Omid Safi is a leading expert on 13th century poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, who is the best-selling poet in modern day America. Omid talks about the enduring influence of Rumi, why the literary icon’s Muslim beliefs are often stripped from conversations about him, and how the Muslim community can reclaim one its most beloved figures.

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Dr. Alaa Murabit was born in Saskatoon, but moved to Zawiya, Libya at the age of 15 to study medicine. While she was there, she witnessed the 2011 Revolution, which changed the course of her life. She dedicated herself to human rights advocacy, founding the group Voices of Libyan Women. She has since become a leading specialist in conflict resolution and security, working with the United Nations, governments and NGOs around the world.

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Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is a member of the ruling family of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, and the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation. He talks about the personal toll of tweeting through the Arab Spring, the power of art as an agent of diplomacy, and why he opens up his home to strangers for his regular cultural 'majlis' or salons, hosting talks on art and culture.

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Ginella Massa is the host of Canada Tonight on CBC, making her the first national news anchor who wears a hijab in Canada. She talks about her upbringing in a Catholic Afro-Latina family, growing up as an immigrant in Toronto and how she ended up in TV news.

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In spring of 2020, when America was first grappling with COVID-19, Dr. Craig Considine wrote an article for NewsWeek about what the Prophet Muhammad had to say about living through a pandemic. He found a lot that still resonates today.

He talks about those lessons and others, what the current state of the world could mean for interfaith dialogue and how, as a Catholic from Boston, he became a prolific writer on Islam.

Dr. Craig Considine is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Rice University.

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Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy talks about what propelled her to expose social injustices in unflinching documentaries like Saving Face and A Girl In the River. It’s a journey that took her from a childhood in Karachi, Pakistan to the offices of the New York Times, to winning two Academy Awards.

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Wajahat Ali became one of the most high-profile Muslims in the American media following the September 11th attacks, making regular appearances on CNN, writing for The New York Times and hosting a show on Al Jazeera America. 

He talks about growing up in a Pakistani-American household, writing an acclaimed play about the American Muslim experience, and dealing with his young daughter’s cancer diagnosis.

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If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, go to agakhanmuseum.org/thisbeinghuman

Additional clips from:

Domestic Crusaders New York 2011 production production company: Gerald W. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College of Criminal Justice  director: Carla Blank actors: Deepti Gupta Domestic Crusaders London 2013 production production company: Tara-Arts director: Jatinder Verma actors: Shyam Bhatt, Taqi Nazeer

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This Being Human is a new podcast by the Aga Khan Museum. In every episode, host Abdul-Rehman Malik interviews an incredible person at the top of their game on Muslim art, culture, history, and society. They'll explore everything from prayer and pilgrimage, politics and pop culture, love and education, feminism, and film, sports and music, and so much more. Through deep, thoughtful conversation, this one-of-a-kind podcast hopes to bridge divides, dispel myths, and learn things we didn’t know about the kaleidoscope of the Muslim experience.

This Being Human is produced by Antica Productions. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their leadership support to develop and produce This Being Human.

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