Host Katty Alhayek speaks with Dr. Sahar Mohamed Khamis about her research interests and current projects. The interview focuses on Khamis's work on gender activism, the gender digital gap, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Arab women.

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Dr. Sahar Khamis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Women’s Studies and the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is an expert on Arab and Muslim media, and the former Head of the Mass Communication Department at Qatar University. Dr. Khamis holds a Ph.D. in Mass Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Manchester in England. She is a former Mellon Islamic Studies Initiative Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. She is the co-author of the books: Islam Dot Com: Contemporary Islamic Discourses in Cyberspace (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and Egyptian Revolution 2.0: Political Blogging, Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). She is the co-editor of the book: Arab Women’s Activism and Socio-Political Transformation: Unfinished Gendered Revolutions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).

In this episode On The Square commemorates Black August. Sapelo Square Senior Editor Su’ad Abdul Khabeer speaks with community activist, playwright, freedom fighter, and chairperson of the National Jericho Movement, Jihad Abdulmumit, about Freedom and Self-Determination.

In this wide-reaching conversation Abdulmumit tells the story of the direct role he played in the Black freedom struggles of the 1960s/1970s and the heavy price he paid for his involvement in the Black Liberation Movement. Abdulmumit served 23 years of his life in prison as a domestic political prisoner and in this discussion he sheds light on the plight of political prisoners and how Islam shapes his commitment to the Black Liberation struggle. Abdulmumit also speaks to the role the arts play in the quest for freedom and self-determination and shares his thoughts on how the struggle for freedom and self-determination has changed since the 1970s. 

To the question, “What is your Black Muslim theme song?,” Abdulmumit chose Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” – with lyrics added by his artist children to include the Muslim experience.

See these resources to learn more about: 

Black August 

Domestic political prisoners and the Jericho Movement 

The Black Panther Party

The Black Liberation Army 

The Spirit of Mandela October Tribunal

This episode includes excerpts from archival clips of the Black Panther Party preserved in the National Archives. It also includes a clip from an interview with Nina Simone.

On The Square’s theme music was created by Fanatik OnBeats.

Artwork for On The Square was created by Scheme of Things Graphics.

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Courtest of Maydan podcast.

In this episode of On The Square, Sapelo Square History Editor Zaheer Ali speaks with Tulani Salahu-Din, museum specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), about Muslim artifacts at the museum. Salahu-Din provides the backstory for some of the objects at the museum, including those featured as part of Sapelo Square’s Black History Month 2021 special: an egg carton from the Nation of Islam’s Muslim Farms, a tape recorder used by Malcolm X at Mosque No. 7, and a pendant the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave to his wife Sister Clara Muhammad as described by their grand-daughter Amirah Muhammad in an oral history. They also talk about the importance of preserving Muslim material culture, and steps everyone can take in collecting and recording their family histories.

To the question, “If Black Islam had a theme song, what would it be?,” Salahu-Din chose Quincy Jones’s “What Good Is a Song?”

To learn more about some of the Muslim artifacts featured at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), visit Sapelo Square’s Black History Month 2021 feature, or search the online collections at NMAAHC. To find out more information about the museum’s artifacts and public programming around themes of religion and spirituality, visit the Center for Study of African American Religious Life.

Theme music by Fanatik OnBeats.

Artwork was created by Scheme of Things Graphics.

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Courtesy of Maydan Podcast.

In this episode, Sapelo Square Arts and Culture Editor Ambata Kazi-Nance speaks with author and educator Amani-Nzinga Jabbar about her book, I Bear Witness, the craft of writing, writing about difficult subject matter, and her experiences as a Black Muslim woman writer.

Amani’s book, I Bear Witness, is available for purchase on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3u70XZz. 

You can connect with Amani and get updates on her writing on Instagram @authoramani and Twitter @Author_Amani and on Facebook.  

On the Square theme music was created by Fanatik OnBeats.

Artwork was created by Scheme of Things Graphics.

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Courtesy of Maydan podcast.

In this episode of On The Square, Sapelo Square History Editor Zaheer Ali speaks with Sapelo Square Senior Editor and On The Square curator Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer about her latest work, Umi’s Archive. The multimedia research project digs deep into the life of Dr. Su’ad’s mother, Amina Amatul Haqq (neé Audrey Weeks), to explore the meanings of being Black in the world. Dr. Su’ad shares her reasons for assembling and sharing the archive, some of her surprising discoveries, and the importance of archives to telling fuller, more nuanced histories of Black Muslim women and their communities.

To learn more about Umi’s Archive and view online exhibitions, visit umisarchive.com and follow on Instagram @umisarchive.

To the question, “If Black Islam had a theme song, what would it be?,” Dr. Su’ad chose Suad El-Amin’s “Shahadah.”

Opening contains audio from a video performance by Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, featured in “Why Umi’s Archive?”

This episode includes an excerpt from Suad El-Amin’s “Shahadah.”

On The Square theme music was created by Fanatik OnBeats.

Artwork for On The Square was created by Scheme of Things Graphics.

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Courtesy of Maydan Podcast.

In this episode of On The Square, Sapelo Square Arts and Culture editor Ambata Kazi-Nance speaks with renowned midwife, birthwork historian, and doula educator Shafia Monroe, founder of the International Center for Traditional Childbearing, the leading birthwork training institute in the United States for Black midwives and doulas and the first nonprofit in the nation to promote home birth in Black communities and elevate Black midwifery.

They discuss the history and traditional practices of Black midwifery, the contemporary challenges of Black maternal and infant health disparities, and how birthworkers can and are impacting positive change for Black families.

Black Maternal Health Week is April 11–17. Learn more about it and how you can get involved at https://blackmamasmatter.org/bmhw/. More information about the Momnibus Act mentioned in the episode can be found at https://blackmaternalhealthcaucus-underwood.house.gov/Momnibus.

On the Square theme music was created by Fanatik OnBeats.

Artwork was created by Scheme of Things Graphics.

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Courtesy of Maydan Podcast.

In this episode our host, Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer talks with Siddeeqah Sharif Fichman an Afro-Native Muslim and community advocate and Hazel Gómez, a faith-based community organizer, about Being Muslim on Turtle Island. This deep discussion digs into questions such as What would make a Muslim a settler or indigenous to North America? How might settler thinking shape how we live as Muslims today? What are the responsibilities of Muslims, as a whole, to the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas?

During the conversation, Hazel reads the poem “Child of the Americas” by Aurora Levins Morales (shared below) and Siddeqah introduces us to the song “Bilalian Man” by Sister Khalifah Abdul Rahman.* To the question, if Black Islam had a theme song what would it be? Hazel chose “Allah” by Khalil Ismail and Siddeeqah chose “Bilalian Man” as her Black Muslim theme song. The song excerpt in the episode is sung by Siddeeqah’s mother, Sister Sabreen Sharif and full lyrics are below. Not sure what Bilalian means? Check out this article by Precious Rasheeda Muhammad. Also be sure to check out the music of Afro-Native Muslim performing artist Maimouna Youseff (Mumu Fresh).

*Siddeeqah misspoke in the episode and this particular song is by Sister Khalifah Abdul Rahman.

On the Square theme music was created by Fanatik OnBeats.

Artwork was created by Scheme of Things Graphics.

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Courtesy of Maydan Podcast.