Who Am I? Identities Unravelled, One story at a time

Episode 5 takes us across Singapore as we listen to the story of my friend Dawood. Dawood shares the story of his childhood and former years growing up in Singapore with a Muslim mother and an absent Hindu father. Having moved to the UK 9 years ago, at age 23, Dawood looks back on life and shares a unique perspective on Islam in the Malay Archipelago. We discuss the complexities of culture vs religion and how Dawood navigated this to form his own Islamic identity.

Episode 4 takes us to the little town of Oxford to hear Harry’s story. Life is full of surprises, better described as an obstacle course with constant unpredictability. But experiences such as these are what truly shape us into better human beings. My conversation with Harry follows the theme of this very thought. Harry is a well known Filmmaker and Journalist. We talk about his secular upbringing, his early interest in Islam and his time spent in Palestine covering the war of 2012 and 2014. We delve deeper into what this all means to him today and how, despite life’s setbacks he continues to derive comfort and meaning from his faith.

In this episode we travel to Istanbul to hear the story of my lovely friend Eylül. We talk about the secular nature of the country, complex underlying biases which magnify people’s inclination to give up on religion, and the impacts of this on Eylüls identity as a 25 year old looking deeper into Islam.

Our past plays a huge part in defining us, some more so than others. In this episode Amer and I talk about the Bosnian Genoice, his families escape from Bosnia and having to resettle in the UK as refugees. We uncover the effects of this on his family, his rediscovery of religion and how this impacted him as a person. 

Have you ever stopped to ponder over the origins of your moral values or religious beliefs? Is your life a true reflection of what you stand for? In this episode Mena and I discuss Pakistani society, its deep rooted culture and layers of complexity. We delve deeper into her own journey of spiritual re-dicovery, the implications of childhood baggage, and the importance of active intention and understanding, when practicing Islam. Mena's story highlights how easy it is to blindly conform - Be that with cultural and religious traditions, or with life in general.

Hi, I'm Nadia. "Who Am I", is a podcast series that unravels young Muslim identies by delving a little deeper into the internal and external factors that help form them. Each episode will introduce a new guest from various geographical backgrounds, who will share their past experiences and how they ended up where they are today. Together we will explore religion, unspoken truths, classic misconceptions, toxic culture and old traditions - All the weird and wonderful things that make us human.