This Being Human

Asad Ali Jafri spent his early childhood in Kuwait, but found himself in the suburbs of Chicago after the outbreak of war. Hip hop became his entry point to American culture, quickly taking over his life and leading him down a path to the arts and community organizing. He started DJing under the name Man-O-Wax, staged major festivals, and became a visionary curator of contemporary Muslim arts. 

Today, Asad Ali Jafri is the executive director of the South Asia Institute in Chicago.

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Brothers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant have composed some of the biggest anthems in India as the film composing duo Salim-Sulaiman. They’ve also produced pop songs, devotionals, a sports anthem, and remixed Lady Gaga.

They talk about the chance meeting that led them from writing jingles to scoring movies, why they take issue with the term Bollywood, and what it’s really like to work with a sibling.

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Shireen Ahmed is a sports journalist and advocate. She’s a go-to voice for TSN and The Guardian and co-hosts the podcast Burn It All Down.

Shireen was an outspoken critic of FIFA’s seven-year hijab ban. She talks about how that ban affected her personally, her childhood in a Pakistani household in Halifax, and breaking into the world of mainstream sports broadcasting.

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Wafaa Bilal has pushed his body to extreme lengths in the name of art. He has subjected himself to waterboarding, mounted a camera to the back of his head, and spent a month living in a gallery, where strangers shot him with tens of thousands of paintballs. He talks about escaping Iraq during the war and why he puts his body on the line for art.

Wafaa is currently a professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

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Tanya Muneera Williams is a poet and member of the hip-hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage. She talks about her childhood in Bristol, England, the city’s rich music scene, and the spiritual journey she took from her mother’s church to her conversion to Islam.

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Nadir Nahdi runs the popular YouTube channel BENI, where he documents contemporary Muslim life around the world. Nadir comes from a tradition of thought and debate. His father, Fuad Nahdi, was a well-known journalist and satirist, as well as a giant in the UK Muslim community and a major figure in interfaith discussions. 

Nadir talks about what he's learned from his parents, his mixed feelings about being called a social media influencer and the deeply personal journey he took to find his roots while the world watched in real time. 

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Kevork Mourad is an Armenian-Syrian artist who collaborates with musicians, creating visual art in front of live audiences. He has worked with some of the most celebrated performers in classical music including Yo-Yo Ma, violist Kim Kashkashian and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. He talks about growing up as an Armenian in Syria, developing his unique practice, the thrill of creating art in front of a crowd, and how war has changed the way he paints.

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Dr. Ayesha Khanna is a global leader in artificial intelligence and an advocate for good governance in the tech sector. As the co-founder and CEO of ADDO AI, she has helped develop projects like smart cities and financial innovations.

She talks about why she believes the world should look east for models of tech governance, the ethical struggles involved in AI and what technology can teach us about humanity.

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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.

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

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