Stay ConnectedWelcome to The Diverse Bookshelf. I’m Samia Aziz, celebrating the power of literature and the voices of authors and change makers from the global majority. Join me as we explore the stories that inspire, connect, and transform our world. Each week I interview an inspiring guest about a whole host of themes and issues while focusing on diverse literature.
Let’s uncover the stories that truly matter—together.
Copyright: © 2025 The Diverse Bookshelf
On this week’s episode, I’m talking to the incredible Dana Dajani, Palestinian spoken word-artist, singer, actress and activist. We’re talking about the incredible power of storytelling and poetry in preserving history, connecting us to our ancestors, resistance and activism. I ask Dana about her Palestinian heritage, the life of her beloved grandmother and so much more.
Dana Dajani is an award-winning Palestinian writer, performer, and advocate. She lives and works between the Middle East, Europe, and the US.
Dana’s work as an actress, trainer, and consultant has taken her around the world- from performing at the Sydney Opera House and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, to creating a Drama Therapy Program for children with Autism in the UAE, where she was honored as Emirates Woman “Artist of the Year”, and received the “Young Arab Award for Entertainment” among other recognitions.
Known for her original spoken word poetry, Dana’s background in theatre has informed and influenced writing, and allowed her to create a unique style of solo performance. Part spoken-word, part one-woman show, Dana uses gesture, character, and a simple scarf to transport audiences across various social justice themes through her characters.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
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This week on the podcast, I’m welcoming back my friend, the incredibly insightful and thoughtful, Dr. Sofia Rehman. Sofia now has a second book out in the world, called Gendering the Hadith: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Believers, which is her Phd thesis published as a book. On the show this week, we dig deep into understanding translations and interpretations, understanding Aisha bint Abu Bakr even better, what we can learn from Aisha and the Prophet (saw) about justice, hope and resilience, and so much more.
Dr Sofia Rehman is an independent scholar specialising in Islam and Gender. She works as a knowledge building consultant for Musawah Movement, a global organisation committed to the reform of Muslim family law in line with gender egalitarian readings of Islam. As a PhD candidate she was a PG Impact Fellow at the Centre of Religion and Public Life and PRHS Scholar.
She is founder of the Islam and Gender read alongs in which she facilitates readings of academic texts penned by Muslim scholars in conversation with a global virtual audience and has recently been featured by Vogue Arabia, Refinery29 and The Independent. She is the author of a Treasury of Aisha bint Abu Bakr (Kube publishing) and, Gendering the Hadith: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Believers (Oxford University Press). She is a contributor to Mapping Faith: Theologies of Migration edited by Lia Shimada, Cut From the Same Cloth? Edited by Sabeena Akhtar, Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation (Tilted Axis), and Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature (404Ink). You can connect with her on her Instagram @Sofia_reading where she talks about all things related to books, faith and academia.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
Come connect with me on social media - I'd love to chat:
www.instagram.com/readwithsamia
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Today’s episode was brought to you by Muslim Charity, a faith-based international charity, working around the world to tackle poverty, hunger and thirst. They deliver your Zakat and Sadaqah with honesty and transparency, reaching those in need with impactful projects, all year round. Muslim Charity provide vulnerable communities with life-saving healthcare, clean water, food, livelihood opportunities and education, helping everyone to thrive.
If you’re looking for a charity you can trust, especially when it comes to your Zakat and Sadaqah, Muslim Charity is the one for you. Visit www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia to check out some of my favourite, impactful projects.
www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia
On this week’s episode, I’m talking to Matthew Robinson, humanitarian filmmaker about his work and debut book, 104 In the Shade: Travels of a Humanitarian Filmmaker. I speak to Matthew about his experiences, what he’s learnt, and how we can do more to protect dignity and empowerment when it comes to marketing and social media in the humanitarian sector.
Founder of Migration Films, artist and film maker Matthew Robinson (Muhammad Abdul Mateen) has worked in the media industry for 25 years, as an editor on TV staples such as Strictly Come Dancing, Xtra Factor Rewind, The Only Way is Essex and Big Brother, SAS Who Dares Wins, and as a Director shooting short films for artists such as David Lachapelle and Dale vN Collins; music videos for Mark Owen of Take That and British rapper Roots Manuva; and editing movies ‘The Story Of’ and ‘White Collar Hooligan 2’.
In the last 6 years Matthew has moved into production for the charity sector, where he has applied his skills to make a tangible difference to people’s lives, making videos and documentaries for various projects. Subjects include filming a cross-Europe aid convoy to Greece; refugee camps in Lebanon and Turkey; open heart surgery on babies in Tanzania; water wells in Ethiopia and Bangladesh; food and water distributions in the desert in Somalia and Yemen; marathons in Morocco and Palestine and a rickshaw challenge in Pakistan.
In 2020 he studied ‘Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster’ at Harvard University and has since set up Migration Relief, a charity aimed at serving refugees and internally displaced people.
‘104 IN THE SHADE: Travels Of A Humanitarian Film Maker’ is his debut book.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
Come connect with me on social media - I'd love to chat:
www.instagram.com/readwithsamia
www.instagram.com/thediversebookshelfpod
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Today’s episode was brought to you by Muslim Charity, a faith-based international charity, working around the world to tackle poverty, hunger and thirst. They deliver your Zakat and Sadaqah with honesty and transparency, reaching those in need with impactful projects, all year round. Muslim Charity provide vulnerable communities with life-saving healthcare, clean water, food, livelihood opportunities and education, helping everyone to thrive.
If you’re looking for a charity you can trust, especially when it comes to your Zakat and Sadaqah, Muslim Charity is the one for you. Visit www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia to check out some of my favourite, impactful projects.
www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia
I really hope this week’s episode helps you feel empowered, uplifted and inspired. Today, my guest is the powerhouse, Sarah Joseph, who has been working in media for decades. Sarah Joseph came to Islam at the age of just 16, having moved away from the Catholic church. She has been on a phenomenal journey with her faith, sharing with us all her experiences, insights and reflections about faith, loving God, doing good and about justice. Sarah has been someone I have looked up to for a very long time, and am always so grateful for her guidance, support and love, and I’m so glad she’s my guest today.
On the show, we talk about what's happening in Palestine and around the world, slowing down in Ramadan, justice, peace, the future, the power of reading and so much more
Sarah Joseph is a globally renowned Muslim figure, respected for her innovative and independent thinking. She is a writer and broadcaster specialising in topics pertaining to faith, social change, environment, and education. She was listed as one of the World’s 500 most influential Muslims, one of Europe’s most influential leaders under 40, and has an OBE from the Queen.
A graduate of King’s College London and University College London, Sarah is an internationally recognised public speaker.
In 2003 Sarah founded emel - a brand which first created the concept and then detailed the progression of Muslim Lifestyle. The brand fundamentally changed the way Muslims were marketed to, and made Sarah an expert in contemporary Muslim consumers and ethics.
Sarah has made countless media appearances including for the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera. She has also appeared on the Doha Debates. Sarah has written for international newspapers including UK’s The Times and The Guardian, and scripted and recorded for a variety of BBC and independent radio productions. She has a regular slot on the BBC’s most listened to radio show, The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
Come connect with me on social media - I'd love to chat:
www.instagram.com/readwithsamia
www.instagram.com/thediversebookshelfpod
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Today’s episode was brought to you by Muslim Charity, a faith-based international charity, working around the world to tackle poverty, hunger and thirst. They deliver your Zakat and Sadaqah with honesty and transparency, reaching those in need with impactful projects, all year round. Muslim Charity provide vulnerable communities with life-saving healthcare, clean water, food, livelihood opportunities and education, helping everyone to thrive.
If you’re looking for a charity you can trust, especially when it comes to your Zakat and Sadaqah, Muslim Charity is the one for you. Visit www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia to check out some of my favourite, impactful projects.
www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia
We are now in the sacred month of Ramadan, where millions of Muslims around the world will be fasting – abstaining from food and drink, from dawn to dusk every day for 30 days. It is a time of heightened spirituality and worship, and so I think today’s guest is most fitting for the month ahead of us.
On today's episode, I’m speaking to Aliyah Umm Raiyaan about her new book, the Power of Duaa. This book is a beautiful, poignant reminder about turning to God in all times – good and bad, ease and hardship, and improving our relationship with our creator and in turn, harnessing the profound power that dua, making supplication and asking of God, can have.
Aliyah Umm Raiyaan reverted to Islam in 1999. Aliyah is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of Penguin published, 'Ramadan Reflections' and The Power of Du'a. She is also the Founder and CEO of Registered Charity Solace UK who support revert women in difficulty. Aliyah is the co-host of YouTube show Honest Tea Talk. Aliyah lives with her family in East London where she home educates her children.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do think about leaving a review, and like, subscribe and rate wherever you listen to this show :)
Come connect with me on social media - I'd love to chat:
www.instagram.com/readwithsamia
www.instagram.com/thediversebookshelfpod
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Today’s episode was brought to you by Muslim Charity, a faith-based international charity, working around the world to tackle poverty, hunger and thirst. They deliver your Zakat and Sadaqah with honesty and transparency, reaching those in need with impactful projects, all year round. Muslim Charity provide vulnerable communities with life-saving healthcare, clean water, food, livelihood opportunities and education, helping everyone to thrive.
If you’re looking for a charity you can trust, especially when it comes to your Zakat and Sadaqah, Muslim Charity is the one for you. Visit www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia to check out some of my favourite, impactful projects.
www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia
On today’s show, I’m talking to Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan about her latest book, Seeing For Ourselves: And even stranger possibilities. Suhaiymah is one of the most thoughtful, intelligent and intro-spective people I know, and I absolutely love all the work she is doing and what she puts out into the world. Seeing For Ourselves feels quite different to Suhaiymah’s other books, and offers more personal reflections on identity, faith, belonging, grief, love and activism. In her book, Suhaiymah encourages us to move beyond the white western gaze, and focus on the only gaze that really matters: that of Allah. Its such a powerful little book, forcing us to rethink our values, ideas and intentions, and encouraging us to embrace our true authentic selves, away from the gazes upon us.
Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan is a writer, poet and educator disrupting understandings of history, race, knowledge and violence. She works to equip herself and others with the tools and faith to resist the unliveable conditions we find ourselves in, and work towards another reality.
Suhaiymah’s latest book, Seeing for Ourselves: And even stranger possibilities came out with Hajar Press in September 2023. Prior to this she authored Tangled in Terror: Uprooting Islamophobia (Pluto Press, 2022) which was widely endorsed by the likes of Lowkey, Moazzam Begg, Fatima Manji, Lola Olufemi and more.
I really hope you enjoy this episode. It would mean so much if you could rate, like and subscribe, and if you could leave a review of the show. It really helps :)
Lets connect on social media:
www.instagram.com/readwithsamia
www.instagram.com/thediversebookshelfpod
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Today’s episode was brought to you by Muslim Charity, a faith-based international charity, working around the world to tackle poverty, hunger and thirst. They deliver your Zakat and Sadaqah with honesty and transparency, reaching those in need with impactful projects, all year round. Muslim Charity provide vulnerable communities with life-saving healthcare, clean water, food, livelihood opportunities and education, helping everyone to thrive.
If you’re looking for a charity you can trust, especially when it comes to your Zakat and Sadaqah, Muslim Charity is the one for you. Visit www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia to check out some of my favourite, impactful projects.
www.muslimcharity.org.uk/samia
This week's episode is a conversation with the wonderful and much loved, Sairish Hussain, about her latest novel, Hidden Fires. Sairish was one of the first guests on the show back in 2022, and so it is so lovely to be in conversation again, this time about her new novel. When debut novels are such a success, it can feel daunting to pick up an author’s second novel, wondering if it is just as amazing. But friends, I can confirm, Hidden Fires is incredible. It is the moving story of loss, grief and secrets buried deep within, and the beautiful, unlikely friendship between a grandfather and his teenage granddaughter. In her novel, Sairish writes about family, mental health, growing up, and the Partition of India.
Sairish Hussain is a Bradford based author and Lecturer in Creative Writing. Her debut novel, The Family Tree, was published by HarperCollins and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, the Portico Prize and The Diverse Book Awards. It was also longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and winner of Calibre Audio's 'Hidden Gem' Prize. Sairish was selected by Kei Miller as one of ten ‘unmissable writers working in the UK’ for the International Literature Showcase 2021. She was one of the finalists in the Women’s Prize & Good Housekeeping Futures Award, an initiative which celebrates the most promising emerging female authors today. Hidden Fires is her second novel.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I loved speaking to Sairish.
Please do like, subscribe and follow on your podcast platform of choice. It would mean so much if you would rate and leave a review.
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On the show this week, I’m talking to Nadeine Asabali about her book, Veiled Threat: On being visibly Muslim in Britain.
In her book, Nadeine addresses the myriad of experiences of Muslim hijabi women, and the many different facets of racism, Islamaphobia and mysogigny experienced. Being a mixed raced child, with a Libyan father and a white English mother, Nadeine often passed as a white kid, until she started wearing the hijab and everything changed. In this episode, we talk all about her book, Islamaphobia, the pitfalls of white liberal feminism, the criminalisation of Muslim identity in Britain and so much more.
Nadeine Asbali is a British Muslim writer and secondary school teacher living in east London. Growing up with an English mother and a Libyan father in an overwhelmingly white town and deciding to wear the hijab as a teenager are experiences that have shaped the trajectory of her life and her writing, forming the foundations of a freelance writing career that explores the themes of identity, social policy, racism and Islamophobia for national and international publications, including the i, The Guardian, theNew Arab and Glamour. Nadeine is also a Metro columnist and regularly writes about schools and education policy, specialising in how Muslim and ethnic minority pupils are represented by the British education system.
I hope you find this episode insightful, interesting and enlightening. Please do follow and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice. I'd really appreciate it if you would rate and leave a review, as it helps more people find out about the show :)
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For this week's podcast episode, I'm speaking to Rowan Hisayo Buchanan about her latest novel, The Sleep Watcher.
We talk about what sleep-watching is, and what we would really discover if we could secretly see the world while asleep. We also talk about mental health, family dynamics, mixed-race identity, writing, and so much more.
This episode was recorded back in September :)
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan is a Japanese-British-Chinese-American writer. Her debut novel, Harmless Like You was published in 2016 by Sceptre and won the Author’s Club First Novel Award and a Betty Trask award. It was also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award and longlisted for the Jhalak Prize. Rowan Hisayo Buchanan was the recipient of a Margins fellowship for the Asian American Writers Workshop, has a BA from Columbia University, an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is currently working on a PhD at the University of East Anglia. Her writing has appeared in the short story anthology How Much the Heart Can Hold (Sceptre), the Guardian, New York Times, Granta, The Paris Review and The Atlantic among other places. She has lived in London, New York, Tokyo, Madison and Norwich.
If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate, like, follow, subscribe and leave a review. It really helps :)
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In this week's episode, I’m speaking to Aamina Ahmad, about her novel, The Return of Faraz Ali, which I found so moving, multi-layered and immersive, taking us into the heart of the red-light district of Lahore. We follow Faraz Ali, from when he is removed from his courtesan mother as just 5 years old, and as he grows up with a longing to understand who he is and where he comes from. The story involves a detective crime plot, and spans multiple timelines including the second world war, and the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence. I really enjoyed it, and I’m so pleased to be speaking to Aamina today.
Aamina Ahmad is a British fiction writer and playwright based in the U.S. She has two book publications, the play The Dishonoured and the novel The Return of Faraz Ali, which was named a "new work to read" by The New York Times, "quietly stunning" by The New York Times Book Review, and a "most anticipated" book by both The Millions and Book Culture. She is a creative writing professor at the University of Minnesota and the winner of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer's Award.
This episode was recorded back in September 2023.
If you enjoyed this episode, please do leave a review, and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice. Also, come connect with me on social media:
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Join my community on Patreon, and when you subscribe you could get access to an exclusive, bonus episode every month:
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