Muslims Doing Things

Amna Nawaz (@amnaonpbs) is an American broadcast journalist and a co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour alongside Geoff Bennett. Before joining PBS in April 2018, Nawaz was an anchor and correspondent at ABC News and NBC News. And before that, a foreign correspondent. Amna dives into her path to the co-anchor seat, including time in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and how her husband has played a key role in their co-parenting journey. Amna’s accolades include an Emmy Award and a Society for Features Journalism award. Follow Amna at

Follow Amna on IG

Follow Amna on Twitter

If you’re on TikTok, you have seen the hysterical (and sometimes unhinged) Duolingo posts. And if you were interested in learning a language (like my husband was, actually), you probably converted into a Duolingo user because of the prevalence of Duo the owl on TikTok. I was stunned to find out that all 6m of us Duo stans were actually following a fresh-out-of-college Pakistani American, Zaria Parvez (@photos_zap). In two short years and with a marketing budget of 0 dollars, Zaria built a cult around the language learning app. The Duolingo account has 121.6m likes, including some from a video from just yesterday with 2m views (a figure 300,000 north of the entire population of Bahrain).

Listen to Zaria’s incredible story. This journey is especially cool because she is early in her career, but has already been recognized as a marketing genius. Experience doesn’t always equate to stature or seniority, and Zaria’s story is a testament to that reality.

Follow Zaria on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zariaparvez?lang=en

Follow Zaria on IG https://www.instagram.com/photos_zap/?hl=en

Check out Duolingo’s TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo?lang=en

As an Iraqi-American, Audie Attar’s (@AudieAttar) parents saw athletic talent in him and nurtured it through high school and into college. Audie played football at UCLA before a fight got him kicked out of the school and landed him at Idaho State. The racial undercurrents of the fight, grounded in Islamophobia, did not stop Audie’s team at UCLA from working hard to get him back on their side. Shortly after, Audie made his way back to UCLA before graduating and landing a role as an NFL agent. That was the start of Audie’s sports management journey — and since then, he founded Paradigm Sports (@paradigmsports). Audie is referred to as “one of combat sports most powerful agents” according to an article in a 2017 MMA.com article, in case you are wondering how that’s going. Audie manages a roster of talent across the NFL, MMA, MLB, and beyond - including household names like Conor McGregor, Jozy Altidore, and Rico Verhoeven.    

Follow Audie on Instagram 

Follow Audie on Twitter

Follow Paradigm Sports on Instagram

Manal Aman @helloholydays knew who she admired: Martha Stewart. She went to college with the goal of figuring out the business of Martha, and graduated into an editorial job for the DIY queen herself. Within a few short years, Manal figured out how to get her own line into Crate and Barrel to celebrate Ramadan (yes, that advent calendar — the one we all lost it for). Listen to Manal’s journey

Shop the collection at HelloHolyDays.com

Follow @helloholydays on Instagram

Yusra Siddiqui (@thatgirlyusra) is an Associate Fashion Editor at Who What Wear, and at her core she is a journalist. Yusra talks about what it takes to build a career in fashion journalism, how she got to where she is, and her recent cover stories with Jenna Ortega and Madelyn Cline. Listen to Yusra lay out the power of connection, not giving up, and what her life looks like as a Fashion Editor (sneak peak: she publishes 5-6 pieces a week).

Find Yusra on IG @thatgirlyusra and TikTok @thatgirlyusraa

Anoosha Syed (@foxville_art) is a Pakistani-Canadian freelance illustrator + character designer for animation, based in Toronto. If you have kids, you likely have come across her work (Bilal Cooks Daal and That’s Not My Name are both on Kamila’s bookshelf!).

Since graduating, Anoosha has worked as a character designer for preschool series in development working with clients like Disney, Netflix and Nick. After illustrating over 25 books for children, she is now working on several author/illustrator titles — and recently published her her debut book, That’s Not My Name.

Anoosha has not only built an amazing career, but she has recreated her path through a series of YouTube tutorials, and shows her work behind the scenes across social media. Listen to Anoosha talk about her journey, and what it takes to build a career in illustration and children's books. 

Find her on:

• Check out her website 


• Instagram 


• Twitter 


• YouTube 


• TikTok 


• Facebook 

Buy her books:

• Buy Bilal Cooks Daal


• Buy That’s Not My Name 

Evelyn Alsultany (@evelynalsultany)is a leading expert on the history of representations of Arabs and Muslims in U.S. media. Her research, teaching, and lecturing are driven by a commitment to bringing Arab and Muslim Americans into the broader conversation about racial politics in the U.S. In her lectures, she seeks to educate audiences on the history of stereotypical representations of Arabs and Muslims in the US media, its consequences as evident in public opinion and government policies, and alternatives to foster greater human respect and dignity.

Listen to Evelyn's journey as we flip between her life as an academic and a contributor to Muslim-American modern day history.

Get a copy of Evelyn's new book Broken: The Failed Promise of Muslim Inclusion on Amazon or at a local bookstore.

Follow Evelyn on Twitter  or on Instagram @evelynalsultany

Engie Hassan (@engiestyle) went into fashion without a clear picture of what that could mean -- and has since built her own styling empire. From celebrities, to royalty, to regular folks, Engie knows how to orchestrate the vision behind how someone is perceived. From an internship at Vogue, to a full circle moment with Anna Wintour, real-talk with Yeezy when he was trying to find his personal brand in the 2010s, to life as a personal stylist at Bergdorf, listen to Engie's story about what it takes to build a styling business in fashion.

Follow @engiestyle on IG

If you haven't seen @amandasplate on Master Chef, you have probably come across her content on Instagram. Amanda's career started in social work, before a career changing opportunity to be on TV (against 10,000 other hopefuls) landed Amanda a full time culinary career. Listen to Amanda's journey on and off screen, as a famous chef.  

Follow Amanda on all platforms at 

https://www.instagram.com/amandasplate/?hl=en (IG) 

https://amandasplate.com/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@amandasplate 

https://twitter.com/AmandasPlate/with_replies

Zain never imagined that her calling would be in acting, but when she knew - she knew. Having accrued 1.2m TikTok fans that flocked her way due to her lighthearted personality and jokes, Zain has painstakingly taught herself how to make it in acting through a love for growth. Listen to Zain talk about her journey with refreshing transparency, and follow Zain below ⬇️

Follow Zain on Instagram @zaincomedy

Follow Zain on TikTok @zaincomedy