This Being Human

Abbas Rattani is an academic, entertainer, and founder of MIPSTERZ. He is a strong advocate for individuality and self-expression in minority communities. Abbas talks about co-founding the MIPSTERZ collective, and their decade-long mission to change the face of young Muslims in America. MIPSTERZ is a non-traditional arts and culture collective for emerging Muslim creatives that enables and amplifies Muslim creative voices by presenting and producing original works for general audiences.

The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abbas Rattani is the co-founder of MIPSTERZ, an arts collective that has been a vital part of the conversation around Muslim identity in contemporary, urban America. He talks about what it means to be a Muslim hipster, the group's first viral video, and their recent work in Muslim Futurism.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

Watch the collective’s Somewhere In America video: https://www.mipsterz.com/somewhere

See some pieces from ALHAMDU, their exhibit on Muslim Futurism: https://www.mipsterz.com/alhamdu

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

The Museum wishes to thank The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Najwa Zebian is a bestselling writer of poetry and inspirational books, including Mind Platter and Welcome Home: A Guide to Building a Home for Your Soul. She also shares simple, yet profound words of wisdom with her 1.3 million Instagram followers.

She speaks with raw honesty about how writing saved her from aimlessness, about her struggles immigrating to Canada as a teenager, and about where she finds the words that tell so many people what they need to hear at the right moment.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

You can learn more about Najwa’s work on her website: https://najwazebian.com/

And follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/najwazebian/

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

The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. This Being Human is proudly presented in partnership with TVO.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ali Hassan is a stand-up comic, actor, and host of both Canada Reads and the CBC Radio show Laugh Out Loud. He talks about Canadian fame, being forced by his children to face difficult questions about his identity, and why he came to think of himself as a "cultural Muslim."

His memoir is called Is There Bacon In Heaven?

This episode was originally broadcast in July, 2022.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malak Mattar was born and raised in the Gaza Strip. She started to paint as a teenager while taking shelter from an attack on her city. Before long, her paintings were being sold and exhibited around the world. She talks about her drive to document life in Gaza, access to art in Palestine, and how leaving her home country affected her work and perspective.

This episode was originally broadcast in October, 2022.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farah Alibay often sounds more like a philosopher than an engineer. She works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she helps operate the Perseverance Rover, which searches for evidence of ancient life on Mars. She talks about how her job has changed her views of Earth, her rise through a male-dominated field, and why she thinks the prospect of extraterrestrial life raises major questions around how we understand humanity.

This episode was originally broadcast in March, 2022.

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

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Leah V made her name as a Black, Muslim, plus-size model. She has worked on major campaigns for companies like Dove and Fitbit, while also being outspoken around issues she sees in the industry. Now, she's also a sci-fi author. She recently released her debut novel, The Union, a dystopian thriller that turns contemporary notions around race and body size upside down. She talks to AR about her love of scifi, her inspiring career, and about having difficult conversations.

Host: Abdul-Rehman Malik

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

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Shanaaz Majiet was a promising young student on the verge of highschool graduation, when she was accidentally shot by a friend. The incident left her in a wheelchair. Throughout a difficult recovery, she pushed forward, determined to return to her goals.

She has since become a leading voice for the rights of people with disabilities in South Africa, as well as a leader in broader issues of policy and local government. In this episode, she talks about making change, falling in love, and finding a path when life doesn't go how you expect.

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

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Artist and filmmaker Mariam Ghani joined AR in 2021 to talk about her movie "What We Left Unfinished," which explores Afghanistan's film industry during the Soviet Era. She also discusses "Index of the Disappeared," a long-running project focusing on people who went missing during the U.S.'s War on Terror, and a pre-COVID movie she made about pandemics.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.