Me & My Muslim Friends Yasmin Bendaas & North Carolina Public Radio

Join host Yasmin Bendaas and her friends as they chat with Muslim changemakers on the joys and challenges of making a difference in the Muslim community and beyond. From philanthropists to CEOs, our Season 4 guests have built their visions for change from the ground up. Listen to new episodes of Me & My Muslim Friends starting on May 1, 2024. Whether or not you have a Muslim friend, you'll find one here.

In the final episode of our Faith, Ritual and Spirituality season, we explore Islamic practices around death. Friend Tasbeeh Othman shares her experience helping with ritual washing of the body before burial and Dr. Hamdy Radwan joins us to explain Muslim funeral rites along with the age old question: What do we believe happens to us when we die?

In this episode we discuss the fifth and final pillar of Islam: Hajj. Friend Yosef Nofal joins to share his personal experiences of the holy pilgrimage and Dr. Youssef Carter, Professor of Religious Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, examines the spiritual meaning of going through Hajj rituals.

In this episode we discuss the third pillar of Islam: charity. Duke University professor Dr. Mona Hassan joins us to discuss the religious requirements and context behind Islamic giving while Ahmad Quqa of Edward Jones brings a financial advisor's perspective to making halal investments.

In this episode we discuss the second pillar of Islam: prayer. Friend of the podcast Yasmeen Kashef and Duke University professor Dr. Mona Hassan are our guests, as we explore required ritual prayers called salah and voluntary prayers called dua. We also share our personal struggles in establishing regular prayer and the meaning and purpose we’ve found in the ritual.

Duke University Muslim Chaplain Joshua Salaam and WUNC podcast producer Anisa Khalifa join us on this episode to discuss the first pillar of Islam, a declaration of faith called the Shahada. In addition to the Shahada, we dive into the foundational texts and scriptures that provide guidance for our practices and rituals.