Salma Hindy is a first-generation Egyptian-Canadian comedian. Though Salmna studied biomedical engineering (read as: her day job), Salma has had a fast rise to fame as a Muslim comedian. She touches topics in jest that many of us know too well — from the cultural taboos of dating to her relationship with hijab.

Follow Salma at:

• Instagram


• TikTok


• YouTube


• Facebook

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Dr. Melina Abdullah (@docmellymel) is a professor and the former chair of the Department of Pan-African Studies at Cal State University, Los Angeles. She is an activist, an organizer, a scholar, and a mother. And Dr. Melina co-founded BLM Los Angeles the night that George Zimmerman was acquitted of the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter after the murder of Treyvon Martin. 

Dr. Melina is a recognized expert on race, gender, class, and social movements. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, with subjects ranging from political coalition building to womanist mothering. 

• Check out Black Lives Matter


• Sign up for the BLM LA newsletter, which provides regular calls to action


• Follow Dr. Melina on IG


• Follow Dr. Melina on Twitter


• Follow BLM LA

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Deena Shakir always optimized her career for impact — though she could have never imagined that it would land her in venture capital. After a brief career in journalism, Deena served as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. State Department under Secretary Clinton. Listen to Deena’s unconventional (though very logical) journey from D.C., to Google.org, to a partner at LUX Capital where she invests in health tech startups today.

Follow Deena on Twitter

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Omar Sayyed was born in Afghanistan moving to America as a refugee. Growing up, Omar watched his father build a new career in the States while learning a new language and skills. By his young adulthood, Omar had built and exited two companies. Omar was approached by his co-founders at Ties.com to build the company from the ground up with his team. Omar and his team bootstrapped the company to where it is now, where Omar currently serves as the CEO.

• Follow Omar on TikTok


• Follow Omar on Instagram 


• Follow Ties.com on Instagram


• Follow Ties.com on TikTok

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laylool.substack.com

@imdoctornahla always knew that she wanted to practice medicine, but the path that would get her to mental heath advocacy was not one that she would wish on anyone. After experiencing a traumatic relationship, Nahla spoke out about the experiences that she endured in order to help other women navigate their way through abuse.

Nahla’s fearless approach on taboo subjects landed her instant internet visibility — and you can catch her on TikTok and Instagram educating others as she completes her residency training in psychiatry.

Follow Nahla on Instagram

Follow Nahla on TikTok

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laylool.substack.com

Kashif Shaikh was an English major when he got into philanthropy on a whim, per the advice of his college counselor. When tides were shifting and the first Muslim Congressperson was elected to office in the United States, Kashif started ideating his own philanthropic fund that could serve the Muslim community. From there, alongside his co-founder and team, Pillars Fund was birthed. 

Pillars Fund amplifies the leadership, narratives, and talents of Muslims in the United States to advance opportunity and justice for all. They have distributed $6m in grants, and recently made waves with their work on elevating Muslim voices and representation in Hollywood alongside Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed.

Pillar Artist Fellowship applications are open!

• Follow Pillars Fund on Twitter


• Follow Pillars Fund on Instagram 


• Follow Kashif on Twitter


• Follow Kashif on Instagram

Follow me, your host @laylool, on IG

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laylool.substack.com

Shahzad Younas is the founder and CEO of Muzz, the world’s largest faith-based dating app for single Muslims. In 2011, Muzz was a website that Shahzad hacked together. As generic matchmaking apps took off, the Muslim community found itself with seemingly few options online. Shahzad built a solution to that problem through Muzz, and left a promising career in finance to dedicate his life to matchmaking online. Listen to Shahzad's journey through proving out the concept, guerilla marketing at masjids, and building out a community that boasts 5 million active users a day. And, not to mention, 300 marriages a day. 

• Follow on Instagram


• Follow on Twitter


• Sign up at https://muzz.com/download/

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In 2018, the International Olympic Committee recognized Dr. Seun Adigun as the first African to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. What isn’t immediately clear in the recognition is the Dr. Seun founded the Nigerian bobsled team, making her team Nigeria’s first-ever Winter Olympians. Nor does it represent that she learned the bobsled after an Olympic-level career in track and field. Today, Dr. Seun works professionally as a chiropractor and biomechanist with the mission of revolutionizing sports medicine. And her academic accomplishments are as impressive and rigorous as her athletic accolades. Listen to my chat with Dr. Seun on today’s episode!

Follow Dr. Seun on Instagram

Follow the Bobsled & Skeleton Sports Federation of Nigeria on Instagram

And keep up with me, your host @laylool, on IG. 

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Growing up in Egypt, Dr. Rana el Kaliouby (@ranaelkaliouby) envisioned a life in academia. What the future would hold for Rana was on the cutting edge of research and innovation, though not quite academia. Rana moved from Egypt to the UK for her PhD, where she had the opportunity to connect with her academic idol Roz Picard who ran research at the MIT Media Lab. Rana co-founded (the recently acquired) Affectiva with Roz as a Media Lab spinout in 2009, and is now deputy CEO at Smart Eye. At Affectiva, Rana built a team and company that developed software that can detect and understand human emotion. Listen to Rana's amazing journey through the making of a company -- and as a single mom, no less. 

Read Rana's memoir, Girl Decoded

Plugs:

• Add Rana on LinkedIn


• Follow her on IG


• Follow her on Twitter

And follow me, your host, @layool on IG 

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Lena Khan went to UCLA with an interest in film — but no intention to pursue it as a career. Fast forward to today and her IMDB profile credits her for a Disney+ film, Flora and Ulysses, and her own full-length film, The Tiger Hunter. Lena has become a pillar within the intimate Muslim-American circle in Hollywood, and most recently co-signed Riz Ahmed’s campaign to get more Muslims in film. 
Listen to Lena’s journey on today’s epi, and how she has navigated her successful career as a director.
Keep up with Lena:

Follow Lena on IG
Follow Lena on Twitter



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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laylool.substack.com