On the new(ish) podcast #GoodMuslimBadMuslim and why I hope it’s going to get better

#GoodMuslimBadMuslim launched a few months ago so, while it’s not that new, there are only four episodes available so far, so you can catch up pretty quickly. I came across it through this NPR interview, which really piqued my curiosity. The podcast, hosted by Iranian-American Zahra Noorbakhsh and Bangladeshi Taz Ahmed, is an exploration in what it means to be a ‘Good Muslim’ or a ‘Bad Muslim.’ Depending on who you ask, the definition of a ‘Good Muslim’ can be two very different things – is a Good Muslim in the US the Muslim who follows the tenets of the religion, or is it the person who ignores it all and assimilates into American culture?  It sounds pretty serious, but, in some ways, the podcast doesn’t take itself seriously at all. In the NPR interview, Ahmed and Noorbakhsh explain the concept: “In the Muslim community we’re looked at as the bad Muslims because, you know, Zahra drinks, I go to punk shows,” Ahmed tells All Things Considered host Arun Rath. “Externally, in the American community, we’re looked at as bad Muslims just by default of being brown-skinned and being Muslim, so we kind of are in this gray zone.” “To complicate matter even further,” Noorbakhsh […]