Blood Brothers

In this special General Election episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly Hussain hosts Abdullah al Andalusi from the Muslim Debate Initiative and Dr Salman Butt, editor of Islam21C. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #AbdullahAlAndalusi​ #DrSalmanButt​ In this lively discussion, the guests cover: Is democracy and Islam compatible? Is it permissible for Muslims to vote in secular democratic elections? Is voting an obligation, permissible, haram or kufr? Can Muslims vote for unIslamic political parties based on preventing greater harms and bringing about greater benefits? Is the issue of voting really a matter of lesser of two evils or necessity? Is Brexit good or bad for Muslims? Why should Muslims vote for Labour when their manifesto includes various unIslamic pledges? All the above and much more is discussed in this engaging episode of the Blood Brothers Podcast.

In this episode of the Blood Brothers podcast, Dilly Hussain catches up with the legendary Ustad Abdurraheem Green. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #AbduraheemGreen​ #IERA​ The veteran da'ee reflects on his personal evolution from playing a leading role in the fiery and arguably divisive "Salafi" dawah of the 1990s to a more inclusive and tolerant approach to dawah. Ustad Green also explains how the message of all the Prophets (peace be upon them all) included both the glad tidings of Paradise and the warnings of Hellfire, stressing the importance of dawah organisations not to neglect or disproportionately focus on either. Topics of discussion also include the challenges Muslim parents face when balancing love and discipline with children, and whether white converts to Islam are privileged and ignorant of institutional racism.

In this in-depth episode of the Blood Brothers Podcast, Dilly Hussain speaks with anti-Islamophobia activist and campaigner Sahar Al-Faifi. #BloodBrothersPodcast​ #SaharAlFaifi​ #Niqab​ Sahar, who is a molecular geneticist by profession, describes the microaggressions she experiences on a daily basis while travelling as Muslim woman in niqab, besides the numerous cases of being verbally abused for the way she is dressed. She also explains why the niqab is her jihad and represents a form of resistance to the global Islamophobia industry, and why similarly the French colonialists also despised Muslim women wearing the burqa in Algeria. Topics of discussion also include why the Left is widely regarded as the natural political allies of Muslims in the West and the conflict of values that have emerged there, as well as the implications of Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman's new "modernised" Saudi Arabia - which is Sahar's country of origin.

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.