Neda Hamid
This interview is with Neda Hamid, a Palestinian Muslim and recent Human Development and Family Sciences graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. Neda speaks to Islam being a very important part of their life and the subsequent ramifications of being a highly visible hijab-wearing Muslim. Neda also navigates a shift in their leftist political identity and discusses how being surrounded by progressive-minded people in college was a stark contrast to their high school experience in Baytown, Texas, where they were born and raised. During college, Neda was highly involved with the Liberal Arts Refugee Alliance (LARA) as well as the Palestine Solidarity Committee. Neda would like to tie their life’s work to helping the local refugee community.
Sharjeel Syed
This interview is with Sharjeel Syed, a first-generation undocumented Pakistani Muslim-American, who is currently in his first year of residency in Chicago, Illinois. Sharjeel’s experience of growing up in San Antonio, going to the local mosque, and feeling a close kinship with Islam, has shaped who he is today. He speaks to wanting to impart systemic changes in the healthcare system in America while also being involved in advocacy or social justice work.
Duriba Khan
This interview is with Duriba Khan, a Pakistani-Indian Muslim and recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. Duriba speaks about spending most of her youth going to Islamic school and the culture shock that came with the transition to college life. During undergrad, Duriba ran for student government, joined a number of organizations and even served as co-president of the Pakistani Student Association. Duriba also discusses navigating immigrant kid guilt when she decided to go against her parents’ wishes and apply to law school instead of medical school.
Constance Shabazz
This interview is with Constance Shabazz, a social activist, feminist, and speaker from Chicago. After learning about the health care disparities and injustice faced by the African American community during her time working for the Sickle Cell Foundation in New York, Constance decided to become a physician and advocate for others. Constance talks about how reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X helped align her spiritual beliefs with Islam and informed her opinions on providing free health care for all. Constance moved to Texas in 2016 and continues to organize around community needs.
Mehraz Rahman
This interview is with Mehraz Rahman, an outgoing senior at The University of Texas at Austin, serving as Vice President of the student body in her final year. Mehraz discusses navigating her identity as part of a small Bangladeshi community in Austin, a tumultuous election cycle that caused many to question her authenticity, and her personal experiences with assertiveness in male-dominated spaces. As Vice President, Mehraz successfully advocated for the installation of more reflection spaces for students needing a quiet and clean place to pray.
Bonnie How
This interview is with Bonnie How, the senior solo pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church, a radically inclusive and justice-minded space. Bonnie recently became a citizen of the U.S. and speaks to the challenges of navigating that process during a global pandemic. Bonnie grew up near Glacier National Park in Alberta, Canada, but has no plans of moving back.
Karen Thompson
This interview is with Karen Thompson, Pastor of Uprising Austin. Karen was an avid church go-er in Pflugerville and involved in youth work. She came out as lesbian during the process of becoming a minister and was eventually ordained in Metropolitan Community Churches, creating a safe space for the LGBTQ community. Speaking on the pandemic, Karen moved into the church for three months to make sure the food and clothes delivery services to Austin’s unsheltered population were able to continue. Now, Karen is in the process of founding a daycare for deaf infants and children as well as children from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
Miqdaad Bhuriwala
This interview is with Miqdaad Bhuriwala, a current master's student in urban planning and a member of the Dawoodi Bhora Muslim community. Miqdaad immigrated to America right after 9/11 and speaks to the experience of uprooting his life, losing parts of his cultural heritage, like language, and learning how to fit in as a Pakistani-American. Miqdaad also discusses how living through a global pandemic has allowed him the chance to work on his mental health and focus on his goal of making the world a better place for both humans and our environment.
Seja Haque
This interview is with Seja Haque, a high school senior in Corpus Christi, Texas who speaks about struggling between her Muslim and feminist identities as well as being involved at her local mosque where she was eventually asked to teach. Seja discusses the immigration story of her parents from Pakistan to America and her deep found appreciation of her cultural identity. She plans on attending the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and eventually becoming a lawyer.
Joanna Crawford
This interview is with Reverend Joanna Crawford from Live Oak Unitarian Church. Joanna left a career in marketing and was interested in process theology, eventually running a liberal church in Cedar Park, an area in Austin that is slowly becoming more racially diverse. Joanna has dealt with a fair share of hardships, like her daughter surviving cancer as well as being a woman minister, but all that has shaped her religious views in a positive way. Joanna also speaks to the hardships of virtual church service, which luckily, she’s accustomed to.