Muslim StoryTellers

Manzoor Cheema, founding member of Muslims for Social Justice and the Movement to End Racism and Islamophobia, tells us in this episode about how we can fight social justice, racism, and Islamophobia, and gives teaches us a lesson on what we must do to be the change we want to see in our society.  This is a must listen for everybody!

Yesterday's tragedy in Charlotte has caused anger and outrage as reports of a black man, Keith Lamont Scott, was shot and killed by the police.  This raw podcast was recorded to give my thoughts and to let people know how they can help during this time.

​Photo credit belongs to Al Jazeera

Our story today comes from Aziz Ahsan, an Attorney from Hopewell Junction, NY.  He was born in Pakistan and became a US Citizen in 1984.  He is a 9/11 survivor and was a subject of two PBS TV documentaries.  He has also appeared on radio, television, and social media, to discuss various issues/topics.  Mr. Ahsan is a recipient of numerous honors, awards, and patents.  He believes strongly in community engagement and serves, or has served, on a variety of boards or different organizations.

He talks about the moments before and after the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001 and what we can do and continue to do as Muslims in America.

Credit for photo used in this blog/podcast is from the the PBS newsmagazine "Religion & Ethics Newsweekly".

Our story today comes from Rose Hamid.   Many of us in Charlotte know her for her community work, interfaith work, and her activism.  In January, she received national and international attention when her peaceful, graceful, silent protest interrupted Donald Trump’s rally and was escorted out.  The message she had on her shirt said “Salam, I come in peace.”

She has written op-eds and guest columns in the Charlotte Observer about Islam and being Muslim.  She has recently had a piece in the Huffington Post, an open letter to Reverend Franklin Graham, to have a conversation about Islam, to help dispel the misconceptions he has.

Her story today is about her journey to the Republican and Democratic National Convention, promoting her project, Salam, I Come in Peace, with the purpose create opportunities for interactions to help ease some fears about Muslims and Islam.

Our story today comes from Faisal Qazi.  He lives in southern California.  By day he is a Neurologist, and fills in his spare time providing free health care and job training to people in need as well as focusing on community development, through his non-profit organization MiNDs, which is short for Medical network devoted to service.

In his story, he talks about the shooting in San Bernardino, CA that occurred in December 2nd of last year, how he reacted to it, and what he and a few community members did to help the victims and the families of the horrific shooting.

Duston Barto, editor of Muslim American Magazine, co-founder of the Foothills Interfaith Assembly, and a resident of Lincoln County, NC  stepped up to defend religious liberties for everyone after the county Chairman expressed unprovoked hate against Muslims.  Here is his account.

This episode speaks about my thoughts 7 days after the tragedy in Orlando.  Many things have occurred in the past 7 days; the ones which I talk about are my experiences at two community vigils and an Interfaith Iftar (fast breaking dinner at sunset).

The recent tragedy in Orlando has been called the worst mass shooting in US history, with 50 dead and over 50 injured.  Within 24 hours, there has been an outpour of support for the victims and their families as well as for the LGBTQ and Muslim communities. This raw podcast was recorded to let people know how they can help the victims of the horrific shooting as well as what you can do in your community to show your support.

Lindsey Faraj, a 30-year-old white American, mother, wife, Nutritionist, activist - and a Muslim convert - speaks about her journey to Islam.

This story is from Keith Stringfellow, who teaches American History, World History, and English at the Charlotte Islamic Academy.  The story he shares to Muslim StoryTellers is his journey to embracing Islam; it is a journey unlike any other.