See Something Say Something

Burying a loved one is never easy. But for Muslims New Yorkers, the price of land, gentrification, and ritual practices complicates an already difficult process. As a result, most Muslims in the 5 boroughs tend to be buried hours away from their homes, at cemeteries in Long Island or New Jersey. With the death rate in NYC soaring due to COVID-19, Muslim funeral homes have borne the burden of a crisis that developed long before quarantine. How does one grapple with saying goodbye to our loved ones when burial is less than ideal?

To answer these questions, we speak to housing policy expert Lena Afridi about losing and burying her father over a year ago. Then, Imam Khalid Latif of ICNYU shares some of the pressures that funeral homes in New York are facing during the COVID-19 crisis.

M Train releases bi-weekly and each episode focuses on New York City metro area and the stories of American Muslims that can be found on and off the subway.

Donate to ICNYU's Coronavirus Financial Hardship Grants: https://www.launchgood.com/project/coronavirus_emergency_response_financial_hardship_grants#!/

Read Lena's Article: "Death and Life in Great American Cities": https://thenewinquiry.com/death-and-life-in-great-american-cities/

Find ICNYU's Virtual Ramadan Programming here: https://icnyu.org/

Please consider signing up with the National Bone Marrow Registry, especially if you are from an underrepresented group. Sign up here: https://bethematch.org/

Follow Ahmed @radbrowndads.

Follow Imam Khalid Latif @KLatif

Follow Lena @lpafridi

Follow our producer Shirin @Shebe86.

Follow our editor Myra @MBasilRahim, and follow our Executive Producer Sachar Mathias @sacharmathias.

Follow SSSS on Twitter and Facebook @seesomething.

Follow BRIC on Twitter @BRICTV

Watch BRIC's videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/brictv

This miniseries was made with the generous help of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts Building Bridges Program. You can learn about their mission here: https://www.ddcf.org/what-we-fund/building-bridges/

This episode featured music composed by Myra Al-Rahim and from Freesound.

For more information on this and all BRIC Radio podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio.

SSSS is on Patreon. Find us at patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. Thanks to our patrons for supporting the show.

Corona has thrown M Train (and all of society) for a bit of a loop. So we threw the script out for this episode and called up Dr. Ahmed Hozain, a surgical resident and researcher currently working in NYC, to talk about COVID-19, convincing your boomer parents to stay home, and virtual jum'ahs. Then, we returned to a simpler time before pre-isolation, when we interviewed North African dance teacher Esraa Wardah about her work decolonizing dance classes and building spaces that decenter whiteness.

Because of Corona, M Train may experience some delays. Please be patient.

M Train releases bi-weekly and each episode focuses on New York City metro area and the stories of American Muslims that can be found on and off the subway.

Follow Ahmed Hozain on twitter @AhmedHozain

Follow Esraa Warda on Instagram @wardadance

Follow Ahmed on twitter @radbrowndads.

Follow our producer Shirin @Shebe86.

Follow our editor Myra @MBasilRahim, and follow our Executive Producer Sachar Mathias @sacharmathias.

Follow SSSS on Twitter and Facebook @seesomething.

Follow BRIC on Twitter @BRICTV

Watch BRIC's videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/brictv

This miniseries was made with the generous help of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts Building Bridges Program. You can learn about their mission here: https://www.ddcf.org/what-we-fund/building-bridges/

This episode featured music composed by Myra Al-Rahim and from Freesound.

For more information on this and all BRIC Radio podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio.

SSSS is on Patreon. Find us at patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. Thanks to our patrons for supporting the show.

This episode, we head to Brooklyn to eat some Trinidadian food and talk about the dialogue between Black, Desi, Carribbean, and Muslim cultures within the island and its diaspora. We pick up some dhalpuri, buss-up-shot, and doubles and then wash it all down with sorrel, a tart, hibiscus flower drink. Throughout the episode, we talk about the way Trinidadian cuisine is a dialogue between Indian and African cultures and why the roti shop is as much an icon of NYC Muslim culture as the halal cart. Featuring: Johnny Ali and Kerrie Bissoon of the Utica Avenue Ali's Roti and fashion designer Nzinga Knight of Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel.

Follow Nzinga on Instagram @nzingaknight and @brooklynbrewedsorrel. Head to www.nzingaknight.com to learn about her fashion work and head to www.brooklynbrewedsorrel.com to order Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel.

Follow Ali's Roti Shop on Instagram: @alisrotishop or give them a visit at 337 Utica Avenue in Brooklyn.

M-Train releases bi-weekly and each episode focuses on New York City metro area and the stories of American Muslims that can be found on and off the subway.

Follow Ahmed on twitter @radbrowndads.

Follow our producer Shirin @Shebe86.

Follow our editor Myra @MBasilRahim, and follow our Executive Producer Sachar Mathias @sacharmathias.

Follow SSSS on Twitter and Facebook @seesomething.

Follow BRIC on Twitter @BRICTV

Watch BRIC's videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/brictv

This miniseries was made with the generous help of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts Building Bridges Program. You can learn about their mission here: https://www.ddcf.org/what-we-fund/building-bridges/

This episode featured music composed by Myra Al-Rahim and from Freesound.

For more information on this and all BRIC Radio podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio.

SSSS is on Patreon. Find us at patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. Thanks to our patrons for supporting the show.

We're coming to you live! For the second episode of M-Train —the new six-part miniseries from See Something, Say Something and BRIC Radio — we hosted a panel discussion at the BRIC Ballroom centered on Muslims in politics. Our guests for the night were Shahana Hanif, New York City Council Candidate, Sadaf Jaffer, Mayor of Montgomery County in New Jersey (and first Muslim woman elected mayor in America), and Mohammad Missouri, Executive Director of JetPAC. We talked about the Muslim bloc swinging leftwards, confronting Islamophobic trolls who live in your communities, and the challenges of representing a group as diverse as American Muslims.

M Train is released bi-weekly and each episode focuses on the New York City metro area and the stories of American Muslims that can be found on and off the subway.

Learn more about New York City Council Candidate Shahana Hanif here: https://shahanafrombk.com/

Learn more about Mayor Sadaf Jaffer here: https://www.sadafjaffer.com/

Learn more about Jet-PAC and Muhammad's work here: https://www.jet-pac.com/about-us/

Follow Ahmed on twitter @radbrowndads.

Follow our Producer Shirin @Shebe86.

Follow our editor Myra @MBasilRahim, and follow our Executive Producer Sachar Mathias @sacharmathias.

Follow SSSS on Twitter and Facebook @seesomething.

Follow BRIC Radio on Twitter @BRICRadio and BRIC TV @BRICTV

This miniseries was made with the generous help of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts Building Bridges Program. You can learn about their mission here: https://www.ddcf.org/what-we-fund/building-bridges/

This episode featured music composed by Myra Al-Rahim and from Freesound.

For more information on this and all BRIC Radio podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio.

SSSS is on Patreon. Find us at patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. Thanks to our patrons for supporting the show.

Welcome aboard the M Train! A new six-part miniseries from See Something, Say Something and BRIC Radio– a Brooklyn-based audio network that amplifies community with podcasts ranging from LGBTQ stories and radio plays to a monthly audiovisual magazine celebrating our beloved #Brooklyn.

Each of the six episodes of M-Train focuses on New York City metro area and the stories of American Muslims that can be found on and off the subway.

Our debut focuses on the work of two sex educators redefining the place of sex and intimacy in Islam.

For our first stop, we head to Brooklyn to speak to Sid Azmi about her journey from radiation therapy to business woman and sex educator, running a "educated pleasure shop" in Park Slope..

Here's where to find it, in case you want to visit: https://www.pleasenyc.com/

Then, we speak to Wazina Zondon about navigating queerness, sex, and Islam. Wazina is a sex-ed teacher and co-creator of the storytelling performance Coming Out Muslim: Radical Acts of love. Check it out here https://comingoutmuslim.com and follow her @wazinazondon. If you have any questions, going through a hard time, and just want to talk to someone, get in touch with http://www.muslimalliance.org/ and remember these wise words from Wazina: "You're fine. You're great. You're normal. No version of your Islam is wrong, nor is any version of your sexual identity. You don't have to apologize or fix or adapt to somebody else's version. Just be patient with the people around you." <3

Follow Ahmed on twitter @radbrowndads.

Follow our producer Shirin @Shebe86.

Follow our editor Myra @MBasilRahim, and follow our Executive Producer Sachar Mathias @sacharmathias.

Follow SSSS on Twitter and Facebook @seesomething.

Follow BRIC Radio on Twitter @BRICRadio and BRIC TV @BRICTV

This miniseries was made with the generous help of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts Building Bridges Program. You can learn about their mission here: https://www.ddcf.org/what-we-fund/building-bridges/

This episode featured music composed by Myra Al-Rahim and from Freesound.

For more information on this and all BRIC Radio podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio.

SSSS is on Patreon. Find us at patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. Thanks to our patrons for supporting the show.

This month, we're sharing with you part two Ahmed's reporting for America's Test Kitchen where he followed the Pakistani mango trade in the United States. The story first started on SSSS and eventually moved to ATK's PROOF podcast. Find more info on PROOF here: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/proof.

"In part two of this investigation, reporter Ahmed Ali Akbar explores the underbelly of the secretive mango distribution industry. He uncovers the historical and economic reasons that importing mangoes from Pakistan has been so difficult — from regulation to irradiation. And he finally traces product to supplier."

Our show is crowdfunded and made possible by our beloved listeners. Subscribe our Patreon for as little as $1 a month to help support the show: https://www.patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. At $10, you get access to behind the scenes content like a newsletter and bonus episodes. You can find other ways to support here: https://moneyyy.me/$ahmedaliakbar Your support means the world to us.

Plus, we're doing a live-show in collaboration with BRIC! Find info on the show and RSVP at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/m-train-live-podcast-recording-brooklyn-podcast-festival-tickets-84651961295

Follow Ahmed on Twitter: @radbrowndads.

Find the show's website at seesomethingpodcast.com.

Follow the show @seesomething and facebook.com/seesomethingpodcast. Email the show at [email protected].

Our music is by The Kominas, follow them at @TheRealKominas and kominas.bandcamp.com.

This month, we're sharing with you Ahmed's reporting for America's Test Kitchen where he followed the Pakistani mango trade in the United States. The story first started on SSSS and eventually moved to ATK's PROOF podcast. Find more info on PROOF here: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/proof.

"Pakistani-American communities in the U.S. rely on dealers on WhatsApp to gain access to their most coveted treasure: Pakistani mangoes. And they pay a premium for it. In part one of this two-part investigation, reporter Ahmed Ali Akbar searches for answers. Why are Pakistani mangoes so hard to find? And why is the Pakistani community resorting to deals on WhatsApp to procure them?"

Our show is crowdfunded and made possible by our beloved listeners. Subscribe our Patreon for as little as $1 a month to help support the show: https://www.patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. At $10, you get access to behind the scenes content like a newsletter and bonus episodes. You can find other ways to support here: https://moneyyy.me/$ahmedaliakbar Your support means the world to us.

Plus, we're doing a live-show in collaboration with BRIC! Find info on the show or the following link: https://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/m-train-live-podcast-recording

Follow Ahmed on Twitter: @radbrowndads.

Find the show's website at seesomethingpodcast.com.

Follow the show @seesomething and facebook.com/seesomethingpodcast. Email the show at [email protected].

Our music is by The Kominas, follow them at @TheRealKominas and kominas.bandcamp.com.

Jack Ryan, Amazon's TV show based on the Tom Clancy character of the same name, features drone strikes, a Black American "good Muslim" character, and many of the tropes that have been around since Homeland and 24. So Ahmed decided to swallow his pride and try to watch it to see what he could learn. First, we talk to Salimah about the appeal of the show for your average Muslim TV binge watcher. Then, we speak with Professor Evelyn Alsultany, author of "Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11," to help give historical context to the depiction of Muslims in Terrorism TV. Also featured: the return of Halal or Not!

Our show is crowdfunded and made possible by our beloved listeners. Subscribe our Patreon for as little as $1 a month to help support the show: https://www.patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. At $10, you get access to behind the scenes content like a newsletter and bonus episodes. Last month, we released a bonus jinn episode. You can find other ways to support here: https://moneyyy.me/$ahmedaliakbar Your support means the world to us.

Find Professor Alsultany on her website: https://evelynalsultany.com/.

Follow Ahmed on Instagram and Twitter: @radbrowndads.

Find the show's website at seesomethingpodcast.com.

Follow the show @seesomething and facebook.com/seesomethingpodcast. Email the show at [email protected].

Our music is by The Kominas, follow them at @TheRealKominas and kominas.bandcamp.com.

Happy Halloween! Jinn, those mischievous beings made of smokeless fire, are one of three races featured in the Qur'an (humans and angels being the others). They're important figures in folklore too and a common indicator of the religion's adaption to local culture. Assistant Professor of History Ali A. Olomi joins the podcast to tell some spooky stories and to help us understand what the jinn really are.

Our show is crowdfunded and made possible by our beloved listeners. Subscribe our Patreon for as little as $1 a month to help support the show: https://www.patreon.com/ahmedaliakbar. You can find other ways to support here: https://moneyyy.me/$ahmedaliakbar Your support means the world to us.

Follow Ali @aliaolomi. Read one of his viral threads on jinn here:https://twitter.com/aaolomi/status/1161724366456905728?lang=en.

Follow Ahmed on Instagram and Twitter: @radbrowndads.

Follow the show on Twitter @seesomething and facebook.com/seesomethingpodcast. Email the show at [email protected].

Our music is by The Kominas, follow them at @TheRealKominas and kominas.bandcamp.com.

You know that catchy jingle that starts our show? That's by The Kominas, a punk band that's been influential in South Asian and Muslim scenes. One of the guitarists, Shahjehan Khan, is a longtime friend of the show who has been open about his issues with mental health and addiction. There's a new Kominas album too this month, "The Systems Are Down," so we bring on Shahj to discuss about his struggles with addiction, how he's turned around his life, and releasing the album on September 11th. Warning: we discuss include depression, suicidal ideation, addiction, and related topics.

Also--We're bringing "Halal Or Not?" back, but this time we're helping our listeners make halal not decisions. Call (646) 50-HALAL and tell us what you need help figuring out--we may call you back to figure it out live on the show.

Follow Ahmed on Instagram and Twitter: @radbrowndads.

Buy the new Kominas album here: https://kominas.bandcamp.com/album/the-systems-are-down

Our music is by The Kominas, follow them at @TheRealKominas.

Fill out this survey so we can get some advertising revenue: http://survey.libsyn.com/seesomethingsaysomething.

Follow the show @seesomething and facebook.com/seesomethingpodcast. Email Ahmed at [email protected].