King of the World

Bonus Episode: Tanzila Ahmed, an artist writer, political activist, and co-host of the good Muslim bad Muslim podcast, shares her reflections on 20 years since 9/11. Follow Taz on Twitter, read her articles on Substack, and visit her website. Listeners of King of the World can share their own experiences post 9/11 and what the series means to them. Check out the Rifelion blog. Also visit podinbox.com/kingoftheworld to send us an audio message, some of which will play on future episodes. For more information on King of the World, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shahjehan starts touring the East Coast as an actor in a troupe for people in long-term recovery, and meets an unanticipated fan. We wrap up the “anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, racial, racist, white supremacist kind of mindset” that took hold during Trump’s presidency and its trickle-down effects, while also examining its function as a catalyst for the uptick in activism, improved representation, more diverse pop culture, and the ever-growing Muslim voice. We speak with American Muslim elected officials, actresses, founders, and of course, Amma and Agha, as we come full-circle to just exactly what Shahjehan’s people have done. A psychiatrist weighs in on the trauma of 9/11 for her Muslim American patients, as the interview diverges into a bit of a therapy session for Shahjehan, and for us. We revisit The Kominas, the Khans, Acton-Boxborough, adult relationships, the state of Shahjehan’s mental health, and look ahead to the future of this community. Learn more about the people and topics in this episode on our listening guide. Check out the Rifelion blog. Also visit podinbox.com/kingoftheworld to send us an audio message, some of which will play on future episodes. To learn more about the Common Purpose PAC mentioned by Qasim Rashid visit: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/common-purpose-pac-1 For more information on King of the World, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s 2008 and Shahjehan has just booked a one-way ticket to Pakistan. He moves in with his best friend and Kominas bandmate in Lahore, where new musical and social highs are interwoven with drug relapses, encounters at gunpoint, and Al-Faida conspiracy theorists. News from his hometown mosque in Wayland reveals that a childhood friend has been convicted of terrorist activities, which brings to question government-orchestrated spying and just whom the First Amendment applies to. The Muslim Justice League’s Amira Al-Subaey and real-life victim Asad Dandia break down the Obama-era Countering Violent Extremism program, based on a since-debunked radicalization theory, which in reality counters little except faith in our leaders and one’s neighbors. This post-9/11 period of more anti-nationalist criticism, regular airport profiling, and legitimized discrimination only seems to be dividing communities and making Americans less safe. For more information on our guests in this episode, check out the Rifelion blog. Also visit podinbox.com/kingoftheworld to send us an audio message, some of which will play on future episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shahjehan introduces us to two American Muslims profiled after 9/11 in very different ways: one’s arrival in his “dream country” nearly costs him his life as the other’s family trip becomes an interrogation. Everyone seems to be on high Muslim alert, and the American Muslim community comes out in droves to publicly denounce any and all terrorist or suspected terrorist activity by anyone Muslim or seemingly Muslim, anywhere. Islamophobia is formally defined. The passing of the PATRIOT Act allows for state-sponsored bad actors and we hear disturbing stats about those targeted, despite the riskier stats on right-wing extremists. Shahjehan tries college on yet again—still high—and goes on the defensive. Listeners get a little history lesson [spoiler: Black American Muslims helped build this country]. Saj and Noorj discuss names, specifically the whitewashing of badass immigrant names and the implications that can have. Learn more about the people and topics in this episode on our listening guide. Check out the Rifelion blog. Also visit podinbox.com/kingoftheworld to send us an audio message, some of which will play on future episodes. For more information on King of the World, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Shahjehan Khan acquaints us with his family—a fivesome in a predominantly white suburb of Boston by way of Pakistan—and his conflicted identity. Despite his name literally meaning “king of the world,” young Shahjehan feels increasingly powerless. We learn three of his favorite things: a shiny red Fender Strat, weed, and figure skating. September 11th, 2001, starts out like any other school day, then the first plane hits the World Trade Center at the end of first-period calculus. The attacks continue to unfold as teachers frantically try to access the internet and reassure students, when they themselves are anything but. Direct ties to his community, extended family, and Logan Airport are discovered, and we review everything the nation knew by that evening. The association between Islam and terrorism indelibly solidifies, and Shahjehan experiences the single most defining moment of his young adult life—an indication of the forthcoming massive impacts for American Muslims. Learn more about the people and topics in this episode on our listening guide. For more information, visit our website or https://www.rifelion.com/shows/kingoftheworld Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices