Muslimish Freethinkers

Muslimish Boston Conference 2018 - Growing Communities & Extending Dialogues - Part 1

Muslimish Boston Conference 2018 - Growing Communities & Extending Dialogues - Part 1

Speakers

Ali Rizvi is the award-winning author of the book, The Atheist Muslim: A Journey from Religion to Reason (St. Martin’s Press, 2016). Ali grew up in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, as part of a progressive Muslim family, before he moved permanently to Canada in his twenties. As a physician, he trained in pathology (with fellowship in oncologic pathology) at SUNY Buffalo and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and also holds a master of science degree in biochemistry from McMaster University. In 2011, he switched his career to medical communications so he could focus more on his writing. Ali is an avid and vocal advocate for secularism, science, and reform, particularly in the Muslim community. He has been featured on CNN, in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vox, The Huffington Post, CBC, BBC, the New York Post, and a range of other major media outlets. The Atheist Muslim won the 2016 Morris D. Forkosch Award for Best Book from the Center for Inquiry. Link to longer bio: www.TheAtheistMuslim.com

Ginan Rauf is an activist, educator, photographer, oral historian and mother. Rauf received a doctoral degree in comparative literature from Harvard University and a joint MA degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. Rauf has taught in various institutions of higher learning including Brandeis, Rutgers, University of Connecticut and University of Bridgeport. She is the co-founder- along with her son Sherif Ahmed- of a company called Narrative lives that produces oral histories using various mediums including photo essays, videos and audio recordings. Rauf is a secular humanist and feminist committed to promoting critical thinking and a nuanced knowledge of human cultures.

Hannah A. is from Austin, Texas. At UT-Austin she studied Middle Eastern Studies and Religious Studies, then went on to study at seminaries in Iran and Lebanon. She is now completing her Master’s at City College of New York. Hannah grew up Christian and converted to Salafi Islam at 15, then became a Shia Muslim in college. She now teaches at an international high school in Manhattan with a large Muslim population. Hannah is socially and politically active and believes in building bridges across lines of faith and culture.

Wissam Charafeddine is the Co-Founder of Muslimish, and an Arab American educator, engineer, and entrepreneur who is also a former Imam and a current Islamic reformer and freethinking secular activist. Mr. Charafeddine co-founded Muslimish in 2012 in order to create an environment for support and dialogue among exMuslims and questioning Muslims, and fight for the freedom of expression and against blasphemy laws in Islamic countries. Mr. Charafeddine works in the field of Educational administration, and he is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of W Design and Developement, W Institute, and Dearborn Blog. In his free time, he enjoys Sailing, Poetry, reading, music and traveling with his 2 daughters and son.

 

Rafya Oskui is a Muslimish co-organizer, business owner, and healthcare professional. A Pakistani American, Rafya is also a women’s rights activist, a mother, and a change maker.

Interview with Iraqi-American playwright Heather Raffo

World renowned playwright and actor Heather Raffo joins Muslimish for a discussion on her life and her work. As an Iraqi-American during the Gulf Wars, Raffo discusses the changes she witnessed in the country, the bonds developed with her Iraqi family, and subsequently the writing of her acclaimed play, 9 Parts of Desire. She shares her experience putting forward an Iraqi protagonist in a highly political American context and reflects on the importance of platforming Iraqi women’s voices in a human and "soulful" way. She is now performing her new play titled 'Noura' about an Iraqi immigrant family living in New York, loosely based on Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Tune into the conversation to hear more!

____________________________________________

Interested in hearing more? You can support us in creating more episodes, inviting more guests, and including creative content by visiting our Patreon page here.

MUSLIMISH is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of creating a safe, supportive, and open-minded environment for the exchange of thoughts and ideas among current and former Muslims, fostering a pluralistic society that respects the rights of all individuals to live according to their conscience, and striving to abolish blasphemy and apostasy laws across the globe.

Support Muslimish today muslimish.org/donate

Prayer: Empty or Meaningful?

The Islamic prayer is obligatory and highly standardized. This can be appealing to some as an easy route towards communal belonging and participation but unappealing to others as a repetitive and forced task that disrupts the day. Yet another choice also exists. What if, instead of blindly adopting our rituals, we make them fit us better? Would prayer become more meaningful? Join us for this second installment in our discussion on prayer.

____________________________________________

Interested in hearing more? You can support us in creating more episodes, inviting more guests, and including creative content by visiting our Patreon page here.

MUSLIMISH is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of creating a safe, supportive, and open-minded environment for the exchange of thoughts and ideas among current and former Muslims, fostering a pluralistic society that respects the rights of all individuals to live according to their conscience, and striving to abolish blasphemy and apostasy laws across the globe.

Support Muslimish today muslimish.org/donate

Prayer and Menstruation

This week we discuss our personal experiences with "Salaat," Islam's unique form of ritualized prayer, and a central and required pillar of the faith. However, we focus on a dark side of the ritual: purity rules that prevent menstruating women from praying and exclude them from political and religious participation. We also delve into the topic of personalizing prayer (making it less ritualistic and more meaningful). Imagine orienting your prayer towards the black hole at the center of our universe instead of the black Kaaba in Saudi Arabia. Listen to us share our stories and learn more about Islamic prayer.

____________________________

Interested in hearing more? You can support us in creating more episodes, inviting more guests, and including creative content by visiting our Patreon page here.

MUSLIMISH is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of creating a safe, supportive, and open-minded environment for the exchange of thoughts and ideas among current and former Muslims, fostering a pluralistic society that respects the rights of all individuals to live according to their conscience, and striving to abolish blasphemy and apostasy laws across the globe.

Support Muslimish today muslimish.org/donate

Orientalism by Edward Said - Muslimish Detroit Book Club

To what degree does the West create a monolith of the "Orient" and present a one-dimensional view of Middle Eastern peoples, histories, and cultures? And to what extent does this critique of the West also silence important introspection on much needed advancements in the Arab and Muslim world? Listen to members of Muslimish Detroit give their book review of Orientalism by Edward Said. 

____________________________

Interested in hearing more? You can support us in creating more episodes, inviting more guests, and including creative content by visiting our Patreon page here.

MUSLIMISH is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of creating a safe, supportive, and open-minded environment for the exchange of thoughts and ideas among current and former Muslims, fostering a pluralistic society that respects the rights of all individuals to live according to their conscience, and striving to abolish blasphemy and apostasy laws across the globe.

Support Muslimish today muslimish.org/donate

A Verse from the Quran

The creation of the universe -- Determinism -- Free will -- Purity -- Verse 4:34 (hint: It's about women)

All of these are ideas in the Quran that are discussed in the first podcast episode by 5 Muslimish members. In the spirit of our mission, we were open to questioning anything and everything. 

________________________________

Interested in hearing more? You can support us in creating more episodes, inviting more guests, and including creative content by visiting our Patreon page here.

MUSLIMISH is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of creating a safe, supportive, and open-minded environment for the exchange of thoughts and ideas among current and former Muslims, fostering a pluralistic society that respects the rights of all individuals to live according to their conscience, and striving to abolish blasphemy and apostasy laws across the globe.

Support Muslimish today muslimish.org/donate