Mommying While Muslim

T he vertically multigenerational family is not new to America, or to the world. We discuss the pros and cons of vertical and horizontal generations in a household, talking about the trauma we’ve witnessed and how we take the good parts of our histories to build future families. Alternatives to intergenerational families are explained, as well as the costs. The economic realities that are forcing...

We continue our discussion of the evolution of the Muslim American family in this episode: What does that look like and why? An anonymous guest shares her personal experience of marrying a non-Muslim man with Zaiba and Uzma today. What led her to do it, and what takeaways does she have? The social landscape is just different in America and with that comes changes from our understanding of the “tra...

Zaiba & Uzma hash it out over outlaws...no, the IN laws on this episode. Having been in these relationships for a while, they talk about interference, childrearing disputes, social and ethnic expectations, and most importantly, communication gaps that lead to an outlaw situation. The audience really participated in this one and their answers to MWM’s survey questions are terrific and telling....

Yasmin El Hady, lawyer, mom, and comedienne joins Zaiba and Uzma to talk about her out of the box career. Is our dream job REALLY our dream? Why or why not? These are important topics explained, as well as the wealth of comic relief in mothering, “Ramy,” what “move over” means, Muslim porn stars, and the halal and haram of entertainment. Despite the sound difficulties in this episode, it delivers...

Sumiya Khan, RD comes on today to discuss devastating loss and overcoming it. Her advice on the do’s and don'ts during grieving are golden and should be printed for general public use! She’s truly a model of resilience, and since like-minded folks get together, Sanctuary Kitchen is her passion, outlet, and work empowering refugees. We look forward to her supportive endeavors in Muslim bereave...

Rubina Cohen, our podcast’s Marketing Manager and partner, joins Zaiba again today to talk about how incredible losses in her childhood prepared her for success in the future. From a critical death in the family to running away and exploring faith, Rubina and Zaiba discuss imposter syndrome, difficult relationships, fear-based parenting, and COVID related anxieties that we all share.    Learn abou...

Continuing our series on “moms outside the box,” Lt. Col.  Mona Johnson USA, Retired joins Zaiba and Uzma today to discuss her military career post-divorce, the unique experiences she had as a single Muslim mom in the Army, and the cultural hot topics she saw then and now. As an immigrant to this country in the late 50s, Miss Mona has literally seen the United States transform in progressive ways,...

Zaiba and Uzma’s dads join them on this bonus episode for Father’s Day talking about their immigrant experiences and how they contributed to their daughters’ Muslim identities in America. It’s a rare to have male voice on the podcast, but as moms themselves, the cohosts know how important fathers are in their children’s lives. These dads are friends in real life, developed generational relationshi...

To kick off this month’s theme of “moms outside the box,” momfounder of Emar Italy, Dr. Najwa Javed joins the podcast to talk about her line of high heels THAT ARE GOOD FOR YOU! For those of us in slides and flip-flops, because comfort is Queen, this is great news, especially coming from a foot and ankle surgeon. Najwa talks about the research and hustle required to launch a new product, gives gol...

I continue our conversation with podcaster and radio personality, Farheen Raza, mom of 3 rambunctious boys.  We're talking about what Shiism is--history, practice, and whether or not it matters which sect we identify with in the United States. During this time of division and change in our nation, it matters whether or not we decrease or broaden the schisms between our neighbors and mom siste...

Dr. Sylvia Chan Malik joins us today to talk about social justice as achieved and achievable in America through the work of Black Muslim women, or first mothers in this country. As an American historian, Dr. Chan Malik shares her study of race, religion and gender as agents of change, and how Muslim moms can leverage their identities to force equity and equality still missing in our social fabric....

Ikhlas Saleem of Identity Politics Podcast joins us today to talk about her intersectional experiences as a Black Muslim female and mom, or as she prefers to be identified, Moorish American mom. There are so many things to be learned on this episode!  Non black Muslims are discriminatory toward black Muslims and guess what--black Muslims know it! Due to black erasure that starts in our history boo...

Not all second-generation Americans were encouraged to be overtly “American,” or to adopt the cultural practices that make us unique on the planet: our innate senses of justice, equality, work ethic, and our history of rebellion weren’t exercised and flexed in traditionally Muslim countries, but then our parents came here and some felt slapped in the face by these traits. Others embraced them. Sab...

Podcaster and radio personality, Farheen Raza, mom of 3 rambunctious boys, joins us today to inform us about what Shiism is--history, practice, and whether or not it matters which sect we identify with in America. During this time of division and change in our nation, it matters whether or not we decrease or broaden the schisms between our neighbors and mom sisters. We barely touched the tip of th...

Kaitlin Abdelrahman joins us today to talk about how and why she launched On-Call Halal, delivering halal meals at suhoor AND iftar to Muslim healthcare workers in Kansas City. When all things are tough and we have to juggle so much. Kaitlin added one more thing to her amazing repertoire in order to turn lemons into lemonade. Of course, she’s sparked a conversation and movement that we hope will c...

A mother who adopted her child thought she would walk away and enjoy her life with her new family, but she was never more wrong.   In this episode of Mommying While Muslim , find out what happened that changed this mother's life forever, what she's doing now to help future generations, and how her son's adoption 3-years ago will have a lasting impact for generations to come.  You wi...

A newly converted Muslimah and a new immigrant Muslimah met 40 years ago in Chitown and discovered they had more in common than they thought. Darlene Hussain and Qurrat “Annie” Jafri join us today to spill the beans on what happened when they became Muslim moms in America! We talk about the painful things: mom guilt, reverse Muslim discrimination, postpartum depression, social isolation, first gen...

Durdana Razvi Rahman, mom of the first Muslim American news reporter to don hijab on the air, joins Zaiba and Uzma today to discuss how moms help kids face adversity, even if it comes from an unjust source. While quick to downplay her wisdom, Durdana shares some excellent parenting tips, from kids friends, their personal and professional choices, and how the thread of Islam brings it all together...

Yasmin El Hady, or the comedienne and social media sensation known as Yasguru, joins us today to help make sense of how to juggle mommying, work, and the kids this quarantined Ramadan.  What is timeboxing, what does it look like, and how can it help make sense of the new mom juggle we all have to do? Find out how we can manage our tasks better if we can determine what activities cause high stress...

Eissa Albinali joins us today to discuss life in lockdown in Spain and what we  are taking for granted here in the States. He’s a super creative expat with some amazing ideas to share, and projects he’s got started on YouTube we can bring right into our living rooms. He’s also got great advice for teens to utilize their time, get their creative juices flowing, and advice for moms on how to support...

Shownotes: Senator Ghazala Hashmi representing Virginia District 10, the first Muslim elected to the Virginia State Senate, represents historic political change and joins us today to discuss how 2017 rhetoric propelled her from education to politics. How does a normal Muslim American mom make change like this and why is it important for Muslim immigrants and their kids to be actively engaged in Am...

Uzma’s son and daughter guest on our episode today while they explain their worries and excitement about a Ramadan without the socialization and masjid influences we’ve been used to. Hear some dirty laundry about our co-hosts and their experiences of Ramadans past, and how we plan to make the best of Ramadan 2020, especially for the young ones who are looking forward to it so much. There’s also a...

Join expert homeschooling mom and community volunteer extraordinaire, Priscilla Martinez, as she shares what Ramadan entirely at home can look like. What are the traditions we will be grieving, but what can we look forward to? Seriously, some of us are missing the forest for the trees here, so let’s shift mindsets and make the best of what we’ve been dealt! Ramadan 2020 will definitely be one for...

Get real news on the pandemic from a scientist rather than a politician or your neighbor who swears by elderberry or summer heat to kill coronavirus, or your Amo Sami who swears it’s all a conspiracy to rig an election year. Doctor Syra Madad is not just a novel infection chaser and someone who maintains readiness to fight them, she headed for Ebola on US soil when the rest of us were running away...

Saira Sufi joins us today to share the story of her son, Hadi, and how he remains her guide today. She has weathered innumerable losses in the last couple of years, and still holds her chin up as she advocates for her son’s disease and mom resilience. This may be a triggering episode for anyone who has suffered immense loss and grief, so maybe listen in a group so you can support each other throug...