We're Just Talking About It's podcast

Welcome to episode #11. This week we have our 2nd guest on the show!

Munim was born in Bangladesh and grew up in Oklahoma, where his parents still live. He is finishing a doctoral degree in epidemiology, and is a published researcher and photographer. Munim spends way too much time on Wikipedia. It's a laid-back and enlightening conversation that starts when an 8-year old Muslim boy moves from Bangladesh to Oklahoma. We talk: school, boy scouts, tornado drills and what it was like after 9-11.

We discover how a little tolerance and education can go a long way to helping a Muslim boy feel at home in America.

Welcome to episode #10 of WJTA. In this episode, Muslim-American writer and activist Shireen Qudosi shares her thoughts and ideas on what Muslim reform looks like in our country.

She also brings us into the world of #hateImams which is part of her campaign to stop using the religion of Islam as a means of hate.

Thanks for tuning in to episode No. 9 of WJTA.

We continue our conversation with Muslim American writer, Shireen Qudosi. In this 20 minute episode we talk about what it's like for her, raising her son in a post 9-11 world and how she lets her son explore his own identity and beliefs.

Shireen talks about "breaking the conveyor belt" and questioning what we believe and why we believe it.

We take a look at the education system in our country and how it disables critical, original thinking in her opinion.

And we discuss the disturbing tradition of Female Genital Mutilation in other countries.

Welcome to Episode No. 8. We have our first guest on the podcast!

Shireen Qudosi is a Muslim American writer on faith, identity, and belonging. She comes from a family of refugees and has hopscotched across the world from Pakistan to Iran, Germany, and finally the United States.

She's now known as a top 10 Muslim Reformer, a role in which she advocates for radically honest conversations.

In this 15-minute episode we talk about what it's like growing up at a muslim girl in America and the challenges she and her family faced.

Welcome to episode 7 of We're Just Talking About. We figured after six episodes, it was time to explain how our host got started talking about Islam in America and why he continues to travel and educate non-muslims about Islam.

It's interesting to note that host, Jason, is a white-male, raised in the South and grew up in the Baptist church. He says it's these very characteristics that allows him the unique opportunity to speak about Islam in America and reach diverse audiences.

What started as an urge to understand more about Muslim culture and Islam has lead Jason to international speaking engagements, teaching at multiple institutions and interacting with diverse audiences throughout the world.

His mission through it all-- education and tolerance.

We hope you enjoy this episode how Jason's how and why!

In episode #6 of WJTA, we take a deep dive in to observations that host, Jason, has made while living and spending time in Muslim majority countries.

A few observations we discuss are:

• The kindness between strangers
• The high regard for cleanliness
• You can be sober but still joyful
• Prayer should be humble
• Education is valuable
• Other religions should be respected.

Listen as Jason describes a world and culture many of us have not experienced for ourselves. You will be sure to learn something in this episode!

In episode 5 of We're Just Talking About It, we take a deeper look at what it's like for women in Muslim cultures.

From having a guardian, to wearing a head dress to social media and going to college-- we talk about it all.

In episode #4 of We're Just Talking About It (20 min) we wanted to take a look at some of the news headlines we saw in June. More specifically, the stories pertaining to Muslim society and culture.

We talk about 3 top stories and break down "what it means":

• Afghanistan President orders a ceasefire with Taliban during Ramadan
• UK suffers most terrorist attacks in 2017
• Saudi Arabia lifts drivers license ban for women

Thanks for checking out Episode #3 of We're Just Talking About It.

In episode #1 we discussed the terms you should know to help you better understand Islam. In this episode, we put those terms to use and learn how to get the conversation started.

As non-muslims, Americans may be uncomfortable or scared to get the conversation started with Muslims. We are asking those uncomfortable questions in hopes of breaking down those barriers that stop us from starting a conversation.

In 15 minutes, We talk about:

• How to get the conversation started
• Religious Beliefs
• Going to a Mosque
• Interfaith Dialogues
• Dining Together

In episode #2 of We're Just Talking About It, hosts Jason and Hollie discuss one of Jason's most popular lecture questions: What does it say in the Qur'an?

In this 25-minute episode we talk about:

• What's in the Qur'an and what's not
• How it can be misinterpreted by groups like ISIS
  • What passages terrorist groups use to recruit people
• Qur'an + the Bible
• Major themes
• and More