“It’s easy to dehumanize an entire group of people if you don’t know their story.” -Wajahat Ali
Wajahat Ali is a New York Times Contributing Op-Ed writer, public speaker, recovering attorney and tired dad of two cute kids. His essays, interviews, and reporting have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and New York Review of Books. He is the author of the play The Domestic Crusaders and lead author of the investigative report Fear Inc: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America.
In this episode of Stories of Transformation, we get to hear the stories and life lessons learned of a man who has not only survived a near death experience of his own, but has also faced a parent's worst nightmare. His daughter, at two years old, was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer the day he had to step on stage to give a TED Talk, in which he planned to make the case that people in developed countries should be having children.
Not only that, but we also get a history and political lesson on Islamophobia and how it's actually been in existence for thousands of years, not just post 9/11. We gain a deep understanding as to why this matters, in the context of political foreign policies that have been built on conspiracy theories.
Wajahat shares about his upbringing as often the only brown person in the room, forced to become a cultural ambassador of sorts post 9/11 and how this experience led to his passion and ultimately his career in storytelling. He now teaches the younger generation of minorities how to use their personal stories for social change.
Wajahat's unique blend of expert storytelling, humor, knowledge, and vulnerability make for an informative and entertaining conversation filled with "aha" moments, laughter, and new perspective.
“Sometimes it takes a tragedy for us to wake up and pay witness to the chaos that was always under our nose." -Wajahat Ali
Full show notes: https://www.baktashahadi.com/shownotes/rewriting-the-islam-hate-narrative-with-wajahat-ali
Connect with Wajahat Ali
https://www.wajali.com/
https://twitter.com/wajahatali
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