PR Unmasked

In this episode Muddassar Ahmed sits down with Mahathir Mohamad - The man who dominated Malaysia's political scene for over two decades. 

Mahathir served as Malaysia's Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003 and returned to power in 2018 until his shock resignation in February 2020, making him the most notable political figure Malaysia has seen since its independence from Britain in 1957.

In this PR Unmasked exclusive, Mahathir discusses his life at the centre of Malaysian politics and how his legacy as the longest-serving head of state shaped modern Malaysia among many other topics.

Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch released a report, “A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution", examining the treatment of Palestinians under Israeli rule.

The report is based on in-depth research and analysis that has spanned over two years and includes case studies from across the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel.

This episode of PR Unmasked brings together both Israeli and Palestinian politicians, activists and human rights advocates to discuss the report findings.

Our panellists include Kenneth Roth (Executive Director of Human Rights Watch), Rashida Tlaib (US Congresswoman for Michigan), Hagai El-Ad (Executive Director of B’Tselem), Farah Nabulsi (Director of BAFTA-winning short film “The Present”) and Alon Liel (Former Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry).

The Present, a directorial debut by Farah Nabulsi, is a cinematic take on the harsh reality of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. The short film follows a Palestinian man named Yusef, who, along with his daughter Yasmine, travels through the West Bank to buy a wedding anniversary gift for his wife. 

The film explores the politics of movement and the injustice faced by Palestinians in their day-to-day lives. It captures the struggle of completing a simple task like buying a present, whilst encountering checkpoints and soldiers as a part of life under occupation.

In this episode, Muddassar Ahmed sits down with the cast and crew of The Present: Farah Nabulsi (Director and co-writer), Mohannad Malas (Executive Producer) and Saleh Bakri (who portrays Yusef in the film). They are also joined by two special guests: Yusef Salaam (The Innocence Project and Exonerated Five) and Maryum Ali (public speaker and activist). 

The Present was nominated for an Academy Award and won the BAFTA for 'Best Short Film' at this year's awards.

We are back with another exclusive episode with the cast and crew of The Mauritanian, a Hollywood adaptation of the New York Times best-selling memoir “Guantánamo Diary”. Based on the true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, the film captures an innocent man’s fight for freedom and justice after being detained and imprisoned without trial in Guantánamo Bay for 14 years.

At the Golden Globes this year, Tahir Rahim (who plays Mohamedou) was nominated for Best Actor and Jodie Foster (who plays his defence attorney) won Best Supporting Actress. The film has also been nominated for five BAFTAs.

In this episode, Muddassar Ahmed sits down with Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald for a behind-the-scenes look at the new feature film. They are joined by the film's real-life protagonist, Mohamedou Slahi, along with Nancy Hollander, his defence attorney and Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the prosecutor Stuart Couch in the film. The conversation is joined by several key individuals from Unitas’ network including MPs, scholars, activists and many more.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, food poverty has drastically increased in all of the UK. Already vulnerable communities are suffering the most, and the numbers of people relying on food banks have gone through the roof.

In this episode, Muddassar Ahmed sits down with local activists and politicians in East London to discuss the devastating effects of Covid-19 on food security. Our panellists include Rushanara Ali (Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow), Mariam Dawood (Councillor in the London Borough of Newham), Hibo Wardere (anti-FGM Campaigner and Activist) and Jon May (Professor at Queen Mary University and Founding Trustee of Bow Food Bank).

The discussion was organised with the Bow Food Bank, one of London's largest independent food banks, with locations in Bow and Bethnal Green. The local area has a poverty rate of 39%, the highest in London as well as the country's highest child poverty rate. The panel was joined by trustees and volunteers of the food bank to discuss how to tackle these issues.

The Bow Food Bank has stayed open even during national lockdowns feeding the members of the local community. Now with the end of the lockdown approaching, the question of how to end food insecurity remains.

politicsfoodcrisisfoodbankscharitiesLondoncovid-19

After dedicating decades of his life to the service of British national security and intelligence, former Director of GCHQ, Sir David Omand, is now sharing what he has learned during his extraordinary career.

He will discuss his new book, “How Spies Think: Ten Lessons in Intelligence”, and its goal to empower people to make better decisions by learning how intelligence analysts think, as well as how to use this knowledge to navigate the world during uncertain times.

In this episode, Muddassar Ahmed sits down with Sir David Omand to discover how to discern the truth in an age of disinformation, what the future of British intelligence looks like, and where our priorities should lie in helping the next generation to think critically.

As governments across the globe come to terms with the economic crisis induced by COVID-19, leading voices in civil society, politics and academia are now starting to look towards the future. New roadmaps for foreign policy are being drawn using the lessons learned from the pandemic.

In this episode, we will focus on Southeast Asia by looking at the example of Malaysia and exploring the country’s response to the global crisis as well as its strategic position in-between the US-China rivalry. Muddassar Ahmed sits down with a panel of experts to discuss what the future holds for Malaysia, including the relationship with ASEAN, China’s posturing in the South China Sea and the Uyghur humanitarian crisis among other topics.

Our panellists include Tricia Yeoh (CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs), Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar (Former Cabinet Minister of Malaysia for Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Justice) and Dato’ Mohamad Abu Bakar (Professor at the Department of International and Strategic Studies at the University of Malaya). The discussion was co-organised by the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC-IIUM).

In a brand-new cinematic take on the brutal reality of Guantánamo Bay, The Mauritanian tells the true story of Mouhamedou Ould Salahi, who was imprisoned in the detention camp without charge for 14 years. Salahi was finally released in 2016 when the US Government finally accepted his confession had been obtained through torture.

While hundreds of voices from Guantánamo remain silenced, Salahi’s story gives us precious insight into the injustices and the phycological toll prisoners endured. With the looming twentieth anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo, the new Biden administration recently declared their intention to close the detention camp by the end of their term.

In a PR Unmasked exclusive, co-hosted by Rabia Chaudry (New York Times bestseller Adnan's Story & Undisclosed podcast), Muddassar Ahmed sits down with the cast and the crew of The Mauritanian to talk about their experiences of making the film and what the future holds for the ongoing fight for justice.

In this episode, we are joined by Mohamedou Ould Salahi (played by Rahim) and his defence attorney Nancy Hollander (played by Foster), as well as the team that worked hard to bring Salahi’s memoir Guantánamo Diary to the big screen: Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald along with Tahar Rahim and Jodie Foster, who were both nominated for a Golden Globe for their performances.

The call for racial justice and equity that followed the brutal killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, transcended national borders and sparked protests across the world. While protesting is a fundamental step towards change, if the demands of the protestors are not met with effective policies, then much of their efforts can fall by the wayside.

On this episode, Muddassar Ahmed sits down with leading American policy experts including Alex Johnson (Chief of Staff, U.S. Helsinki Commission), Youshea Berry (Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Legislation & Policy, USAID) and Mischa Thompson (Director of Global Partnerships, Policy & Innovation, U.S. Helsinki Commission), to explore a transatlantic response to systemic racism.

The discussion is based on a recent article by Muddassar and Alex Johnson, published by Just Security, on how effective policies, bi-lateral trade agreements and identifying inequalities highlighted by the coronavirus, are all crucial to ensuring racial equality. Given the shared history of slavery, racism, institutional prejudice and systemic inequity across the Atlantic, we must seize this moment to forge transatlantic agreements to address the legacy of racism and social injustice.

In France Laïcité (secularism) is a principle the republic has guarded fiercely. French Muslim communities often complaint this is to their detriment. 

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, President Macron has strongly defended secularism in France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim population. As the French Muslim identity becomes hyper-politicised, the question of Islam and its compatibility with “French” values once again enters the public discourse. 

Yet, Muslims themselves are often left out of these critical conversations. On this episode Muddassar Ahmed sits down with a panel of experts to talk about the future of Muslims in France, the correct response in a climate of increased stigmatisation, and what kind of example France sets with its existential battle against radical Islam. 

The conversation is moderated by Salam Al-Marayati (President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council) and our panellists include Myriam Francois (Journalist & Research Associate at the Centre of Islamic Studies, SOAS University of London), Melissa Haffaf (Program Director of the Gender + Justice Initiative at Georgetown University) and Yasser Louati (human rights and civil liberties activist with a focus on Islamophobia).