#meettheteam
2. Naseeha IG: @1866naseeha
3. Naseeha hotline: 1-866-627-3342 call or text FREE and CONFIDENTIAL 7 days/week from 12-9 pm EST
4. Help Naseeha help others! https://naseehaus.kindful.com/ 
5. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com
6. Email: [email protected]
7. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group
8. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

This year has brought a lot of changes we weren’t ready for, moms, and this episode brings on Dr. Saba Maroof, MD, a very busy psychiatrist whose work tripled as a result of the pandemic! She’s seen a lot and has had her pulse on the Muslim American psyche pre-pandemic, but there are some specific Muslim mental health needs she’s seeing arise as a result of the lockdown. 

Let’s address what the hang-ups are in the Muslim community, as well as without it, about mental health, address the burdens of motherhood that put her mental health needs on the back burner and further at risk of crisis, and figure out how to identify what we can and cannot control of our emotions and minds. Don’t wait until it gets out of hand, ya’ll! If you FEEL something is off, DO something ASAP.

Find out the names of what you might be feeling and let us know, “How YOU doin?”

Links:https://youtu.be/NrB8Iamo0OA

1. Find Dr. Saba Maroof, MD on IG: @artofpsychiatry
2. The COVID Cloud by Dr. Jessi Gold, MD, MS: https://www.instyle.com/lifestyle/covid-cloud-concentration-memory-issues 
3. Find a Muslim therapist: https://muslimmentalhealth.com/directory/ or try https://seemamentalhealth.com/find-a-therapist/ 
4. FREE Physician Support Line for doctors coping with coronavirus staffed by volunteer psychiatrists helping their colleagues on the front lines: 1-888-409-0141, non-physicians can dial “1” for help and physicians can dial “2” to get someone to meet their specific needs
5. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for resources on COVID coping for adults: https://www.aacap.org/ 
6. Child Mind Institute: https://childmind.org/ 
7. American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/
8. The Jed Foundation: https://www.jedfoundation.org/?gclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-BRB2EiwAGBnXXsmMEvh6EtxIztbu6v6Ce48r2HaYobw_GKbQEoFdfgQz0rJM9dqheBoCcCYQAvD_BwE  
9. Minnesota Masjid 2017 bombing story: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/09/944870427/militia-group-leader-guilty-of-minnesota-mosque-pipe-bomb-attack 
10. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com
11. Email: [email protected]
12. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group
13. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Dr. Rukhsana Chaudhry comes on today to kick off our mental health series and gives us SO MUCH insight into our anxieties and how to deal with our kids’. Let’s face it: this pandemic has kicked our collective butts and we’ve seen changes in our kids and in ourselves we haven’t handled well all the time. We can do better by learning better, and when we do that, we MOM better.

Learning to sit with discomfort to teach our kids how to do the same can hit childhood anxiety head-on. Dr. Chaudhry addresses teen needs as well, sharing current research on pandemic-induced social isolation as potentially more hazardous in teens. Filtering information to quell teen anxiety and learning to recognize the signs of mental discomfort and illness in our kids will be key, and the resources she shares with us are amazing. Most importantly, continuing to work against the stigma of mental illness in some Muslim communities is going to be key, so HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS, ya’ll!

Don’t forget to click on the links in the show notes to recognize the signs, be mental health first aid proficient, and learn the lingo of mental health. Tune in to the rest of our episodes on mental health dropping this month, every Thursday at 6 pm EST on Alexa, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Links:https://youtu.be/NrB8Iamo0OA

1. Recognize the signs! Mental Health First Aid virtual training via the American Muslim Health Professional Association: https://amhp.us/virtualmhfa/ 
2. Learn the lingo! Reducing mental health stigma with National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/Home  
3. UCLA Childhood Anxiety Center: https://carescenter.ucla.edu/ 
4. Wellness Toolkit in the Time of Coronavirus from The FYI.org: https://www.thefyi.org/toolkits/coronavirus/ 
5. Muslim American mental health issues with Muslim Wellness Foundation: https://www.muslimwellness.com/aboutmwf 
6. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/
7. CDC Coronavirus schedule: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6949e1.htm 
8. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com
9. Email: [email protected]
10. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group
11. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Zaiba and Uzma discuss the final stage of Kubler Ross’grief: Acceptance today. They skipped over bargaining for religious reasons!

As Muslims, “acceptance” doesn’t mean lie down and relax. The work is NOT DONE! There’s much to do to keep the momentum going and to undo all the damage that’s been done to our nation in the last 4 years, and particularly to Muslim Americans. 

Local and state elections matter because of school curricula, zoning laws that determine when and if masajid go up, law enforcement, where our tax dollars go directly, and so much more! There are some easy things we can do, and even work that our kids can do to get involved or to stay involved in the political process and protect democracy and justice. Never underestimate the power of what ya’ll can do, mamas!

Links:

1)   All eyes on GA: Black Voters Matter: https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/

2)   Purchase this workbook on anxiety if your child has it--or even if YOU do! What to Do When You Worry Too Much: https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Worry-Much-What/dp/1591473144  

3)   What to Do After the Election: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/12/health/election-getting-involved-actions-wellness/index.html 

4)   Find my Congressperson: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative and https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm 

5)   Points of Light to get matched up with volunteer opportunities: https://www.pointsoflight.org/our-mission/

6)   Find other volunteer opportunities based on your interest in Volunteer Match: https://www.volunteermatch.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAk53-BRD0ARIsAJuNhpsPDNaDVM6wY7Moi6qBdq0ZBc8GMSSL85E2dnF33nsQBxRa8pCqfMUaApSFEALw_wcB 

7)   Better Arguments Project: https://betterarguments.org/ 

8)   Website: https://mommyingwhilemuslim.com/

9)   Facebook: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

10)                  IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

11)                  Twitter: @MWMpodcasting

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

The next step in grief in this Part III of our election series is depression, which may feel worse today because it’s a holiday in pandemic, and it doesn’t look like what we’re used to. With social distancing protocols, many lives lost to this disease, and a third surge with no end in sight, we could dive right into depression, the next stage of grief, but today we choose gratitude. It’s not one of the stages of grief, so here we go replacing it! December will be our mental health series, so stay tuned for that.

We have to acknowledge the role of colonialism and white supremacy in the origin story of this holiday, and how gratitude isn’t a holiday sentiment: it’s daily Muslim practice. Let’s call the bleaching of American history what it is and share what we still hold onto of ourselves despite it. Reflect on Surah Rahman and the joys, big and small, of 2020.

Links:

1)   How to support your teens through COVID-19: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Signs-your-Teen-May-Need-More-Support.aspx

2)   All eyes on GA: Black Voters Matter: https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/

3)   CAIR-CA report on Islamaphobia on campus: bit.ly/cairca-campus-climate-2020

4)   CAIR action on apps spying on Muslims: https://www.votervoice.net/CAIR/campaigns/78170/respond

5)   The FYI toolkit on dealing with election stress: https://www.thefyi.org/toolkits/election-debrief-toolkit/ 

6)   The FYI toolkit on wellbeing under COVID-19: https://www.thefyi.org/toolkits/coronavirus/ 

7)   CDC study on COVID-19 impact on Native Americans: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6934e1.htm?s_cid=mm6934e1_w 

8)   Website: https://mommyingwhilemuslim.com/

9)   Facebook: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

10)                  IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

11)                  Twitter: @MWMpodcasting

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Since they couldn’t find a Muslim mom who voted for Trump, Zaiba recruited her husband, Zafar, to return to the podcast for this episode to help understand the 35% of Muslims surveyed by the Associated Press who said that they planned to vote for Trump--and probably did. It was CLOSE, y’all! Could the Muslim vote afford to be so split? What are the reasons that it wasn’t a landslide with 100% of Muslim Americans voting against the current POTUS?

Zafar does a great job calming Zaiba and Uzma down in this episode to demonstrate that 35% of Muslims voting in a way we don’t understand isn’t so significant, statistically or historically, and diversity of opinions is considered a blessing in Islam. Does everything he says resonate with your favorite podcasting duo? NO! Hear about white grievance vs. privilege, the right to return, the Democratic party’s role in turning away the Muslim vote through doublespeak, and the silver lining in having lived through the last 4 years under this administration.

Tune in for the discourse! “All dialogue is good dialogue,” as Zafar Hasan says.

Links:

1)   All eyes on GA: The New Georgia Project: https://newgeorgiaproject.org/

2)   All eyes on GA: Black Voters Matter: https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/

3)   AP VoteCast Survey results: https://www.npr.org/2020/11/03/929478378/understanding-the-2020-electorate-ap-votecast-survey 

4)   Website: https://mommyingwhilemuslim.com/

5)   Facebook: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

6)   IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

7)   Twitter: @MWMpodcasting

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Zaiba & Uzma discuss election results which, at the time of this recording, was not yet called, but was highly suggestive of results they did not expect. Why don’t they have cause to celebrate regardless of who is elected this year?

This is a darker episode, with some sad reflections about what the turnout means in terms of the moral compass of America and who our real allies are. Conscience does not have to be consistent with only a political ideology, rather requires us to think, act, and vote along economic and social plans as well, especially those of us who are Muslim Americans. A close election isn’t just a close call, but a larger revelation about the limitations of white liberalism/privilege, a two party system, and political rhetoric in this nation.

Now that we know who the President of the United States is, this is a great reflection of where so many of us were one week ago. This month will be a Kubler Ross stages of grief series reflecting on this election and what it means about our society. When we know better, we vote better, we do better.

Links:

1. Website: https://mommyingwhilemuslim.com/
2. Facebook: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group
3. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast
4. Twitter: @MWMpodcasting

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: [email protected]

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w