Welcome to the first episode of The Muslim Takeaway, a brand new podcast for all the outspoken millennial Muslims from across the world! 

I am your host, Ana Diamond, and will be bringing you some incredible individuals from our very own Muslim community in order to embrace Muslim voices, experiences, and perspectives on palpable issues such as COVID19, climate change, marriage (and dating), and (halal) careers and informed political engagement. 

You can find us on Twitter @MuslimTakeaway! Please send your suggestions for improvement, OR if you want to be interviewed, drop us a DM!

1.1. Welcome Episode: Meeting the Host and Introduction

This week I was in conversation with Khadija Hasan, a young community organiser and a radio presenter from London. She has previously worked to centre the voices of Muslim women in the public realm, and to reclaim what she calls the 'hijab narrative'. 

Khadija says that we should avoid interpreting the hijab reductively as only a physical garment; that it is a lifestyle, and an act of devotion and submission to God, both by men and women. She is conscious that reducing the meaning of hijab to only something superficial panders to the male gaze, and borders gender discrimination and even victim-blaming. 

While we talked more about the problems we were aware of and how they needed fixing at home (within our own Muslim communities), we couldn't help but recognise that there is a need for intersectional and cross-cultural support for the predicaments Muslim women face across the world.

What is certain amidst all the uncertainty, was that hijab had become increasingly politicised and incentivised for all the inaccurate reasons. Girls and women are being hurt because they wear the hijab, but just as equally there are girls and women being hurt for taking the hijab off. 
These incidents are the products of long-standing and structural but disguised misogyny, only manifesting themselves with slight variations depending on the social and the geographical context. 

Please let me know what you think of this episode! You can find The Muslim Takeaway on Twitter and Instagram @MuslimTakeaway. 

Cover art provided by the talented Syrian artist, Hala Maher Yehia.

1.2. Reclaiming the Hijab: Overcoming Misogyny, Finding Empowerment

The Muslim Takeaway is a brand new podcast that hosts purposeful (and funny) conversations about what it means to be a Muslim in today's political and social climate.

Hosted by Ana Diamond, a true third culture kid, a professional nomad, and a cultural mediator with intent (@IAmAnaDiamond).