786 Boulevard

Rami Ismail is a video game developer who is vocal about Muslim representation and misrepresentation in the video game industry. Alongside being the co-founder of game studio Vlambeer, he is also the Executive Director of gamedev.world — a global game developer conference that seeks to showcase developers from all around the world. I’ll be taking to Rami about how Muslims have been depicted in video games and how they fare behind the scenes, how Muslim representation in video games is...

Zaki Hasan is a film critic. Hailing from Chicago and spending 10 years of his early life in Saudi Arabia, he currently resides in San Fransisco and is a media scholar and critic with over twenty years of experience. A member of the San Fransisco Film Critics Circle, he has written for The San Francisco Chronica, IGN, Huffington Post and more. He has also contributed to books on Star Wars, Planet of the Apes and Blade Runner. We’ll be discussing the crazy world of film critics, how Star Wars...

Taher Adel is a British poet of Bahraini descent. His phenomenal poetry can be found all over Instagram and in a variety of publications, which tackle life, love, faith and the Arabic language. He published his first poetry collection Lost&Foundin April 2018. The collection is chronicling selections of his work from his first dabblings in poetry to the present day, much of the work in this book focuses on the relationship between the Almighty and his creations. He was also poet in residence...

Ahmad Asaad is an incredibly talented cinematographer and editor. Hailing from Texas and currently residing in DC, he works behind the scenes at AJ+, currently shooting and editing the ‘Backspace’ series, presented by Sana Saeed and produced by Sana and Nick Garbaty. He also uses his talents to elevate various short films and music videos, both for clients and as passion projects. In this episode, we’ll be discussing some of the grind that goes into AJ+, the balancing act between dream...

Young n Muslim is one of America’s favourite Muslim podcasts. Jibraeel and Mohammed endeavour to explore the real issues that young Muslim Americans experience, giving their own takes and personal experiences in a hilarious fashion that is rarely seen on the topic of Islam. We’ll be speaking to the brothers on their journey, why they got into podcasting, the challenges they faced along the way and advice to those who want to start their own podcast.

Omar Esa is an award-winning and chart topping nasheed artist who uses vocals only in his nasheeds. In his old life, he was a promising RnB/Pop singer who decided to leave music to focus on nasheeds after reconnecting with his faith. Omar has since topped the iTunes world chart multiple times and his nasheeds are watched and heard all across the globe. We'll be having a conversation with this Nasheed sensation on his unapologetic approach to expressing his Muslimness and his faith, leaving...

Dune is the 2021 American epic sci-fi film we've all heard of, directed by Denis Villeneuve. Set in the distant future amidst a feudal intersteller society, various noble houses battle over resources on a desert planet. The basic plot of Dune is perhaps one of orientalist tropes, involving White hero Paul heading to the planet Arrakis to liberate the Arab/Muslim-like Fremen. We'll be discussing the themes of Dune with our guest Margari Aziza Hill, longtime fan of Dune and Executive...

Huda Fahmy is an author and cartoonist whose webcomics you have certainly seen all over the internet. Her hilarious comics poke fun at the real life situations that Muslims find themselves in every day. She has published numerous best-selling comic books including Yes, I’m Hot in This, That Can Be Arranged and the upcoming Huda F Are You. We’ll be having an insightful and occasionally emotional conversation with Huda on the story behind her craft, using humour to deal with anxiety, and...

This week's guest are our sponsors - USHUB! USHUB is an exciting new streaming service featuring Muslim made films, shows, documentaries and more. The platform is opening opportunities for Muslims from every corner of the globe; providing them with a home for their work to be seen. We'll be chatting with co-founders Mir Ali and Sohaib Ali on the platform due to launch this fall, the hard work going into it, and the incredible content they'll be putting forward, as well as why it's time to...

Zuhair Hussaini is a New York City-based architectural designer, who completed his thesis at the New York Institute of Technology, on the rebuilding of the Jannat Al-Baqi cemetery in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Zuhair is an incredible Islamic art designer and Arabic calligraphist, and experiments with contemporary and traditional styles through paintings, digital art and more. In this episode we’ll be talking about Muharram and artistic expression, how we can use art to connect with the...

Arij Mikati is the managing director of storytelling and culture change work at Pillars Fund. Her work with her team at Pillars Fund helps to support Muslims who want to tell authentic and provocative stories full of mess, nuance and beauty, looking for infuse the existing landscape of media with fresh ideas and voices. Alongside actor Riz Ahmed, USC Annenberg and Ford Foundation, Pillars Fund recently unveiled their blueprint for Muslim inclusion, which found Muslims missing or...

Helwa is the author of the international bestseller, Secrets of Divine Love. Secrets of Divine Love teaches you how to unlock your spiritual potential and unveil your divine purpose. In the book Helwa uses a rational yet heart-based approach toward the Quran, weaving together inspiring mystical stories, Quranic verses, poetry, psychology and science, breaking down Islam in a way that is digestible and inspiring for millennial Muslims. We’ll be discussing her journey in writing the book, her...

Azhar Usman is a standup comedian, actor, writer and producer based in Chicago. He has worked on a variety of shows including Ramy as a staff writer and co-executive producer, and the upcoming Disney-Marvel series Ms. Marvel on screen in a recurring role. He is the co-creator of Allah Made Me Funny-The Official Muslim Comedy Tour, the groundbreaking stand up comedy tour that found mainstream success in 2008. In this episode we’ll be travelling on an introspective and spiritual journey,...

Kayem is a Libyan-American hip-hop artist. The son of a Libyan political prisoner who helped form a pro-democracy movement for Libya after escaping prison, he was filmed in the docuseries “Sing Freedom” when returning to Libya for the first time after living in exile. Kayem relaunched his career after a three-year hiatus due to US government restrictions. He has been featured in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Complex Mag, the New York Times, and today on 786 Boulevard. We’ll be discussing his...

Ruby Jaffrey is a Calligraphy Artist specializing in Arabic script and modern Islamic Art. Born and raised in London, England, Ruby moved to Dallas, Texas in 2002. Her love for the arts was nurtured at home by her mother who is an an Urdu lecturer and poet. Ruby became increasingly interested with the aesthetics of written script. Encouraged by her husband, Ruby began her artistic journey in 2007. Her works are a celebration of color, spirituality and faith that are in keeping with the...

Ahmed Twaij zealously tells stories as a means to promote equality, as well as holding those in power to account. An independent freelance journalist, his work has been published in numerous outlets including The Independent, The Guardian, New York Times, Vice, BBC and many more. His work focuses on US politics, social justice issues and the Middle East. Ahmed is also a manager of everydayiraq, an online social media platform dedicated to shedding light on the daily life of Iraqis and...

With the recent images and videos coming out of Palestine, a resurgence in pro-Palestinian voices has taken over social media, with many artists from various fields highlighting the atrocities being committed against the Palestinians. In this episode, we speak to Mazzi, an artist based out of New York and hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey. Mazzi has been vocal about the Palestinian cause his entire career, visiting Palestine multiple times for humanitarian work, conducting workshops,...

Serena Rasoul started her acting career in 2013 by appearing on the award-winning House of Cards. She founded Muslim American Casting to highlight incredible Muslim talent and to consult industry professionals on how to best include Muslims in the creative process. We’ll be discussing her journey as an actress, what sparked her inspiration into founding Muslim American Casting, changing the tide of Muslim representation in the industry, and more. 2:08 - Becoming an actress 9:25 - Being a...

Aicha Lasfar is an artist who focuses on pyrography, the art of burning designs into a wood surface. She uses pyrography to express experiences, identities and cherished moments. In 2020 she moved into the activism world, auctioning off a piece of art for the Black Lives Matter movement. Living in Alberta, Canada, Aicha has an incredible story of reconnecting to God and herself through nature and art.

Sukaina Rajabali is a Dubai-based food photographer, entrepreneur and world traveller. Her photography has been featured in a long list of best-selling books and popular magazines. Sukaina is also an avid traveller, travelling the world and sharing her travels on Instagram, where she aims to inspire modest, hijabi travellers to explore the world, through incredible images and honest and inspiring write ups. We’ll be chatting with her about her love for travel, her passion for food...