Islam in the Crescent City

On our first show since Charlottesville's domestic terrorism incident and the White House's refusal to call it so, we are grateful to have Brother Abdul Aziz as our honored guest today. When others might flee, he has been in the middle of the fury and recorded and shared his footage, including live video in Charlottesville that has now more than 300k views. An artist, activist, multidisciplinary media maker, and photojournalist, Abdul Aziz has captured critical moments in history through an...

During the first half of the hour, leaders from local Muslim Students’ Associations (MSAs) share updates on events, conferences, protests, as well as Hijab Days and a Islamic Awareness Week on their campuses. They discuss what the current climate is like at each of their respective university campuses after the Presidential Inauguration, and how their individual MSAs helped organize and/or participate in the “We the People” rally and march at Xavier University, the “We Too Are TU” march at...

On today’s show, I asked diverse members of the local Muslim community to share with us the most frequently asked questions they are asked about Islam and Muslims from the non-Muslim community and how they respond to them. Muslim women were frequently asked about the “hijab”, or the headscarf many Muslim wear. Muslim men faced different questions. As we read the questions and answers, we noticed a theme evolving, that of the "Violent Man and the Oppressed Woman". We share how many in our...

On today's show, we feature Linda Sarsour’s entire lecture, "Standing for Justice: Black Lives Matter" recorded at the 15th MAS-ICNA Convention. Our guests this hour are Bilal The Halal Chef and Terri Martin, a beloved couple by many in the New Orleans Muslim community. We share our reflections and thoughts on Linda Sarsour’s lecture. As many people stand by our side in solidarity in these times, we have to educate ourselves as to our history and as Sister Linda states "choose courage over...

On today's hour, Dr. Marjorie Esman, the Executive Director of ACLU Louisiana, joins us as we navigate through a new climate of eroding civil liberties in this country. We are also joined by Jeffrey Oswald Barrois, teacher, activist, and current member of the ACLU’s People Power NOLA movement. We begin by introducing ACLU’s mission to protect our constitutional rights and how protecting our freedom of religion and freedom of assembly has been front and center these days. We briefly address...

On today's hour, we have a conversation about the month of Ramadan with a Muslim and a non-Muslim guest. Brother Powell Lito DiGangi, a Masters of Social Work student at Tulane University and Jeffrey Barrois, Jefferson Parish Public Schools teacher and local activist, are the special guests. Among the things we discuss this hour is the sighting of the Ramadan moon, why so many Islamic terms are in Arabic and the importance of Arabic language in a Muslim’s worship, the difference between...