Yasmine Mohammed Podcast

The Muslim Brotherhood and Other Islamists

Dalia Ziada, who serves as the Washington, D.C. Coordinator for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), joins Yasmine in Episode 3 of Islam and the West to discuss the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists’ mission in the West today.  Dalia Ziada is an Egyptian Muslim writer and political analyst.  She specializes in governance, geopolitics, and regional security in the Middle East. Dalia held senior positions at regional and international think tanks and civil society organizations, in Egypt, Israel, and the United States. She has led projects, advised policymakers, and authored articles, papers, and books analyzing the geopolitical conflicts and power relations in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. Since May 2024, Dalia has been visiting American university campuses, in partnership with Hillel International, lecturing on the changing geopolitics of the Middle East in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daliaziada [https://www.facebook.com/daliaziada] X/Twitter: https://x.com/daliaziada [https://x.com/daliaziada]

What is 'Islamism'?

In a new special series called Islam and the West, Yasmine is inviting the most brilliant minds of our time to discuss the most pressing issues of our time. These conversations help us understand the goals of Islamists in the West, who are infiltrating our governments, media and academic institutions. They also examine strategies to battle the overwhelming antisemitism and Islamism in the West.  Abdel-Samad, author of Islamic Fascism, joins Yasmine in Episode 2 of Islam and the West to shed light on the Muslim Brotherhood. They will discuss their origin in Egypt, how they perfected their ideological tactics through the Middle East, and how they are using those tactics on the West today. Hamed was born in Egypt to a Sunni Muslim Imam and became a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in his university days. A stay in a summer camp run by the Muslim Brotherhood triggered doubts, causing him to become skeptical, and eventually an atheist. He studied multiple languages as well as political science in Germany, and has worked as a scholar for most of his life. Following the publication of his book Mein Abschied vom Himmel (My Farewell from Heaven, 2009) in Egypt, a group issued a fatwa threatening Abdel-Samad and he was put under police protection. Hamed has called for an "Islam light" in Europe without sharia, jihad, "gender apartheid", proselytism, and "entitlement mentality", and has received multiple fatwas calling for his killing as he is accused of heresy in Egypt. In his latest book, Islamic Fascism (Der islamische Faschismus, 2014), Abdel-Samad describes Islam as a fascist ideology under the cover of a religion. X: https://x.com/hamed_samad [https://x.com/hamed_samad]

Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and Finding Self-Acceptance | with Dr Sara Glass

Sara is the author of a personal memoir Kissing Girls on Shabbat recounting her courageous journey of self-acceptance as a queer woman navigating life within and beyond the constraints of a Hasidic Jewish community. This poignant exploration of identity, resilience, and love resonates deeply with readers and shines a light on the universal struggle to embrace one’s true self.   Sara is a therapist, writer, and speaker who helps members of the queer community and individuals who have survived trauma to live bold, honest, and proud lives. She also serves as a Clinical Supervisor for Jewish Lesbian Youth, a non-profit organization that supports and empowers LGBTQ youth. Website: https://www.drsaraglass.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/drsaraglass/ X: https://x.com/DrSaraGlass

From “Free Palestine” to Free Thinker | with Michael Gamal

Michael was born in the US into a Coptic Orthodox family, but he’d drifted in and out of Agnosticism since he was a teenager. Michael converted to Islam because he hated Jews so much. For nearly 20 years, he sympathized and advocated for the Palestinians until he felt like he had to choose between his humanity and continuing to support a cause he increasingly saw as morally bankrupt and depraved. That is when he started creating content that focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  After spending nearly 20 years supporting a cause that would have gladly murdered every Israeli, Michael believes he owes it to the Jewish community to tell his story and share his knowledge, to fight the propaganda machine and hopefully pull people out of the "free Palestine" death cult. Leaning heavily into books and recollections of history for information, Michael tries to raise awareness about the problems with the Palestinian leadership, to uplift and showcase Jewish voices and opinions, and to defend Zionism to a world that has a very poor understanding of what Zionism is. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koptickaparah0548/ [https://www.instagram.com/koptickaparah0548/]

The Unheard History of the Yezidi People | with Sheikh Mirza Ismail

Sheikh Mirza Ismail is a Yezidi religious leader who was forced to flee Iraq because of religious persecution. Spending over two years as a refugee in Syria and Turkey, Sheikh Mirza made his way to Canada where he received a degree in Social Service Work from Medix College in 2010. As a Sheikh, Mirza Ismail holds a portion of leadership among the Yezidi people and is the Founder and President of the Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International: www.yezidihumanrights.org  Mirza was born in Shingal, the Yezidi region of Iraq that was over-run by ISIS in August of 2014. He has travelled all over the world speaking with government officials, media, and organizations about the plight of the Yezidi people and other minorities suffering at the hands of ISIS. Since September 2014, Sheikh Mirza has been visiting Iraq frequently; meeting and interviewing the IDPs (Internationally Displaced People), especially the Yezidi women and girls who lived under the law of the ISIS and escaped the humanitarian crisis that saw the Yezidi genocide and enslavement. Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International (YHROI):  www.yezidihumanrights.org info@yezidihumanrights.org  1-416-843-7973