Mommying While Muslim

Mommying While Muslim is a one of a kind podcast where American Muslim moms share their experiences to raise second generation kids. Having experienced both pre and post 9/11 America, they're acutely aware of the unique challenges their families face on top of the regular messes that all moms share. Mommying While Muslim is a space to take back their stories, and tell those no one will air on the news or portray fully or fairly in the media. Host Uzma Jafri is mom first, careerwoman second, and global citizen at heart. She meets taboo topics head on because she wasn't allowed to do it growing up, not at home or at school and work. Her aim is to better her immediate household, community, and her momsisterhood the world over by telling the truths sometimes people don't want to face or to hear. Not everyone has these privileges, and she is eager to learn as well as share her own experiences. Always looking to give back, MWM finds women and families who need a mic because no one needs a voice; they just need an opportunity to speak. Besides tough social issues, MWM tackles political ones because when laws affect kids, we're coming for them as well as the ones who make them! There's no lane that doesn't get taken here. Along the way, MWM recruits momallies for Muslim Americans who have been inordinately targeted for the last 20 years. True moms know that ALL our children deserve to be safe, loved, and happy, and we bust every yellow brick on the Islamaphobic road to make sure they all are. If you like good trouble, this one's for you!

Contributors

Co-host

Uzma Jafri, MD

Uzma Jafri grew up in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan and India. This turned out to be good preparation for confronting people’s misconceptions about both Muslims and Texans. Coming from a traditional Muslim family and being “unapologetically” Muslim, while still identifying with American culture, made Uzma hyperaware of the dangers that arise when people conflate culture and religion. Today, Uzma is a physician running her own practices in Phoenix, medical director of an assisted living and hospice agency, and graduate medical faculty. She is also a certified speaker for the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona and volunteers with multiple organizations to support refugees. However, she considers all of these as side gigs to her real full-time occupation: being Ammi to her 4 kids.

Co-host

Zaiba Hasan

Zaiba Hasan is an American Muslim who grew up biracial and bicultural. Born and raised in Chicago, Zaiba’s Irish/Pakistani heritage and interfaith upbringing gave her a head start navigating between identities. It’s, therefore, no surprise that she is frequently invited to speak at interfaith events since her background makes her a natural at bridging gaps between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States. A degree in Political Science and Communication further shaped Zaiba’s outlook on issues like race, immigration, and nationalism, as well as her parenting philosophy, which is geared towards raising compassionate, responsible global citizens. When she isn’t busy with podcasting, public speaking, fostering interfaith community, or working with her parent coaching clients at Emerge Consulting Solutions, Zaiba can usually be found on the basketball court or baseball field with her husband and their four children.