Buzzfeed’s “See Something Say Something” podcast draws crowd to talk about Muslim issues
Source: Press and Guide
By: Keith Salowich
A podcast named one of the best new podcasts of 2016 by The New York Times and iTunes recorded its latest episode before a live audience in Dearborn.
The Arab American National Museum’s Aliya Hassan Auditorium held a near capacity crowd Saturday for the recording of Ahmed Ali Akbar’s popular Buzzfeed podcast “See Something Say Something.”
Akbar originally is from Saginaw, but moved to New York — where he typically records his weekly podcast — about three years ago.
Returning to see friends and family in the mitten state was a big reason to bring the third live taping of his podcast to Michigan, according to Akbar, but he also wanted to bring the show to Dearborn because it feels like a home to him.
“Dearborn is really different from Saginaw,” Akbar said. “I just felt at home here many times. Seeing all the Arabic grocery stores makes me happy. Seeing the ads that are like, ‘Mr. Alamir’s Accident Attorney’s Office wishes you a happy Ramadan,’ on billboards makes me happy. I didn’t have that in Saginaw, but I found it here.”
Akbar chose to host the event at the Arab American National Museum specifically because he recognizes the importance of a space that represents Arab identity.
“Better representation is always good, but it’s never going to end racism or anti-Muslim bias,” he said. “It may not even always make things easier, but having these spaces where we’re comfortable to be ourselves and talk as we would is really good. It moves the goalpost and it’s rare and I value that.”
The show featured five guests, all of whom are Michigan residents. Hip hop artist Omar Zidan, otherwise known by his stage name “Big O Muziq,” led off and closed out the show with a song.
The show also featured Saladin Ahmed, poet, author and comic book writer; Evelyn Alsultany, associate professor and director of Arab and Muslim American studies at the University of Michigan; Asha Noor, racial justice and human rights activist; and Namira Islam, co-director of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative.
Akbar and his guests touched on the history of Arab immigration to Dearborn, representations of Arabs in pop culture and pondered the question: “Is Dearborn the Muslim capital of America?”
“If we only look at Dearborn as the Muslim capital, then we would assume that all Muslims are Arabs and all Arabs are Muslims, and we would really miss the diversity of the community,” Alsultany said. “Not only racially and ethnically, but in terms of level of religiosity.”
The rest of the panel echoed that sentiment, saying that Dearborn could perhaps be called the Muslim capital of America, but the accuracy of the statement could be increased by extending the considered range to the entire Detroit metropolitan area since Detroit also has a large Muslim community.
Munim Mohibi and his friend, Waqas Qureshi, have known Akbar since high school and traveled from Saginaw to see the taping of his show in Dearborn.
“I’m really happy that Ahmed is doing this for the Muslim community in general,” Mohibi said. “I enjoy his podcast mostly because I enjoy his humor and I love listening to him talk. He’s a really charismatic personality.”
Mohibi and Qureshi also see value in the podcast beyond entertainment, however.
“It brings to light the different Muslim American experiences,” Qureshi said. “There’s so much diversity in the Muslim community and it’s not really highlighted in media anywhere, so it’s good that he’s doing something.”
Sisters Emmel Marini and Miriam Marini of Dearborn are fans of the show because of the topics it tackles and the wide variety of guests who are represented. “It provides people the context to understand people are different from them, and it’s important to come to Dearborn for those people they’re representing,” Miriam Marini said. “It’s important to reconnect with the people they’re broadcasting on a larger spectrum.”
Of the many topics discussed on the show, one stood out to both sisters as the most impactful.
“The questions they were asking, especially about what to look for as a person of color when you’re going to watch a show, really made me think about what attracts me as a viewer,” Emmel Marini said. “Mainstream Hollywood isn’t providing that representation for me.”
The episode recorded in Dearborn will be available to download and stream in September.