Blood Brothers

In this very personal and emotional episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly and Aki catch up with their childhood friend Imraz Achtar aka ‘Babz’ from Bedford. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #ImrazAchtar​ Babz explains how the tragic death of his 20 months-old son Aakif last June had positively transformed his life, from a non-practising Muslim to someone who became committed to Islam overnight – from praying his five daily prayers, giving up haram habits, learning Arabic, making Umrah, and then fulfilling Hajj this year. The guest also describes how much time he wasted when he was not practising, as well as the problematic nature of giving up major sins and vice gradually. Topics of discussion also include Dilly and Babz reminiscing childhood memories when they got into fights, how to cope with the loss of a child, and engaging different Islamic groups and movements as a newly practising Muslim.

In this insightful episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly Hussain speaks with the Outreach Director of advocacy group CAGE and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #MoazzamBegg​ #Syria​ This entire podcast is dedicated to analysing the Syrian conflict since its inception in 2011 and how the balance of power has drastically shifted from the Sunni rebels to the Assad regime. In light of the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi earlier this month, Moazzam explains why the Syrian revolution remains a blessed struggle, and how the resistance has endured a military bombardment and betrayal from global superpowers and their regional proxies. Topics of discussion also include Moazzam’s incarceration in February 2014 over “Syria-related terrorism activities” for which he was released without charge, how the Syrian conflict has affected anti-terrorism laws in the UK, and why Muslim scholars in the West have either become silent regarding Syria or are intentionally ignoring the ongoing plight of Syrians.

In this episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly and Aki Hussain catch up with Ghulam "Esposito" Haydar from the Manchester-based outreach group the Myriad Foundation. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #GhulamEspositoHaydar​ #MyriadFoundation​ Ghulam explains why the Myriad Foundation declined an invitation from the then Prime Minister Theresa May to attend an Eid party at Downing Street, as well as assessing some of the challenges the group may face as their national ‘Taste Ramadan’ campaign grows. Topics of discussion also include what “holding power to account” practically means, why engaging with the UK government’s controversial Prevent strategy is problematic, and the dangers of Muslim groups doing outreach and dawah projects for the sake of PR.

In this special episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly Hussain picks the brains of Dr Rizwaan Sabir, lecturer in criminology, and Dr Fahid Qurashi, who is a lecturer in sociology. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #DrRizwaanSabir​ #DrFahidQurashi​ Dilly questions both scholars on whether academics live in their own bubbles, and have created ivory towers which disengages the masses from benefitting from their knowledge. Both doctors explain the importance of academic research while Dilly scrutinises how beneficial peer-reviewed work actually is to wider society. Dr Sabir briefly describes his ordeal when he was detained under anti-terrorism for seven days for downloading an Al-Qaeda manual for his doctoral research. Dr Qurashi passionately defends the importance of people referring back to academic experts and their works before publicly discussing complex issues like colonialism, racism and Islamophobia. Topics of discussion also include the UK government’s controversial Prevent strategy, decolonising western academic syllabuses, and Muslim traditionalists’ contentions with Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a framework to understand and express institutional racism and Islamophobia.

In this up close episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly and Aki Hussain catch up with journalist and author Hussein Kesvani. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #HusseinKesvani​ Hussein explains the challenges of pursuing a career in journalism, and his different encounters with Muslims which inspired him to write his book, 'Follow Me, Akhi'. Hussein also describes the crisis in faith he experienced in his late teens that briefly led to him becoming an atheist. Topics of discussion also include Muslim journalists seeking careers in the mainstream and non-Muslim media, the UK's countering-violent extremism (CVE) apparatus, and deciding to withdraw from the Bradford Literature Festival in July this year.

In this special episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly and Aki Hussain kick back with rapper Ard Adz. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #ArdAdz​ Born and raised in south London, Ard Adz explains what led him to join Brixton's infamous 'GAS Gang', as well as sharing stories from his time in prison. Topics of discussion also include solutions to knife crime, and whether or not UK drill music is the main cause of gang violence.

In this exclusive episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly and Aki Hussain catch up with the legendary wrestling coach Firas Zahabi from Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #FirasZahabi​ #UFC​ As a veteran wrestling coach and MMA trainer, Firas shares his thoughts on upcoming UFC fights, as well as lineups which MMA fans are wanting to see. He also discusses the pros and cons of different diets, as well as explaining why Muslims should train and compete in MMA. Topics of discussion also include people's fear of death and avoiding the discussion of the Hereafter, the challenges of parenting, and why Khabib Nurmagomedov has won the hearts and minds of millions of Muslims around the world.

In this in-depth episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly and Aki Hussain catch up with Shaykh Asrar Rashid on a range of issues affecting Islam and Muslims. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #ShaykhAsrarRashid​ #Sunni​ Born and raised in Birmingham, Shaykh Asrar describes his many encounters with different Islamic groups and movements, as well as his passion for reading books and debating theology from the age of 13. Topics of discussion also include the glorification of Muslim drug dealers, the current state of the Ummah, and signs of the Day of Judgement.

In this heated episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Hamza Tzortzis and Dilly Hussain thrash out some unresolved issues between each other. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #HamzaTzortzis​ #IERA​ Hamza explains how and why he has "transformed" over the years from the once fiery debater to a more grounded Muslim apologist. Topics of discussion also include Hamza's avoidance of discussing sociopolitical issues, IERA's new dawah ethos focused around love, mercy and compassion, as well as personal and long lasting differences between him and Dilly.

In this special episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly and Aki Hussain speak with social media influencer Eniyah Rana aka 'Modest Street'. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #ModestStreet​ #Hijab​ Eniyah describes the challenges of balancing motherhood and the busy life of a hijabi blogger, as well as her journey to Islam. Topics of discussion also include Eniyah's online altercations with fellow social media influencers Rumena Begum and Gucci Khan, and whether Muslim women's fashion industry has become immodest.