This week, I'm talking to Ishi Robinson, author of the delightful novel, Sweetness In the Skin. In this book, we meet the absolutely wonderful character of Pumpkin, a teenage girl trying to make her way in the world and be true to who she really is. The story is moving and wholesome, while tackling some darker issues including colourism, classism, abusive and absent parents, strained family relationships and so much more.

Ishi Robinson is a Jamaican writer living in Berlin. Her first published work was a short story in the national newspaper when she was eleven years old. Since then, she’s written opinion pieces and short stories of fiction for various publications in Kingston, Toronto, Rome, and Berlin. SWEETNESS IN THE SKIN is her first novel.

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This week on the show, I’m talking to Jassa Ahluwalia about his book and memoir, Both Not Half. Both Not Half is a poignant exploration of Jassa’s own heritage – Punjabi and English – and other forms of identity including faith, class, gender and sexuality. Jassa reminds us that we are never fractions of an identity, but always whole, in a myriad of beautiful, overlapping, confusing but empowering ways.

Jassa Ahluwalia is a British actor, writer, filmmaker, and trade unionist. Born in Coventry to a white English mom and a brown Punjabi dad in 1990, he attended school in Leicester and was raised in an extended family environment. He spoke English in the playground and Punjabi with his grandparents and spent various summer holidays in India. He came to prominence as Rocky in the hit BBC Three series Some Girls, followed by starring roles in Unforgotten, Ripper Street, and Peaky Blinders.

Jassa created the hashtag #BothNotHalf to explore mixed identity in light of his own British-Indian heritage. His TEDx talk on “How Language Shapes Identity” has clocked up over 170k views, and his BBC One documentary Am I English? won an Asian Media Award in 2022.

Both Not Half is publishing on 16th May 2024 in the UK. Get your copy here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5890/9781788708319

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On the show this week, I'm speaking with Reem Gaafar, author of the novel, A Mouthful of Salt. This book is a really stunning, powerful story of a community in the north of Sudan, struck by calamity and loss. The book opens with a devastating scene of a boy gone missing and presumed to have drown, and the panic and grief in the wake of his search. Reem explores so much in this novel, including motherhood, the power of education, othering, community structures, tribalism and so much more.

In this episode, we talk about all the themes Reem writes about, and the current war in Sudan, which has, at time of recording been going on for over 1 year. The war has led to millions of people being displaced, with nowhere to escape the violence, and over 18 million people are experiencing extreme hunger. As a trigger warning, we also talk about some sensitive issues including FGM, infertility, death, loss of children and trauma. If you don’t feel comfortable hearing about these issues right now, please do consider listening to another episode again and perhaps revisiting at a time that is better for you.

Reem Gaafar is a writer, physician and filmmaker. Her writing has appeared in African Arguments, African Feminism, Teakisi Magazine, Andariya and 500 Words Magazine, among others. Her short story ‘Light of the Desert’ was published in I Know Two Sudans (Gipping Press UK, 2014) where it was awarded an Honourable Mention. Her short story ‘Finding Descartes’ was published in Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices (HarperVia, 2023). A Mouth Full of Salt is her debut novel and Winner of the Island Prize 2023. Gaafar lives in Canada with her husband and three sons.

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This episode is a special bonus episode with scholar, writer and translator, Shaimaa Abulebda, from within Rafah, in Gaza.

Shaymaa’s family home in east Khan Younis brings together her 8 married siblings, and for her nieces and nephews, it is their grandparents’ house.

Shaimaa has lived through the second intifada, and all the aggressions on Gaza since 2008 until this curren ongoing genocide.With dreams of getting a PhD in literature, Shaimaa looked forwad to a bright future. She was lecturing at the Islamic University of Gaza, which has now been destroyed.

Since October 7th, Shaimaa and her parents have been displaced three times and are now living in an over-crowded refugee camp in Rafah, where there is no food, clean water or electricity.

Shaimaa is currently raising funds so her and her parents can leave Gaza and find safety in Egypt first, before thinking about what could come next.

You can donate and support Shaimaa and her family here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-evacuate-shaimaa-and-her-parents-from-gaza-o

In her own words, Shaimaa has described the extensive stress, pain and pressure on the people of Gaza, the way in which everyone is losing weight and strength due to forced starvation, how nobody can clean themselves properly, and how Shaymaa’s short term memory is being impacted every single day.

I invited Shaimaa onto the podcast so she can share her story, and we can hear first-hand what life is like in Gaza, both today but also in the years that Shaimaa grew up.

Due to a lack of strong internet connection and a quiet space, this episode has been put together from separate recordings, and Shaimaa recorded her story during the night from a refugee camp. While listening you might hear some sound disturbances and hear background noise: war planes, drones, and other people.


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On the show this week, I spoke to Nigar Alam about her stunning debut Novel, Under the Tamarind Tree, which I absolutely love. In this episode we talk all about Partition voices an d stories, Pakistan, class, identity, friendships, displacement and so much more.

Author Nigar Alam was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and spent her childhood in Turkey, Nigeria, Italy, Kenya, Indonesia and the United States. She currently lives in Minnesota and teaches at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

“Under the Tamarind Tree” is Alam’s debut novel and is set in the seaside city of Karachi.

The main character, a woman named Rozeena, opens the novel sitting on her veranda near a garden shaded by palm and Ashoka trees, where she receives a call from someone she knew in the past.

The rest of the book fluctuates between a dual timeline and follows Rozeena and her friends in the decades after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.



I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
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On this week’s show, I’m speaking to Ela Lee, author of the debut novel, Jaded. Now, I absolutely loved Jaded. I cried several times while reading it, and found a sense of commoradory, validation and being seen that I didn’t even know was missing. Ela writes a multi-layered story of her character, Jade, who is British-Korean-Turkish. Having gone to a prestigious University, Jade is now a 20-something professional lawyer working in a law firm in London. One night, a devastating incident takes place that sparks a huge internal and external unravelling for Jade, and the novel explores themes of identity, privilege, race, patriarchy, corporate success and so much more.

Ela Lee is a London-based author. She studied Law at the University of Oxford and previously practised as a City lawyer. During the pandemic, Ela decided to focus on her love of writing and began work on her debut novel, Jaded, that explores themes of consent, race, and identity.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
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On this week’s episode, I’m talking to the incredible Dana Dajani, Palestinian spoken word-artist, singer, actress and activist. We’re talking about the incredible power of storytelling and poetry in preserving history, connecting us to our ancestors, resistance and activism. I ask Dana about her Palestinian heritage, the life of her beloved grandmother and so much more.

Dana Dajani is an award-winning Palestinian writer, performer, and advocate. She lives and works between the Middle East, Europe, and the US.

Dana’s work as an actress, trainer, and consultant has taken her around the world- from performing at the Sydney Opera House and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, to creating a Drama Therapy Program for children with Autism in the UAE, where she was honored as Emirates Woman “Artist of the Year”, and received the “Young Arab Award for Entertainment” among other recognitions.

Known for her original spoken word poetry, Dana’s background in theatre has informed and influenced writing, and allowed her to create a unique style of solo performance. Part spoken-word, part one-woman show, Dana uses gesture, character, and a simple scarf to transport audiences across various social justice themes through her characters.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
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This week on the podcast, I’m welcoming back my friend, the incredibly insightful and thoughtful, Dr. Sofia Rehman. Sofia now has a second book out in the world, called Gendering the Hadith: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Believers, which is her Phd thesis published as a book. On the show this week, we dig deep into understanding translations and interpretations, understanding Aisha bint Abu Bakr even better, what we can learn from Aisha and the Prophet (saw) about justice, hope and resilience, and so much more.

Dr Sofia Rehman is an independent scholar specialising in Islam and Gender. She works as a knowledge building consultant for Musawah Movement, a global organisation committed to the reform of Muslim family law in line with gender egalitarian readings of Islam. As a PhD candidate she was a PG Impact Fellow at the Centre of Religion and Public Life and PRHS Scholar.

She is founder of the Islam and Gender read alongs in which she facilitates readings of academic texts penned by Muslim scholars in conversation with a global virtual audience and has recently been featured by Vogue Arabia, Refinery29 and The Independent. She is the author of a Treasury of Aisha bint Abu Bakr (Kube publishing) and, Gendering the Hadith: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Believers (Oxford University Press). She is a contributor to Mapping Faith: Theologies of Migration edited by Lia Shimada, Cut From the Same Cloth? Edited by Sabeena Akhtar, Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation (Tilted Axis), and Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature (404Ink). You can connect with her on her Instagram @Sofia_reading where she talks about all things related to books, faith and academia.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
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Today’s episode was brought to you by Muslim Charity, a faith-based international charity, working around the world to tackle poverty, hunger and thirst. They deliver your Zakat and Sadaqah with honesty and transparency, reaching those in need with impactful projects, all year round. Muslim Charity provide vulnerable communities with life-saving healthcare, clean water, food, livelihood opportunities and education, helping everyone to thrive.

If you’re looking for a charity you can trust, especially when it comes to your Zakat and Sadaqah, Muslim Charity is the one for you. Visit www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia to check out some of my favourite, impactful projects.

www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia

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