Podcasts about usama

Courage is not loud. Sometimes it is a 13-year-old girl standing in a courtroom, promising to defend dignity no matter the cost.  Noura Ghazi's life was shaped by detention, disappearance, and resistance long before she became a human rights lawyer. Growing up in Damascus with a father repeatedly imprisoned for political opposition, she chose early to confront injustice through law rather than violence. From defending political prisoners during the Syrian revolution to marrying her husband inside a prison and later founding No Photo Zone, Noura has built a life rooted in resilience, civil rights advocacy, and unwavering belief in human dignity.  Now living in France as a political refugee, she continues her work supporting families of detainees, survivors of torture, and the disappeared. Her story is not simply about survival. It is about choosing mindset over fear, purpose over despair, and love even in the shadow of loss. This conversation invites reflection on what it means to remain Unstoppable when freedom, justice, and even safety are uncertain.  Highlights:  00:07:06 – A defining childhood moment reveals how a confrontation in a Syrian courtroom shaped Noura's lifelong commitment to defending political prisoners.  00:12:51 – The unpredictable nature of Syria's exceptional courts exposes how justice without standards creates generational instability and fear.  00:17:32 – The emotional aftermath of her father's release illustrates how imprisonment reshapes entire families, not just the person detained.  00:23:47 – Noura's pursuit of human rights education demonstrates how intentional learning becomes an act of resistance in restrictive systems.  00:32:10 – The early days of the Syrian revolution clarify how violence escalates when peaceful protest is met with force.  00:37:27 – Her marriage inside a prison and the global advocacy campaign that followed reflect how personal love can fuel public courage.  00:50:59 – A candid reflection on PTSD reveals how trauma can coexist with purpose and even deepen empathy for others.  About the Guest:   Noura Ghazi's life has been shaped by a single, unwavering mission: to defend dignity, freedom, and justice in the face of dictatorship. Born in Damascus into a family deeply rooted in political resistance, she witnessed firsthand the cost of speaking out when her father was detained, tortured, and disappeared multiple times. That lived experience became her calling. Since 2004, she has defended political prisoners before Syria's Supreme Security State Court, and when the Syrian revolution began in 2011, she fully committed herself to supporting detainees and the families of the disappeared. Even after her husband, activist Bassel Khartabil Safadi, was detained, disappeared, and ultimately executed, she continued her advocacy with extraordinary resolve.  Forced into exile in 2018 after repeated threats and arrest warrants, Noura founded NoPhotoZone to provide legal aid, psychological support, and international advocacy for victims of detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and displacement across Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. Her mission is not only to seek justice for the imprisoned and the missing, but to restore agency and hope to families living in uncertainty and trauma. Recognized globally for her courage and leadership, Noura remains committed to amplifying the voices of the silenced and ensuring that even in the darkest systems, human rights and human dignity are never forgotten.  https://nouraghazi.org/   https://nophotozone.org/   Book – Waiting by Noura Ghazi - https://www.lulu.com/shop/noura-ghazi-safadi/waiting/paperback/product-1jz2kz2j.html?page=1&pageSize=4   About the Host:  Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.  Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.  https://michaelhingson.com   https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/   https://twitter.com/mhingson   https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson   https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/  Thanks for listening!  Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.  Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!  Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Michael Hingson  00:09 Well, welcome everyone to another episode of unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to chat with Nora Ghazi, who lives in, I believe, France right now. She was born in Syria. She'll tell us about that, and she has had an interesting life, and I would say, a life that has had lots of challenges and some treachery along the way. But we'll get to all of that, and I will leave it to her to describe most of that, but I just want to tell you all we really appreciate you being here and hope you enjoy the episode. So Nora, how are you? Noura Ghazi  00:49 Thank you, Michael, for having me in this great broadcast, doing well. Michael Hingson  00:57 Well, there you go. Well, why don't we start? I love to start this way. Why don't you tell us kind of about the early Nora, growing up and so on, where you grew up, what anything you want to talk about, regarding being a younger person and all of that and and however we want to proceed, we'll go from there. Noura Ghazi  01:17 Okay, so since I was a child, my childhood wasn't like normal, like all the kids at my age, because my father was like a leader in opposition party against the previous Syrian regime. Michael Hingson  01:34 So you were born in Syria? Noura Ghazi  01:37 Yes, I work in Damascus. I'm from Damascus, but I have some like multiple origin that I'm proud of. But yes, I'm from Damascus. So since I was five years old, my father was disappeared and because he was wanted with other, like fellows at his party and other, let's say aliens, parties of opposition against the previous regime. So he disappeared for six years, then he was detained and transferred to what was named the supreme security state court. So it was during my adultness, let's say so since I was a child like I had at that time, only one sister, which is one year younger than me, we were moving a lot. We had no place to live. So my mother used to take us each few days to stay at some, someone place, let's say so it caused to us like changing schools all, all the time, which means changing friends. So it was very weird. And at that age, okay, I I knew the words of like cause, the words of leader or dictatorship. I used to say these words, but without knowing what does it mean. Then, when my father detained, it was his ninth detention. Actually, my mother was pregnant with my brother, so my brother was born while my father was in prison. And while he was in prison, the last time he disappeared for one year, three months, he was in like a kind of isolation in security facility. Then he was referred to this court. So in one of the sessions of the trials, I had a fight with the officer who, like who was leading the patrol that bring my father and other prisoners of conscience. So at the end of this fight, I promised my father and the officer that, okay, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer and defend political prisoners, which I did at the end. Michael Hingson  04:05 So what? What was the officer doing? He was taking people to the court. Noura Ghazi  04:12 Yes, because Okay, so there is many kind of prisons now. They became like, more familiar to like public opinion because of, like 15 years of violence in Syria. So there was, like the the central civil prison in Damascus, which we call ADRA prison, and we have said, NIA jail, military prison. So those two prisons, they were like, holding detainees in them. So they they used to bring detainees to the court in busses, like a kind of military busses, with patrol of like civil police and military police. So the officer was like. Heading the patrol that was bringing my fathers from other prison. Michael Hingson  05:05 So you, so you, what was the fight about with the officer and your father and so on? What? How? Well, yeah, what was the fight? Noura Ghazi  05:16 It's very good question, although at that time, it was a very like scary situation, but now I laughed a lot about it. Okay, so they used to to catch all the prisoners in one chain with the handcuffs. So we used to come to hug and kiss my father before entering the court. So I was doing what I used to do during the trials, or just upon the trials, and then one of the policemen, like pushed me away. So I got nervous, and my father got nervous. So the officer provoked me. He was like a kind of insulting that my father is a detainee, and he is like he's coming to this court. So I, like I replied that I'm proud of my father and his friends what they are doing. So he somehow, he threats me to detain me like my father, and at that time, I was very angry, and I curse the father Assad just in on the like in the door, at the door of the court, and there was people and and Like all the the policemen, like they were just pointing their weapon to me, and there was some moments of silence. Then they took all the detainees into the court. So at this moment, while I'm entering the court behind them, I said, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer to defend political prisoners. Michael Hingson  07:02 What did the officers say to that? Noura Ghazi  07:06 Because they used to look to us as because we are. We were against father Assad and the dictatorship, so they used to see us, even if we are kids, as enemies. Michael Hingson  07:22 Yeah, so the officer but, but he didn't detain you. I was Noura Ghazi  07:27 only 13 years, yeah, okay, they used to to arrest the kids, but they didn't. Michael Hingson  07:37 So did the officer react to your comment? You're going to grow up to become a civil rights lawyer? Noura Ghazi  07:43 He was shocked, was he? But I don't know if he knew that I become a human yes, there at the end, yeah. Michael Hingson  07:54 And meanwhile, what did your father do or say? Noura Ghazi  07:58 He was shocked also, but he was very proud, and until now, he like every time, because I'm also like, very close to to his friends who I used to visit in prison. Then I become a human rights lawyer, and I was the youngest lawyer in Syria. I was only 22 years old when I started to practice law. So during the the revolution in Syria, which started in 2011 some of his friends were detained, and I was their lawyer also. So I'm very close to them. So until now, they remember this story and laugh about it, because no one could curse or say anything not good about father Assad or or the family, even in secret. So it's still, like, very funny, and I'm still like, stuck somehow in, like, in this career and the kind of activism I'm doing, because just I got angry of the officer 30 years ago. So at this, at that moment, I've decided what I will be in the future. I'm just doing it well. Michael Hingson  09:20 From everything I've read, it sounds like you do a good job. Noura Ghazi  09:25 I cannot say it's a job, because usually you you do a job, you get paid for your job, you go at a certain time and come back at a certain time. You do certain tasks. But for me, it's like a continuing fight, non violent fight, of course, for dignity, for freedom, for justice, right, for reveal the truth of those who were disappeared and got missing. So yes, until now, I'm doing this, so I don't have that. Are the luxury to to be paid all the time, or to be to have weekends or to work until like certain hour at night. I cannot say I'm enjoying it, but this is the reason why I'm still alive, because I have a motive to help and support other people who are victims to dictatorship and violence. Michael Hingson  10:25 So your father went into court and what happened? Noura Ghazi  10:31 He was sentenced. At the end, he was sentenced to three years in prison. And it's a funny story, another funny story, actually, because, like the other latines at that at that trial, like it was only my father and other two prisoners who sent who were sentenced to three years in prison, while other people, the minimum was seven years in Prison, until 15 years in prison. So my mother and us, we felt like we are embarrassed and shy because, okay, our father will will be released like in few months, but other prisoners will stay much longer. So it's something very embarrassing to our friends who whom their fathers got sentenced to like more. Michael Hingson  11:30 Did you ever find out why it was only three years? Noura Ghazi  11:33 We don't know because it's an exceptional court, so it's up to the judge and the judge at that time, like it's it's very similar to what is happening now and what happened after 2011 so it's a kind of continuing reality in in Syria since like 63 which was the first time my father was detained. It was in 63 just after the what they called the eighth March revolution. So my father was only 11 years old when he was detained the first time because he participated in a protest. So it's up to the judge. It's not like a real court with like the the fair trial standards. So it's it's only once you know, the judge said the sentences for each one. So two prisoners got confused. They couldn't differentiate like Which sentence to whom, so they asked like again, so he forgot, so he said them again in different way. So it's something like, very spontaneously, yeah, very just moody, not any standard. Michael Hingson  12:51 Well, so Did your father then serve the three years and was released. Or what happened? Noura Ghazi  12:58 He was released on the day that he should be released, he disappeared for few days. We didn't know what happened. Then he was released. Finally he came. We used to live with my my grandma, so I was the one who opened the door, and I saw just my father. So we we knew later that okay, he was moved again to a security facility because he refused to sign a paper that say that he will not practice any oppositional action against the authority. So he refused, yeah, yeah. Michael Hingson  13:43 Well, I mean, I'm sure there's, there's a continuing story, what happened to him after that. So he came home, Noura Ghazi  13:53 he came out to my grandma. It was a big surprise, like full of joy, but full of tears as well. Michael Hingson  14:01 And you're you were 16 now, right? Noura Ghazi  14:04 I was when he was raised. I was 15, yeah, okay, yeah. And my sister was 14. My brother was two years and a half, so for him, okay, the father is this person that we visit behind bars every Monday, not this one who stay with us. So for him, it was weird. For my brother, he was very like little kid to understand. Then my father went to to see his parents as well. Then we came back to our apartment that we couldn't live more than few months because my father was detained. So at this night, everything was very, very, very new, like because before the three years he he was disappeared for six years, so there was. Nine years. We don't live with my father, so my brother used to sleep just next to my mom, actually my sister and me, but okay, we were like a teenager, so it's okay. So my brother couldn't sleep. Because why he keep, he kept asking why my father is sleeping with us while he's not with his friend at that place. And he was traumatized for many days. But usually when, like a political prisoner released, usually, like, we have a kind of two, three weeks of people visiting the family to say, Okay, it's it's good. We're happy for you that he was released. So the first two, three weeks were full of people and like, social events, etc. Then the, the real problem started. So my father studied law, but he was fired from university for security reasons at the the last year of his study, and as he was sentenced so he couldn't work, my mother used to work, and so like suddenly he started to feel that okay, He's not able to work. He's not able to fulfill the needs of his family. He's not able to spend on the family. The problems between him and my mother started. We couldn't as like my sister and me as teenagers. We couldn't really accept him. We couldn't see that. He's the same person that we used to visit in prison. He was very friendly. We used to talk about everything in life, including the very personal things that usually daughters don't speak with fathers about it. But then he became a father, which we we we weren't used to it, and he was shocked also. So I can say that this, this situation, at least on emotional and psychological level, for me, it lasted for 15 years. I couldn't accept him very well, even my my sister and and the brother and it happens to all like prisoners, political prisoners, especially who spent long time in prison. Michael Hingson  17:32 So now is your father and well, are your father and your mother still alive? Or are they around? Noura Ghazi  17:41 They are still alive. They are still in Damascus, Michael Hingson  17:44 and they're still in Damascus. Yes, how is I guess I'll just ask it now, how is Syria different today than it was in the Assad regime, Noura Ghazi  17:56 like most of Syrians, and now we should differentiate about what Syrians will talk. We're talking so like those Syrians, like the majority of Syrians, and I'm meaning here, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be very direct. Now, the Arab Sunni Syrians, most of them, they are very happy. They are calling what happened in in last eight December, that it's the deliberation of Syria, but for other minorities, like religious or ethnic minorities, of course, it's almost the same. For me, I feel that okay, we have the same dictatorship now, the same corruption, the same of like lack of freedom of expression. But the the added that we have now is that we have Islamist who control Syria. We have extremists who control Syria. They intervene even in personal freedoms. They they are like, like, they are committing crimes against minorities, like it started last March, against alawed. It started last July, against Druze. Now it is starting against Kurdish, and unfortunately, the international community turning like an attorney, like, okay. They are okay with with it, because they want, like their own interest, their own benefits. They have another crisis in the world to take care and to think about, not Syria. So the most important for the international community is to have a stable situation in Syria, to be like, like, no kind of like, no fight zone in the Middle East, and they don't care about Syrian people. And this is very frustrating for those who. Who have the same beliefs that I have. Michael Hingson  20:04 So in a lot of ways, you're saying it hasn't, hasn't really changed, and only the, only the faces and names have changed, but not the actions or the results Noura Ghazi  20:16 the faces and names, and most important, the sects, has changed. So it was very obvious for me that most of Syrians, they don't mind to be controlled by dictator. They only mind what is the sect of this dictator? Michael Hingson  20:35 Unfortunately. Well, yeah. Well, let's go back to you. So your father was released, and you had already made your decision about what you wanted to be, what how does school work over there? Did you go to a, what we would call a high school? Or how does all that work? Noura Ghazi  20:58 Yeah, high school, I was among the like the student who got the highest score in Damascus. I was the fourth one on Damascus when I finished. We call it back like Baccalaureate in Syria, which came from French. And I studied law, and I was also very, like, really hard, hard study person. So I was graduated in four years. Actually, nobody in Syria used to finish studying law in Damascus University only in four years. Like some people stayed more than 10 years because it it was very difficult, and it's different than like law college or law school or university of law, depending on the country, than other countries, because we only like study law. Theoretically, we don't have any practice because we were 1000s of students, it was the like the maximum university that include students. And I registered immediately in the Bar Association in Damascus, and I started because we have, like, a kind, it's, it's similar to stage for two years, like under the supervision of another lawyer who was my uncle at the first and then we we have to choose a topic in certain domain of flow, to write a kind of book which is like, it's similar to thesis, to apply it, to approve it, and then to have the kind of interactive examination, then we have the the final graduated. So all of them to be like a practice lawyer. It's around six years, a little bit more. So my specialist was in criminal law, and my thesis, what about what we call the the impossible crime. It was complicated topic. I have to say that in Syria at that time, I'm talking about end of of 90s, beginning of 2000 so we don't have any kind of study related to human rights. We weren't allowed even to spell this word like human rights. So then in 2005 and 2006 I started to study human rights under international laws related to human rights in Jordan. So I became like a kind of certified human rights defenders and the trainer also, Michael Hingson  23:47 okay, and so you said you started practice and you finished school when you started practice, when you were 22 Yes, okay, I'm curious what, what were things like after September 11, of course, you know, we had the terrorist attacks and so on. Did any of that affect anything over in Syria, where you lived, Noura Ghazi  24:15 of course, like, we stayed talking, watching the news for like four months, like until now we remember, like September 11. But you know, I now when I remember, it was a shock, usually for the Arab world, or Arab people like America is against the Arab world. So everything happened against it was like, this was like, let's say 2030, years ago. Everything that caused any harm to America, they celebrate it. So that. At that time, I was 19 years old, and okay, it's the first time we we hear that a person who was terrorist do like is doing this kind in in us, which is like a miracle for us. But then I started to to think, okay, they it's not an army. They are. There are civilians. Those civilians could be against the the policies of the US government. They could be like, This is not a kind of fight for freedom or for rights or for any like, really, like, fair cause. This is a terrorist action against civilians. And then we started, I'm very lucky because I'm from very educated family. So we started to think about, like, okay, bin Laden. And like, which we have a president from Qaeda now in Syria, like, you can imagine how I feel now. Like, I Okay, all the world is against al Qaeda, and they celebrated that the President in Syria is from al Qaeda. So it's, it's very it's, it's, really, it's not logical at all. But the funniest thing that happened, because, like, the name of Usama bin Laden, was keeping on every like, every one tongue. So I have my my oldest uncle. His name is Usama, and he lives in Germany for 40, more than 40 years, actually. So my brother was a child, and he started to cry, and he came to my mother and asked her, I'm afraid, is my uncle the same Usama? So we were laughing all, and we said, No, it's another Usama. This is the Usama. This is Osama bin Laden, who is like from is like a terrorist group, etc. But like this unfortunate incident started to bring to my mind some like the concept of non violence, the concept of that, okay, no civilian in any place in the world should be harmed for any reason, Because we never been told this in Syria and mostly in most of of countries like the word fight is very linked to armed fights, which I totally disagree with. Michael Hingson  27:56 Well, the when people ask me about September 11 and and so on. One of the things that I say is this wasn't a religious war. This wasn't a religious attack. This was terrorist. This was, I put it in terms of of Americans. These were thugs who decided they wanted to have their way with people. But this is not the way the Muslim the Islamic religion is there is peaceful and peace loving as as anyone, and we really need to understand that. And I realize that there are a lot of people in this country who don't really understand all about that, and they don't understand that. In reality, there's a lot of peace loving people in the Middle East, but hopefully we'll be able to educate people over time, and that's one of the reasons I tell the story that I do, because I do believe that what happened is 19 people attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and so on, and they don't represent the the typical viewpoint of most people, religious wise in the Middle East. And I can understand why a lot of people think that the United States doesn't like Arabs, and I'm not sure that that's totally true, but I can appreciate what you're saying. Noura Ghazi  29:28 Yeah, I'm talking about specific communities actually, who they are, like totally against Israel, and they believe that you us is supporting Israel. So that's that's why they have their like this like attitude towards us and or like that US is trying to invest all the resources in the in the Middle East, etc. But what you were mentioning. Is really very important, because those 19 persons, they like kind of they, they cause the very bad reputation for for Muslims, for Middle Eastern because for for for other people from other countries, other culture or other religion, they will not understand that, okay, that, as you said, they don't represent Muslims. And in all religions, we have the extremist and we have those peaceful persons who keep their their religion as a kind of direct connection with God. They respect everyone, and normally in in in Syria, most of of the population like this, but now having a terrorist as a President, I'm not able to believe how there is a lot of Syrians that support him. Mm, hmm. Because when Al Qaeda started in Syria at the beginning, under the name of japet Al Nusra, then, which with July, who is now Ahmad Al shara, was the leader, and he's the leader of the country now most of Syrians, especially the the the Sunni Syrians, were against this, like terrorist groups, because the most harm they cause is for for Sunnis in Syria, because all other minorities, they will think about every Sunni that they, He or she, like, believe and behave like those, which is totally not true. Michael Hingson  31:47 Yeah, I hear you. Well, so September 11 happened, and then eventually you started doing criminal law. And if we go forward to what 2011 with the Syrian revolution? Yeah, and so what was, what was that revolution about? Noura Ghazi  32:10 It was okay. It started as a reaction against detaining kids from school. Okay, of course, this like the Syrian people, including me, we were very affected and inspired about what was happening in Egypt and Tunisia. But okay, so the security arrested and tortured those kids in their south of Syria. So people came out in demonstration to ask for their freedom and the security attack those protesters with, like, with weapons, so couple of persons died. So then it was, it started to be like a kind of revolution, let's say, yeah, the the problem for me, for lot of people like me, that the the previous Syrian regime was very violent against protesters and the previous president, Bashar Assad, he refused to listen to to to those people, he started to, like dissipated from the reality. So this like, much violence that was against us, like, I remember during some protest, there was not like, small weapon toward us. There was a tank that bombing us as protesters, peaceful, non violent, non armed protesters. So this violence led to another violence, like a kind of reaction by those who defected from the army, etc. And here, my father used to say, when the opposition started to to carry weapon in a country that, like the majority of it, is from certain religion, this could lead to a kind of Jihadist methodology. And this is what happened. So for for people like us, which we are very little comparing of like, the other beliefs of other people like we were, we started to be against the Syrian regime, then against the jihadist groups, then against that, like a kind of international, certain International, or, let's say original intervention, like Iran and Russia. So we were fighting everywhere, and no one. No one wanted us because those like educated, secular, non violent people, they. Form a kind of danger for every one of those parties. But what happened with me is that I met my late husband during a revolution at the very early of 2011 and having the relationship with me was my own revolution. So I was living on parallel like two revolution, a personal one and the public one. And then, like he was detained just two weeks before our our wedding. He was disappeared, actually, for nine months, then he was moved to the same prison that my father was in, to the central prison in Damascus that we got married in prison by coincidence. I don't know if coincidence is the right word in this situation, but my late husband was a very well known programmer and activist. So we were he was kind of, let's say, famous, and I was a lawyer and lawyer that defend human rights defenders and political prisoners. And the husband was detained, so I used to visit him in prison and visit other prisoners that I was their lawyers. And because my like, we have this personal aspect that okay, the couple that got married in prison and that, okay, I'm activist as a lawyer, and my late husband was a well known programmer. So we created a very huge campaign, a global campaign. So we invested this campaign to like, to shed the light about detention, torture, disappearance, exceptional courts, then, like also summary execution in Syria. So then, after almost three years of visiting him regularly, he disappeared again in 2015 and in 2017 I knew that he was sentenced to death, and I knew the exact date of his execution, just in 2018 which was two days ago. It was October 5. So this is what happened then. I had to leave Syria in 2018 so I left to Lebanon. Michael Hingson  37:27 So you left Syria and went to Lebanon? Noura Ghazi  37:33 Yes, the The plan was to stay only six months in Lebanon because I was wanted and I was threatened like I lived a terrible life, really, like lot of Syrians who were activists also, but the plan was that I will stay in Lebanon for six months, then I will leave to to UK because I had A scholarship to get a master in international law. But only two months after I left to Lebanon, I decided to stay in Lebanon to establish the organization that I'm I'm leading until now, which was a project between my late husband and me. Its name is no photo zone, so it was a very big decision, but I'm not regrets. Michael Hingson  38:23 You, you practice criminal law, you practiced human rights, you visited your your fiance, as it were, and then, well, then your husband in prison and so on. Wasn't all of that pretty risky for you? Noura Ghazi  38:42 Yes, very risky. I, I lived in under like, different kind of risk. Like, okay, I have the risk that, okay, I'm, I'm doing my activism against the previous regime publicly because I also, I was co founder of the First Family or victim Association in Syria families for freedom. So we, we were, like, doing a kind of advocacy in Europe, and I used to come back to Syria, so I was under this risk, but also I was under the risk of the like, going to prison, because the way to prison and the prison itself were under bombing. It was in like a point that separate the opposition militias and the regime militias. So they were bombing each other and bombing the prison and bombing the way to prison. So for three years, and specifically for like, in, let's say, 2014 specifically, I was among, like, I was almost the only lawyer that visited the prison, and I, I didn't mind this. I faced death more than 100 time, only on the way to prison, two times the person next to me in the like transportation. It's a kind of small bus. He died and fell down on me, but I had a strong belief that I will not die, Michael Hingson  40:21 and then what? Why do you think that they never detained you or or put you in prison? Do you have any thoughts? Noura Ghazi  40:29 I had many arrests weren't against me, but each time there was something that solve it somehow. So the first couple of Earths weren't actually when, when my late husband was detained, he he made a kind of deal with them that, okay, he will give all the information, everything about his activism in return. They, they canceled the arrest warrant against me. Then literally, until now, I don't know how it was solved. Like I, I had to sleep in garden with my cats for many nights. I i spent couple of months that I cannot go to any like to family, be house or to friend house, because I will cause problem for them, my my parents, my brother and sister, and even, like my sister, ex, until like just three months before the fall of the Syrian regime, they were under like, investigation By the security, lot of harassment against them so, but I don't know, like, I'm, I'm survive for a reason that I don't really realize how, Michael Hingson  41:52 wow, it, it's, it certainly is pretty amazing. Did you ever write a book or anything about all of this, Noura Ghazi  42:02 I used to write, always the only book like, let's say, literature or emotional book. It was about love in prison. Its name is waiting. And I wrote this book in English and basil. My late husband translated it. Sorry. I wrote it in Arabic, and Basset translated it into English in prison. So it was a process of smuggling the poems in Arabic and smuggling the them in English, again out of the prison. And we published the book online just after basil disappearance in 2015 then we created the the hard copies, and I did the signature in in Beirut in, like, early 2018 but like, it's, it's online, and it's a very, like light book, let's say very romantic. It's about love in prison. I'm really keen to write again, like maybe a kind of self narrative or about the stories that I lived and i i I heard during my my journey. Unfortunately, like to write needs like this a little stable situation, but I did write many like legal or human rights book or like guides or studies, etc. Michael Hingson  43:34 Now is waiting still available online? Noura Ghazi  43:37 Yes, it's still available online. Michael Hingson  43:40 Okay? It would be great if you could, if you have a picture of the book cover, if you could send that to me, because I'd like to put that in the notes. I would appreciate it if you would, okay, for sure. But anyway, so the the company you founded, what is it called Noura Ghazi  44:02 it's a non government, a non profit organization. Its name is no photo zone. Michael Hingson  44:07 And how did you come up with that name? Noura Ghazi  44:12 It was Vasil who come up with this name, because our main focus is on prisoners of conscious and disappeared. So for him, it was that okay, those places that they put disappeared in them. They are they. There is no cameras to show the others what is happening. So we should be the the like in the place of cameras to tell the world what is happening. So that's why no photos on me, like, means that prisons or like unofficial detention centers, because they're it's an all photo zone, right? Michael Hingson  44:54 And no photo zone is is still operating today. Noura Ghazi  44:58 It's still operating. We are extending our work, although, like we have lots of financial challenges because of, like, funds issues, but for us, the main issue, we provide legal services to victims of torture, detention, disappearance and their families. So we operate in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. We are a French woman led organization, but we have registration in Turkey and Syria, and like in seven years now, almost seven years, we could provide our services to more than 3000 families who most of them are women, and they are responsible about kids who they don't have fathers. So we defend political prisoners. We search the disappeared. We provide the legal services related to personal and civil status. We provided the services related to identification documents, because it's a very big issue in Syria. Beside we provide rehabilitation, like full rehabilitation programs for survivors of detention or torture, and also advocacy. Of course, it's a very important part of our our work, even with the lack of fund, we've decided in the team, because most of the team, or all the team, they they were themselves victims of detention, or family members of victims, even the non Syrian because we have many non Syrian member in the team. So for us, it's a cause. It's not like a work that we're doing and getting paid. So we're, we're suffering this this year with the fund issues, because there is a lot of change related to the world and Syrian issues, which affected the fund policies. So hopefully we'll be, we'll be fine next year, hopefully, and we're trying to survive with our beneficiaries this year, Michael Hingson  47:02 yeah, well, you, you started receiving, and I assume no photo zone started receiving awards, and eventually you moved out of Lebanon. Tell me more about all of that. Noura Ghazi  47:16 During my journey, I I got many international recognition or a word, including two by Amnesty International. But after almost two years, like just after covid, like the start of covid, I was thinking that I should have another residence permit in another country because, like, it became very difficult for Syrians to get a residence in Lebanon. So I I moved to Turkey, and I was between Lebanon and Turkey. Then I got a call from the French Embassy in Turkey telling me that there is a new kind of a word, which is Marianne award, or Marianne program, that initiated by the French president. And they it's for human rights defenders across the world, and they will give this award for 15 human rights defender from 15 country. And I was listening, I thought they want me to nominate someone. Then they told me that the French government are honored to choose you as a Syrian human rights defender. So it was a program for six months, so I moved to Paris with my cat and dog. Then they extended the program and to become nine months. And at the almost at the end of the program, the both of Lebanese and Turkish authorities refused to renew my residence permit, so I had to stay in France to apply for asylum and a political refugee currently. Michael Hingson  49:10 And so you're in France. Are you still in Paris? Noura Ghazi  49:13 I'm still yes in Paris. I learned French very fast, like in four months. Okay, I'm not perfect, but I learned French. Michael Hingson  49:25 So what did your dog and cat think about all that? Sorry, what did your dog and cat think about moving to France? Noura Ghazi  49:33 They are French, actually, originally, they are friends. Michael Hingson  49:36 Oh, there you go. Noura Ghazi  49:38 My, my poor dog had like he he was English educated, so we used to communicate in English. Then when I was still in Lebanon, I thought, okay, a lot of Syrians are coming to my place, and they don't speak English, so I have to teach him Arabic. Then we moved to Turkish. So I had to teach him Turkish. Then we came to. France. So now my dog understand more than four languages, Michael Hingson  50:06 good for him, and and, of course, your cat is really the boss of the whole thing, right? Noura Ghazi  50:12 Of course, she is like, the center of the universe, Michael Hingson  50:16 yeah, yeah, just ask her. She'll tell you. And she's Noura Ghazi  50:20 very white, so she is 14 years. Oh, it's old, yes. Michael Hingson  50:29 Well, I have a cat we rescued in 2015 we think she was five then. So we think that my cat is 15 going on 16. So, and she moves around and does very well. Noura Ghazi  50:46 Yeah, my cat as well. Michael Hingson  50:49 Yeah. Well, that's the way it should be. So with all the things that you've been dealing with and all the stress, have you had? Noura Ghazi  50:59 PTSD, yes, I started, of course, like it's the minimum, actually, I have PTSD and the TSD, and I started to feel, or let's say, I could know that the what is happening with me is PTSD two years ago. I before, like, couple of months before, I started to feel like something unusual in my body, in my mind. At the beginning, we thought there is a problem in the brain. Then the psychologist and psychiatrist said that it's a huge level of PTSD, which is like the minimum, and like, we should start the journey of of treatment, which is like the behavior treatment and medical treatment as well. Like, some people could stay 10 years. Some people need to go to hospital. It's not the best thing, but sometimes I feel I'm grateful that I'm having PTSD because I'm able to deal with people who are in the same situation. I could feel them, understand them, so I could help them more, because I understand and as a human rights defender and like victim of lot of kind of violations, so I'm very aware about the like, let's call it the first aid, the psychological first aid support. And this is helpful somehow. Okay, I'm suffering, but this suffering is useful for others Michael Hingson  52:47 well and clearly, you are at a point where you can talk about it, which says a lot, because you're able to deal with it well enough to be able to talk about it, which I think is probably pretty important, don't you think? Noura Ghazi  53:03 Yeah, actually, the last at the first time I talked about it very publicly in a conference in Stockholm, it was last October, and then I thought it's important to talk about it. And I'm also thinking to do something more about PTSD, especially the PTSD related to to prisons, torture, etc, this kind of violations, because sharing experience is very important. So I'm still thinking about a kind of certain way to to like, to spread my experience with PTSD, especially that I have lot of changes in in my life recently, because I got married again, and even the the good incident that people who have PTSD, even if they have, like good incident, but it cause a kind of escalation with PTSD, Michael Hingson  54:00 yeah, but you got married again, so you have somebody you can talk with. Noura Ghazi  54:06 Yes, I got married five months ago. The most important that I could fall in love again. So I met my husband in in Paris. He's a Lebanese artist who live in Paris. And yeah, I have, I have a family now, like we have now three cats and a dog and us as couple. But it's very new for me, like this kind of marriage, that a marriage which I live with a partner, because the marriage I used to is that visit the husband in prison. I'm getting used to it. Michael Hingson  54:43 And just as always, the cat runs everything, right? Yes, of course, of course. So tell me about the freedom prize in Normandy. Noura Ghazi  54:55 Oh, it was like one of the best thing I had in my life. I. Was nominated for the freedom prize, which is launched by usually they are like young people who who nominate the the nominees for this prize, but it's launched by the government of Normandy region in France and the International Institute for Human Rights and peace. So among hundreds of files and, like many kind of round of, like short listing, there was me, a Belarusian activist who is detained, and a Palestinian photographer. So like, just knowing that I was nominated among more than 700 person was a privilege for me. The winner was the Palestinian photographer, but it was the first time they invite the other nominee to the celebration, which was on the same date of like liberating Normandy region during the Second World War. So I chose, I thought for my for couple of days about what I will wear, because I need to deliver a message. So I, I I came up with an idea about a white dress with 101 names in blue. Those names are for disappeared and detainees in Syria. So like there was, there was seven persons who worked on this dress, and I had the chance to wear it and to deliver my message and to give a speech in a very important day that even like those fighters during the Second World War who are still alive, they they came from us. They came from lot of countries. I had the privilege to see them directly, to touch them, to tell them thank you, and to deliver my message in front of an audience of 4500 persons. And it's like I love this dress, and like this event was one of the best thing I had in my life. Michael Hingson  57:21 Do you have a picture of you in the dress? Yes, I would think you do. Well, if you want, we'd love to put that in the show notes as well, especially because you're honoring all those people with the names and so on. Kind of cool. Well, okay, so, so Syria, you're, you're saying, in a lot of ways, hasn't, hasn't really changed a whole lot. It's, it's still a lot of dictatorship oriented kinds of things, and they discriminate against certain sex and and so on. And that's extremely unfortunate, because I don't think that that's the impression that people have over here, Noura Ghazi  58:02 exactly I had a chance to visit Syria, a kind of exceptional visit by the French government, because, as political refugees were not allowed to visit our country of origin. And of course, like after eight years, like out of Syria after six years without seeing my family. Of course, I was very happy, but I was very traumatized, and I I came back to Paris in in July 21 and since that time, I feel I'm not the same person before going to Syria. I'm full of frustration. I feel that, okay, I just wasted 14 years of my life for nothing. But hopefully I'm I'm trying to get better because okay, I know, like much of human rights violations mean that my kind of work and activism is more needed, yeah, Michael Hingson  59:03 so you'll so you'll continue to speak out and and fight for freedom. Noura Ghazi  59:10 Yes, I continue, and I will continue fighting for freedom, for dignity, for justice, for civil rights, and also raising awareness about PTSD and how we could invest even our pain for the sake of helping others. Michael Hingson  59:29 Well, I want to tell you that it's been an honor to have you on the podcast, and I am so glad we we got a chance to talk and to do this because having met you previously, in our introductory conversation, it was very clear that there was a story that needed to be told, and I hope that a lot of people will take an interest, and that it will will allow what you do to continue to grow, if people would like to reach out to you. And and help or learn more. How do they do that? Noura Ghazi  1:00:05 We you have the the link of my website that people could connect me, because it includes my my email, my personal email, and I always reply. So I'm happy to to talk with the to contact with people, and it also include all the all my social media, Michael Hingson  1:00:23 right? What? What's the website for? No photo zone. Noura Ghazi  1:00:27 It's no photo zone.org. No photo zone.org. Michael Hingson  1:00:30 I thought it was, but I just wanted you to say it. I wanted you to say it. Noura Ghazi  1:00:35 It's included in my website. Michael Hingson  1:00:37 Yeah, I've got it all and and it will all be in the show notes, but I just thought I would get you to say no photo zone.org Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a wonderful time to have a chance to talk, and I appreciate you taking the time to, I hope, educate lots of people. So thank you very much for doing that, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching. We'd love you to give us a five star rating. Give us a review. We really appreciate ratings and reviews. So wherever you're watching or listening to this podcast, please give us a five star rating. Please review the podcast for us. We value that, and I know that Nora will will appreciate that as well. Also, if you if you know any guests, and Nora you as well, if you know anyone who you think ought to be a guest on the podcast, we would really appreciate it. If you would let us know you can reach me. At Michael M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, love to hear from you. Love to hear your thoughts about the podcast. So Nora, very much my I want to thank you again. This has been great. Thank you very much for being here. Noura Ghazi  1:01:56 Thank you Michael, and thank you for those who are listening, and we're still in touch.

In this episode Jen has a conversation with Palestinian Christian activist, Usama Nicola. They discuss the current realities in Bethlehem and the acute threats that Palestinians are facing in the Bethlehem area and Palestine broadly. Usama reflects on the ways his faith motivates his engagement with these realities, which includes an orientation towards nonviolence and a belief in the power of everyday miracles.Usama Nicola is a Palestinian civil society activist and a tour guide from the ancient and resilient city of Bethlehem. He brings together his love for people, justice, and faith in everything he does. Through his Patreon page, Usama shares regular reflections, updates from Bethlehem, and spiritual insights, building a global circle of solidarity and learning. His hope is to warm hearts, challenge comfort, and remind people everywhere that even in places of sorrow, life still grows. Read Usama's recent article, “The Everyday Miracles of Palestine: Courage, Hope, and Resilience” Become a monthly supporter of Across the Divide on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/AcrosstheDivide Follow Across the Divide for more on ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠⁠⁠‪@AcrosstheDividePodcast‬⁠⁠⁠Across the Divide partners with Peace Catalyst International to amplify the pursuit of peace and explore the vital intersection of Christian faith and social justice in Palestine-Israel.#israel #palestine #bethlehem #holyland #christianity #miracles #justice #nonviolence

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia. He came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. The Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR) has just released a comprehensive how-to guide titled: "Unlocking Muslim Political Power: Toolkit on Promoting Muslim Civil Engagement in Local and State Governments." This program brings with it an important warning. In order to understand the urgency of the matter, one must recognize the history of the Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR). Usama delves into this as he explains the CAIR connection to Hamas, which clearly shows why claiming to be American and Muslim, as CAIR does, is contradictory. This is just part of why Usama believes that, "CAIR is a Muslim jihadi organization dressed in suits and ties." Become informed as Jim and Usama look into this how-to guide to see exactly what it is that Muslims are being instructed to do, not with the goal of assimilation, but rather infiltration, in order to radically change the political, governmental, educational and social/cultural landscape of America.

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia. He came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. The Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR) has just released a comprehensive how-to guide titled: "Unlocking Muslim Political Power: Toolkit on Promoting Muslim Civil Engagement in Local and State Governments." This program brings with it an important warning. In order to understand the urgency of the matter, one must recognize the history of the Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR). Usama delves into this as he explains the CAIR connection to Hamas, which clearly shows why claiming to be American and Muslim, as CAIR does, is contradictory. This is just part of why Usama believes that, "CAIR is a Muslim jihadi organization dressed in suits and ties." Become informed as Jim and Usama look into this how-to guide to see exactly what it is that Muslims are being instructed to do, not with the goal of assimilation, but rather infiltration, in order to radically change the political, governmental, educational and social/cultural landscape of America.

Follow us on YouTube for video episodes, livestreams & extras: https://www.youtube.com/khandaanpodcastWe return in January with a YouTube Live Stream covering the Best & Worst of Bollywood 2025 — always one of our most popular episodes — plus a brand-new video debate: Nora Fatehi vs Jacqueline Fernandez: Who's the Better Dancer?Catch it all on our YouTube channel. In our final episode of the year, Asim, Amrita, and Sujoy sit down for a cosy Khandaan hangout to talk through everything we watched and listened to in 2025. We discuss our music streaming Wrapped results (from Pakistani bangers to AI remixes), revisit the jaw-dropping 4K restoration of Sholay, and tackle the Patreon-chosen chaos of Dulhe Raja — Govinda, Kader Khan, Johnny Lever, wild wigs, set design, and all. There's film nostalgia, social commentary, theatre ranting, and plenty of 90s energy to close out the year. Timestamps 00:00 – End-of-year reflections & 2026 livestream announcement 03:25 – Listener picks & Patreon shout-outs05:05 – Amrita's 2025 music Wrapped09:30 – Sujoy's year in music13:25 – Asim's 8,000-hour Wrapped, Pakistani music wave & AI tracks19:55 – Sholay 4K restoration review29:50 – Thoughts on The Girlfriend (Rashmika Mandanna)43:10 – Main Review: Dulhe Raja53:00 – Govinda's 90s era & class divides in fandom59:00 – Raveena's wigs & makeup deep dive1:11:00 – Bald men representation in Bollywood (Asim's manifesto)1:13:00 – Closing thanks & community appreciation Credits Hosted by: Asim | Amrita | SujoySpecial mention: Farzan & Usama for listener picks and Wrapped suggestion Follow & Support YouTube (video episodes & livestreams): https://www.youtube.com/khandaanpodcastPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/khandaanpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/khandaanpodcastTwitter: https://twitter.com/khandaanpodcastEmail: upodcasting@gmail.com

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia. He came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. He's the author of Exposing the Truth about the Qur'an and Exposing the Truth About Jihad and the booklets, The Violent Truth about Islam and The Straight Way to Eternal Life. Usama travels the country to equip the church to minister to Muslims and to warn Americans about the deceptive methods being used that lead many into the cult of Islam. Since late last week, multiple Islamic terror attacks have taken place in various places around the world including Brown University, in Syria, Amsterdam, Germany and Australia. When it comes to such attacks, one organization to watch out for is the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Usama, the Muslim Brotherhood originated as a revival movement in Egypt. So they are members of Egypt, leaders of the mosque, are very scholarly, they study the Qur'an and they adhere to the roots of their beliefs. In other words, there's nothing "radical" about them as they simply follow the core teachings that comprise Islam. There's much more to hear, including Usama's comments regarding the attack on Jews in Sydney, Australia, where 15 individuals were killed. The attack is being called, "Hanukkah Horror."

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia. He came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. He's the author of Exposing the Truth about the Qur'an and Exposing the Truth About Jihad and the booklets, The Violent Truth about Islam and The Straight Way to Eternal Life. Usama travels the country to equip the church to minister to Muslims and to warn Americans about the deceptive methods being used that lead many into the cult of Islam. Since late last week, multiple Islamic terror attacks have taken place in various places around the world including Brown University, in Syria, Amsterdam, Germany and Australia. When it comes to such attacks, one organization to watch out for is the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Usama, the Muslim Brotherhood originated as a revival movement in Egypt. So they are members of Egypt, leaders of the mosque, are very scholarly, they study the Qur'an and they adhere to the roots of their beliefs. In other words, there's nothing "radical" about them as they simply follow the core teachings that comprise Islam. There's much more to hear, including Usama's comments regarding the attack on Jews in Sydney, Australia, where 15 individuals were killed. The attack is being called, "Hanukkah Horror."

A chaotic, hilarious deep dive into the making of Problematic, the award-winning web series created by Pranav, Aditi, and this week's guest, Devin Fusaro. From chlamydia-mythology cold opens to behind-the-scenes drama, on-set chaos, fights, arrests, protest stories, donut sex scenes, audio-feed disasters, and Usama accidentally roasting crew members in their headphones, this episode is a full ride. Devin – actress, producer, organizer, and the third brain behind Problematic – breaks down how the show came to life, the wildest moments on set, why the series took over the festival circuit, and what makes modern media, activism, and millennial ambition so absurdly ripe for comedy. Whether you're into comedy craft, indie filmmaking, South Asian culture, New York chaos, or just want to hear how someone got dragged out of a trash can on camera and still made it to a film festival, this one delivers. Watch Problematic: https://youtu.be/D1dv3g-tT2Y  Follow Devin: @devyninez Follow Mango Bae: @yourmangobae Subscribe, rate, and share if you want more episodes, more chaos, and more brown boy friendship that borders on HR violations.

Eine Reise in den Irak, auf den wenigen verbliebenen Spuren der einst bedeutenden jüdischen Geschichte und Kultur. "Es war ein Land der Vielfalt", sagt der in der Schweiz lebende Schriftsteller. Thomas Loibl liest aus dem Roman.

We now have a Middle East peace plan. The problem is, how do you suddenly erase a tenet of Islam that demands the killing of infidels (Christians and Jews)? How do Islamic nations that want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth all of a sudden accept Israel as a nation? Is peace with Islam attainable or is there a deception underway that is going into silence for a time only to resurge with a greater fury than ever? Returning to Crosstalk to address this subject was Usama Dakdok. Usama is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, the PLO...the name doesn't matter. According to Usama, they're all on the same team. This is the key point to understand, particularly as it pertains to whether or not Hamas is really ready to recognize Israel's right to exist. This would not seem to be the case as Jim indicated that Qatar and Turkey want to rebuild Hamas, not Gaza. As audio from an Islamic cleric showed, the goal is to make America an Islamic nation. In light of that, what are we to make of the security guarantees made to Qatar and the training of their military pilots on U.S. soil? Is this a "Trojan horse" that President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are somehow not aware of? Jim also reported that Pope Leo is opening a Muslim prayer room at the Vatican. All of this shows how the world appears to be rolling out the "red carpet" for Islam, but will its adherents show thanks in the form of lasting peace? How can it when the term Islam means "submission"? Hear what Usama's experience and research shows.

We now have a Middle East peace plan. The problem is, how do you suddenly erase a tenet of Islam that demands the killing of infidels (Christians and Jews)? How do Islamic nations that want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth all of a sudden accept Israel as a nation? Is peace with Islam attainable or is there a deception underway that is going into silence for a time only to resurge with a greater fury than ever? Returning to Crosstalk to address this subject was Usama Dakdok. Usama is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, the PLO...the name doesn't matter. According to Usama, they're all on the same team. This is the key point to understand, particularly as it pertains to whether or not Hamas is really ready to recognize Israel's right to exist. This would not seem to be the case as Jim indicated that Qatar and Turkey want to rebuild Hamas, not Gaza. As audio from an Islamic cleric showed, the goal is to make America an Islamic nation. In light of that, what are we to make of the security guarantees made to Qatar and the training of their military pilots on U.S. soil? Is this a "Trojan horse" that President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are somehow not aware of? Jim also reported that Pope Leo is opening a Muslim prayer room at the Vatican. All of this shows how the world appears to be rolling out the "red carpet" for Islam, but will its adherents show thanks in the form of lasting peace? How can it when the term Islam means "submission"? Hear what Usama's experience and research shows.

Pfohlmann, Oliver www.deutschlandfunk.de, Büchermarkt

Albath, Maike www.deutschlandfunk.de, Büchermarkt

1950 wurden die Juden aus dem Irak vertrieben. Davon erzählt Usama Al Shahmani in seinem Roman „In der Tiefe des Tigris schläft ein Lied“. Historisch und doch ganz gegenwärtig. Das Gespräch führte Katharina Borchardt

Heute ist Usama Al Shahmani zu Gast. In seinem neuen Roman erzählt er die Geschichte der Juden im Irak. Außerdem besuchen wir ein Café und schauen mit Ian McEwan in die Zukunft.

Help us expand our Muslim media project here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/membershipYoung people have the power to change the world, a truth reflected in the Qur'an, Sunnah, and Seerah. Dr Tareq Al-Suwaidan often highlights this potential, noting how the Prophet ﷺ empowered youth like Usama ibn Zayd and Ali ibn Abi Talib, showing that their energy and knowledge can shape future leaders and drive meaningful change in society.This is a short segment from our recent interview with Dr Tareq Al-Suwaidan. Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK6V6A-HTic You can find Dr Tareq Al-Suwaidan here:X:https://x.com/tareqalsuwaidanIG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.tareqalsuwaidanBecome a member here:https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/membershipOr give your one-off donation here:https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/donateListen to the audio version of the podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vXiAjVFnhNI3T9Gkw636aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-thinking-muslim/id1471798762Purchase our Thinking Muslim mug: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/merchFind us on:X: https://x.com/thinking_muslimLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-thinking-muslim/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslimBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/thinkingmuslim.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@thinkingmuslimpodcastFind Muhammad Jalal here:X: https://twitter.com/jalalaynInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jalalayns/Sign up to Muhammad Jalal's newsletter: https://jalalayn.substack.comWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.comDisclaimer:The views expressed in this video are those of the individual speaker(s) and do not represent the views of the host, producers, platform, or any affiliated organisation. This content is provided for lawful, informational, and analytical purposes only, and should not be taken as professional advice. Viewer discretion is advised. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mat Staver is founder & chairman of Liberty Counsel. Mat is a constitutional attorney with three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Charlie Kirk, 31, promoter of conservative politics and founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated yesterday as he was struck by a single bullet while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University. At the time of this broadcast, it was reported that images of the shooter had been released as the manhunt was still underway. Mat began by reminding listeners that this killing took place, not because of anything Charlie did to anyone, but because of his views. Jim and Mat expanded on this thought as they also discussed the following: An MSNBC analyst implied that this assassination was justified as though Charlie, because of his words, was guilty of causing his own assassination. Charlie's messages engaged young people via respectful, back-and-forth dialogue, designed to get them to think. Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. The U.S. was hit 24 years ago by Islamic terrorism. Since that time we've been hearing more and more about Islamic proliferation around the nation, all centering around the lie that Islam is a religion of peace, which Usama debunks. Usama also addressed the following: Muslims that see the Charlie Kirk assassination as a victory. Mayor Eric Adams of New York City wants to give Mohammed's birthday holiday status. A 10 million dollar mega-mosque planned for the Bronx. Some Houston businesses warned to stop selling products that Allah hates.

Mat Staver is founder & chairman of Liberty Counsel. Mat is a constitutional attorney with three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Charlie Kirk, 31, promoter of conservative politics and founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated yesterday as he was struck by a single bullet while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University. At the time of this broadcast, it was reported that images of the shooter had been released as the manhunt was still underway. Mat began by reminding listeners that this killing took place, not because of anything Charlie did to anyone, but because of his views. Jim and Mat expanded on this thought as they also discussed the following: An MSNBC analyst implied that this assassination was justified as though Charlie, because of his words, was guilty of causing his own assassination. Charlie's messages engaged young people via respectful, back-and-forth dialogue, designed to get them to think. Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. The U.S. was hit 24 years ago by Islamic terrorism. Since that time we've been hearing more and more about Islamic proliferation around the nation, all centering around the lie that Islam is a religion of peace, which Usama debunks. Usama also addressed the following: Muslims that see the Charlie Kirk assassination as a victory. Mayor Eric Adams of New York City wants to give Mohammed's birthday holiday status. A 10 million dollar mega-mosque planned for the Bronx. Some Houston businesses warned to stop selling products that Allah hates.

Mary welcomes back Usama Dakdok to lay a firm foundation on who exactly owns that contested piece of land called "Israel". Usama was born in Egypt and grew up in a Christian home. While in government schools in Egypt, he learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. Usama also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992. With all of his knowledge about Islam, he felt he could reach out to Muslim people in America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus he began The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Today we ask ourselves, how did the world come to swallow the narrative of a land called Palestine and Palestinian people? Is it largely to erase Israel's claim to the land? It seems to be the Lie of the Century, when it comes to Bible prophecy at least. And all that antisemitism today? That's about that piece of land too. God's Word ties their redemption to that piece of real estate, so of course, it IS about that. Always educational with Usama. Stand Up For The Truth Videos: https://rumble.com/user/CTRNOnline & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQQSvKiMcglId7oGc5c46A

Mary welcomes back Usama Dakdok to lay a firm foundation on who exactly owns that contested piece of land called "Israel". Usama was born in Egypt and grew up in a Christian home. While in government schools in Egypt, he learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. Usama also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992. With all of his knowledge about Islam, he felt he could reach out to Muslim people in America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus he began The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Today we ask ourselves, how did the world come to swallow the narrative of a land called Palestine and Palestinian people? Is it largely to erase Israel's claim to the land? It seems to be the Lie of the Century, when it comes to Bible prophecy at least. And all that antisemitism today? That's about that piece of land too. God's Word ties their redemption to that piece of real estate, so of course, it IS about that. Always educational with Usama. Stand Up For The Truth Videos: https://rumble.com/user/CTRNOnline & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQQSvKiMcglId7oGc5c46A

Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/Tpf5DniqdBI Watch on Rumble: https://rumble.com/v6xkcog-the-beneficial-means-to-a-happy-life-part-4-usama-zia.html Watch the series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWRcONNViMipCtNyZgUROeWoG0IYL2xEb Listen to the series: https://on.soundcloud.com/ExH1YfPSr3Hc1ySxnQ To share in the reward and support Albayan Radio, please donate here: https://albayan.com.au/donate/ Listen to our 24/7 Islamic Radio Station by downloading the Albayan Radio App: http://albayan.com.au/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/eAwmjNwqL3c Watch on Rumble: https://rumble.com/v6x9bdi-the-beneficial-means-to-a-happy-life-part-3-usama-zia.html Watch the series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWRcONNViMipCtNyZgUROeWoG0IYL2xEb To share in the reward and support Albayan Radio, please donate here: https://albayan.com.au/donate/ Listen to our 24/7 Islamic Radio Station by downloading the Albayan Radio App: http://albayan.com.au/

Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/W_Fbij2-1nY Watch on Rumble: https://rumble.com/v6wxgs8-the-beneficial-means-to-a-happy-life-part-2-usama-zia.html Watch the series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWRcONNViMipCtNyZgUROeWoG0IYL2xEb To share in the reward and support Albayan Radio, please donate here: https://albayan.com.au/donate/ Listen to our 24/7 Islamic Radio Station by downloading the Albayan Radio App: http://albayan.com.au/

Usama Dakdok is the Founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. Islam is pushing for world domination. Consider what is happening in France, the UK, Montreal, Canada, and Greece, and also what is being witnessed right here in the United States. A strong contender in the race for mayor of America's largest city, New York City, is a Muslim man who has called for the defunding of police, the very system of public protection to uphold the law, and has refused to condemn "globalize the intifada." This is in a city that has the largest concentration of Jews in the U.S. We also see another Muslim rising up vying to be mayor of Minneapolis. As a matter of fact, just 9 months ago, Voice of America ran a story titled, "Muslim candidates surge in local elections in US." CBN recently ran a story in which they quoted Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, who said, "I think it's very important for Americans to understand that there is a plan of the Muslim Brotherhood. They have a vision, in 100 years, to make America a Muslim state." And yet with the trajectory we are presently on, it will take far less than 100 years for this to happen. We've got many stories to bring to your attention today, all which focus on Islam's push for world domination.

Usama Dakdok is the Founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. Islam is pushing for world domination. Consider what is happening in France, the UK, Montreal, Canada, and Greece, and also what is being witnessed right here in the United States. A strong contender in the race for mayor of America's largest city, New York City, is a Muslim man who has called for the defunding of police, the very system of public protection to uphold the law, and has refused to condemn "globalize the intifada." This is in a city that has the largest concentration of Jews in the U.S. We also see another Muslim rising up vying to be mayor of Minneapolis. As a matter of fact, just 9 months ago, Voice of America ran a story titled, "Muslim candidates surge in local elections in US." CBN recently ran a story in which they quoted Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, who said, "I think it's very important for Americans to understand that there is a plan of the Muslim Brotherhood. They have a vision, in 100 years, to make America a Muslim state." And yet with the trajectory we are presently on, it will take far less than 100 years for this to happen. We've got many stories to bring to your attention today, all which focus on Islam's push for world domination.

We apologise, but due to technical difficulties, the beginning of the lesson was not recorded. Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/5Ovs_yWz6pw Watch on Rumble: https://rumble.com/v6wm490-the-beneficial-means-to-a-happy-life-part-1-usama-zia.html Watch the series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWRcONNViMipCtNyZgUROeWoG0IYL2xEb To share in the reward and support Albayan Radio, please donate here: https://albayan.com.au/donate/ Listen to our 24/7 Islamic Radio Station by downloading the Albayan Radio App: http://albayan.com.au/

As The Championships begin, Wimbledon's Marketing and Commercial Director Usama Al-Qassab sets out what's new this year and how he's settled into his role over the past two years.In conversation with Leaders' Content Director, Al-Qassab discusses how the All England Lawn Tennis Club continues to balance history and tradition with innovation and technology; how conversations with brand and broadcast partners are changing; and how he's thinking about AI and its applications in and around The Championships.Plus he discusses the changes for the 2025 tournament, including line judging and the start time of the men's singles finals, plus Wimbledon's digital strategy and what his diary looks like during The Championships

[Original airdate: 10/5/23] Mary Danielsen talks to author, speaker and Islam expert Usama Dakdok about the lies in America's textbooks. The war on our kids isn't just related to gender and alternative lifestyles; we must remember that there is deep spiritual deception in the schools. If the bible is not truthful about Israel, the Land, the Book and her enemies then it's not true about anything. He shows us that Islam is rotting us from the inside and the results may just be that our children may never open the Book ever again once they are grown.  A timely expose of how our enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. Usama is the author of "The Generous Qu'ran", the only truly accurate English translation of the Koran available. Other translations sanitize and sugarcoat the harsher tenets of this political movement disguised as a religion. With Americans having fought wars in Islamic states for decades now, it is valuable to understand what they believe.

[Original airdate: 10/5/23] Mary Danielsen talks to author, speaker and Islam expert Usama Dakdok about the lies in America's textbooks. The war on our kids isn't just related to gender and alternative lifestyles; we must remember that there is deep spiritual deception in the schools. If the bible is not truthful about Israel, the Land, the Book and her enemies then it's not true about anything. He shows us that Islam is rotting us from the inside and the results may just be that our children may never open the Book ever again once they are grown.  A timely expose of how our enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. Usama is the author of "The Generous Qu'ran", the only truly accurate English translation of the Koran available. Other translations sanitize and sugarcoat the harsher tenets of this political movement disguised as a religion. With Americans having fought wars in Islamic states for decades now, it is valuable to understand what they believe.

Al-Qaida-ledaren Usama bin Ladin följde händelserna, den 11 september 2001 via BBC:s arabiska sändningar, när två passagerarflygplan kort tid efter varandra flög in i tvillingtornen på World Trade Center i New York. Aldrig tidigare hade världens skådat ett terrordåd av den magnituden.Usama bin Laden hade genomgått en utveckling från en ung blyg religiös man, som levde i enkelhet trots att han ärvt miljoner av faderns som varit Saudiarabiens främsta byggherre, till en finansiär av jihad mot den sovjetiska ockupationen i Afghanistan för att slutligen planera det största terrordådet i världshistorien.I detta avsnitt av podden Historia Nu samtalar programledaren Urban Lindstedt med journalisten Jens Nordqvist som är aktuell med boken Al-Qaidas krig – Historien bakom den islamistiska terrorismen.När den saudiska konservatismen wahhabismen och salafismen under 1970-talet parade sig med den radikala egyptiska jihadismen bildades en explosiv mix, en draksådd ur vilken al-Qaida och senare 2010-talets terrororganisation Islamiska staten, IS, växte fram.Bakom det spektakulära dådet mot tvillingtornens i New York den 11 september 2001 stod nätverket al-Qaida som grundats av bin Laden 1988 i kampen mot den sovjetiska ockupationen av Afghanistan.Al-Qaida vill återupprätta den islamiska civilisationens storhet och att bekämpa de sittande regimerna i muslimska länder, som betraktas som korrupta och beroende av västmakterna. Världsbilden präglas av en föreställning om västmakternas och Israels gemensamma konspiration mot islam.Al-Qaida började som ett logistiskt nätverk för att stödja muslimer från hela världen som kämpade mot Sovjetunionen under det afghanska kriget. När sovjeterna drog sig ur från Afghanistan 1989 skingrades organisationen, men fortsatte att motsätta sig vad dess ledare ansåg korrupta islamiska regimer och utländsk (dvs. USA) närvaro i islamiska länder.Bild:Al-Qaida-ledaren Usama bin Ladin med sin rådgivare Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri under en intervju med den pakistanske journalisten Hamid Mir i november 2001 i Kabul. Dr. Wikipedia, Cretative Commons.Lyssna också på Baader-Meinhof-ligan – från studentprotester till dödskult.Musik: Cinematic Action Drums And Percussion With Dark Ambient Atmospheric Tension Trailer av MEDIA MUSIC GROUP, Storyblocks audio. Vill du stödja podden och samtidigt höra ännu mer av Historia Nu? Gå med i vårt gille genom att klicka här: https://plus.acast.com/s/historianu-med-urban-lindstedt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Usama Dakdok is the founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992.President Donald Trump is in the Middle East working out numerous agreements. Some of the actions he's taken are concerning to a number of individuals. This includes the lifting of sanctions against Syria, the signing of a $142 billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia, a $1.2 trillion dollar economic commitment with Qatar and the offered gift from Qatar to provide a jumbo jet to serve as Air Force One.Meanwhile, this morning the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on nationwide injunctions including the injunction on ending what is known as "birthright citizenship." It's a move that the Council on American Islamic Relations calls, "dangerous and unconstitutional." The issue of birthright citizenship and its implications for Islam in the U.S. is just the beginning as Usama also turned his attention to the Abraham Accords, the EU providing 11 million dollars to highlight the contributions of the Qur'an and Islam to European civilization, a Canadian Islamic scholar who praised children who die for Islam (Jim provided audio), the latest concerning the exclusive Islamic city taking shape near Dallas and special news for listeners in Pennsylvania and Florida.

Usama Dakdok is the founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992.President Donald Trump is in the Middle East working out numerous agreements. Some of the actions he's taken are concerning to a number of individuals. This includes the lifting of sanctions against Syria, the signing of a $142 billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia, a $1.2 trillion dollar economic commitment with Qatar and the offered gift from Qatar to provide a jumbo jet to serve as Air Force One.Meanwhile, this morning the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on nationwide injunctions including the injunction on ending what is known as "birthright citizenship." It's a move that the Council on American Islamic Relations calls, "dangerous and unconstitutional." The issue of birthright citizenship and its implications for Islam in the U.S. is just the beginning as Usama also turned his attention to the Abraham Accords, the EU providing 11 million dollars to highlight the contributions of the Qur'an and Islam to European civilization, a Canadian Islamic scholar who praised children who die for Islam (Jim provided audio), the latest concerning the exclusive Islamic city taking shape near Dallas and special news for listeners in Pennsylvania and Florida.

We brought on our buddy Moe Yaqub to discuss the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, and the likelihood of India and Pakistan going to war. And, more controversially, we talk about Usama hating SINNERS.

Wawa, I'm Gonna Git U Sucka, Jenn's Blaotian family, scandalous For You Pages, creating new Bengali stereotypes. Patreon for the full ep. 

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992.The infiltration of Islam continues in the U.S. This past February, Crosstalk warned listeners about the formation of "EPIC City" near Dallas, Texas (EPIC stands for East Plano Islamic Center). The city will eventually have exclusive Islamic grocery stores, schools, elderly assistance centers and more.Just a few weeks ago, the Houston Chronicle wrote about thousands of Muslims that gathered at the Sugarland, Texas, town square for what organizers said was the largest, open air Iftar celebration in the region. Then at the end of March, the White House sponsored an Iftar dinner. There's also a CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) linked event that hopes to place Muslim-Americans in federal jobs. These efforts prove how Islam is affecting America. Next on their agenda is an event set to take place on April 28th-29th. That's when the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations is hosting the 10th annual National Muslim Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. The event will bring in Muslim leaders, activists, as well as constituents from all across America. The goal is to directly engage with members of Congress as they promote the theme: Defending rights. Shaping policy.

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992.The infiltration of Islam continues in the U.S. This past February, Crosstalk warned listeners about the formation of "EPIC City" near Dallas, Texas (EPIC stands for East Plano Islamic Center). The city will eventually have exclusive Islamic grocery stores, schools, elderly assistance centers and more.Just a few weeks ago, the Houston Chronicle wrote about thousands of Muslims that gathered at the Sugarland, Texas, town square for what organizers said was the largest, open air Iftar celebration in the region. Then at the end of March, the White House sponsored an Iftar dinner. There's also a CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) linked event that hopes to place Muslim-Americans in federal jobs. These efforts prove how Islam is affecting America. Next on their agenda is an event set to take place on April 28th-29th. That's when the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations is hosting the 10th annual National Muslim Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. The event will bring in Muslim leaders, activists, as well as constituents from all across America. The goal is to directly engage with members of Congress as they promote the theme: Defending rights. Shaping policy.

The bros accidentally invited their literal arch enemy Jeffrey Goldberg into their group chat plans to bomb Yemen lollll. Full ep on patreon!

We got one of the hands-down funniest dudes in town, Usama Siddiquee, in the Mad House this week! Maddy and Usama go way back, to a time when stand up comedy was pre-internet and meant bombing in three different boroughs every night =] . Now, fresh off a new hilarious Don't Tell special, Usama talks being on TV, his and Maddy's similar upbringings, South Asian insults, and more! Call the FUPA Hotline: (347) 480-9006Check out Usama's special 'Usama Bin Laughin'':https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3NH-WEGUGIFollow Usama:https://www.instagram.com/usamastandsup/?hl=enFollow Maddy:https://www.instagram.com/somaddysmith/?hl=enhttps://www.tiktok.com/@somaddysmith?lang=enAll tour dates: https://maddysmithcomedy.com/Want more Mad House?!Go to https://gasdigitalnetwork.com/ to subscribe!Use promo code MAD to save big on your membership :)Get early access to our weekly episodes on Tuesdays, along with EXCLUSIVE episodes every Thursday.UPCOMING STAND UP DATES:4/4-4/5 AUSTIN, TX4/11-4/12 CARY, NC4/17 NEW YORK, NY4/30 PHILADELPHIA, PA5/1-5/3 TULSA, OK5/4 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK6/27-6/28 FORT COLLINS, COProducer: Caroline MazzeiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Usama has some family fun in LA, Zelensky gets mogged, and more--full episode is on Patreon!

In this episode we talk to Dr. Usama Bilal of Drexel University about Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) and Difference-in-Differences (DiD), two quasi experimental methods that fall under the instrumental variables framework which we discussed in previous episodes. We talk about what RDD is, the different types (fuzzy vs sharp) and what we are actually estimating (LATE vs CACE). We talk about the bias vs variance tradeoff in how far from the threshold we choose to draw inferences. We talk about the assumptions that are needed for these methods to give valid estimate of effects. Then we talk about DiD and how this is a form of RDD with a second group that does not experience the discontinuity as a control. And we talk about the additional assumptions needed for this approach (e.g. parallel trends).

We unpack Kendrick spiking the ball in Drake's endzone, and Usama getting brutally roasted by black comics.

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. He is the author of Exposing the Truth about the Qur'an and Exposing the Truth About Jihad and the booklets, The Violent Truth about Islam and The Straight Way to Eternal Life. For many years Usama has traveled the country to equip the church to minister to Muslims and to warn Americans about the deceptive methods being used that lead many into the cult of Islam.Long-time Crosstalk listeners know that on past programs, Usama Dakdok has issued warning after warning concerning the growing influence and possible takeover of America by Islam. More proof of this has come forth as there's been the announcement of the formation of EPIC City near Dallas, Texas. EPIC stands for: East Plano Islamic Center. This city is where developers claim they will serve the evolving needs of Muslims. In fact, it's being called a game-changer, not just for Dallas, but for the Western world.The goal is not simply a bunch of neighborhood homes but instead they'll offer a full school facility (pre-K through high school), a community college/university, grocery stores and elderly assistance facilities.

Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. He is the author of Exposing the Truth about the Qur'an and Exposing the Truth About Jihad and the booklets, The Violent Truth about Islam and The Straight Way to Eternal Life. For many years Usama has traveled the country to equip the church to minister to Muslims and to warn Americans about the deceptive methods being used that lead many into the cult of Islam.Long-time Crosstalk listeners know that on past programs, Usama Dakdok has issued warning after warning concerning the growing influence and possible takeover of America by Islam. More proof of this has come forth as there's been the announcement of the formation of EPIC City near Dallas, Texas. EPIC stands for: East Plano Islamic Center. This city is where developers claim they will serve the evolving needs of Muslims. In fact, it's being called a game-changer, not just for Dallas, but for the Western world.The goal is not simply a bunch of neighborhood homes but instead they'll offer a full school facility (pre-K through high school), a community college/university, grocery stores and elderly assistance facilities.

The free livestreams for AI Engineer Summit are now up! Please hit the bell to help us appease the algo gods. We're also announcing a special Online Track later today.Today's Deep Research episode is our last in our series of AIE Summit preview podcasts - thanks for following along with our OpenAI, Portkey, Pydantic, Bee, and Bret Taylor episodes, and we hope you enjoy the Summit! Catch you on livestream.Everybody's going deep now. Deep Work. Deep Learning. DeepMind. If 2025 is the Year of Agents, then the 2020s are the Decade of Deep.While “LLM-powered Search” is as old as Perplexity and SearchGPT, and open source projects like GPTResearcher and clones like OpenDeepResearch exist, the difference with “Deep Research” products is they are both “agentic” (loosely meaning that an LLM decides the next step in a workflow, usually involving tools) and bundling custom-tuned frontier models (custom tuned o3 and Gemini 1.5 Flash).The reception to OpenAI's Deep Research agent has been nothing short of breathless:"Deep Research is the best public-facing AI product Google has ever released. It's like having a college-educated researcher in your pocket." - Jason Calacanis“I have had [Deep Research] write a number of ten-page papers for me, each of them outstanding. I think of the quality as comparable to having a good PhD-level research assistant, and sending that person away with a task for a week or two, or maybe more. Except Deep Research does the work in five or six minutes.” - Tyler Cowen“Deep Research is one of the best bargains in technology.” - Ben Thompson“my very approximate vibe is that it can do a single-digit percentage of all economically valuable tasks in the world, which is a wild milestone.” - sama“Using Deep Research over the past few weeks has been my own personal AGI moment. It takes 10 mins to generate accurate and thorough competitive and market research (with sources) that previously used to take me at least 3 hours.” - OAI employee“It's like a bazooka for the curious mind” - Dan Shipper“Deep research can be seen as a new interface for the internet, in addition to being an incredible agent… This paradigm will be so powerful that in the future, navigating the internet manually via a browser will be "old-school", like performing arithmetic calculations by hand.” - Jason Wei“One notable characteristic of Deep Research is its extreme patience. I think this is rapidly approaching “superhuman patience”. One realization working on this project was that intelligence and patience go really well together.” - HyungWon“I asked it to write a reference Interaction Calculus evaluator in Haskell. A few exchanges later, it gave me a complete file, including a parser, an evaluator, O(1) interactions and everything. The file compiled, and worked on my test inputs. There are some minor issues, but it is mostly correct. So, in about 30 minutes, o3 performed a job that would take me a day or so.” - Victor Taelin“Can confirm OpenAI Deep Research is quite strong. In a few minutes it did what used to take a dozen hours. The implications to knowledge work is going to be quite profound when you just ask an AI Agent to perform full tasks for you and come back with a finished result.” - Aaron Levie“Deep Research is genuinely useful” - Gary MarcusWith the advent of “Deep Research” agents, we are now routinely asking models to go through 100+ websites and generate in-depth reports on any topic. The Deep Research revolution has hit the AI scene in the last 2 weeks: * Dec 11th: Gemini Deep Research (today's guest!) rolls out with Gemini Advanced* Feb 2nd: OpenAI releases Deep Research* Feb 3rd: a dozen “Open Deep Research” clones launch* Feb 5th: Gemini 2.0 Flash GA* Feb 15th: Perplexity launches Deep Research * Feb 17th: xAI launches Deep SearchIn today's episode, we welcome Aarush Selvan and Mukund Sridhar, the lead PM and tech lead for Gemini Deep Research, the originators of the entire category. We asked detailed questions from inspiration to implementation, why they had to finetune a special model for it instead of using the standard Gemini model, how to run evals for them, and how to think about the distribution of use cases. (We also have an upcoming Gemini 2 episode with our returning first guest Logan Kilpatrick so stay tuned

Pranav shaves his head, Why weren't Guyanese Indians invited to the jonestown cult? Also, hecklers at the mango bae show.

Usama Dakdok is the founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. He's the author of Exposing the Truth about the Qur'an and Exposing the Truth About Jihad and the booklets, The Violent Truth about Islam and The Straight Way to Eternal Life. For many years Usama has traveled the country to equip the church to minister to Muslims and to warn Americans about the deceptive methods being used that lead many into the cult of Islam.On Monday's Crosstalk, Jim interviewed Frank Gaffney, founder of the Center for Security Policy. While discussing national security threats against the U.S., Jim referenced an article from Newsmax that came out this past Sunday. In the article, terrorists were calling for New Year's Eve attacks to take place on a global scale. Jim emphasized that this didn't mean they would happen but that there was a call for such activity to happen.Then early on New Year's Day, terrorism struck New Orleans. A man drove a truck into a large crowd. 15 people are said to have been killed with many others injured. The alleged suspect is Shamsud-Din Jabbar.Interestingly, the mayor of New Orleans called this a terrorist attack, yet the FBI initially said it's not.

Our hilarious buddy and cutie pie Harshil tells us all about his career with Penn Masala--the addictions, sordid affairs, violent in-fighting. Hahaha JK it was mad chill. He also tells us about a time Usama challenged a Penn Masala singer to a contest and tried to mog him at UT Austin.

Usama Dakdok is Founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He is the speaker on the daily radio broadcast Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He also studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia, which is Islamic law. He first came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Quran into English. He is the author of Exposing the Truth about the Qur'an, Exposing the Truth About Jihad, The Violent Truth about Islam and The Straight Way to Eternal Life. For many years Usama has travelled the country to equip the church to minister to Muslims and to warn Americans about the deceptive methods being used that lead many into the cult of Islam.While many have falsely called Islam "a religion of peace," Islam continues in its threats against Israel, Europe and the United States of America. And yet Islam is viewed by many as just being another religion.Some erroneously teach that the god of Islam and Jehovah God are one in the same. Don't be deceived. They are not one in the same.Rapes and sexual assaults continue rampantly in the name of Allah. There are so-called "honor killings" from Muslims against their own family members who leave the teachings of Islam. Threats continue against Jews, Christians and nations that have not surrendered to the teachings of Islam. Usama Dakdok has been trying to awaken many out of their slumber on this issue.

Our buddy Shafi Hossain talks about his childhood in Bangladesh, starting comedy in Albany, looking up to Usama as a kid, and his new special NOT FROM HERE--out now on YouTube!!!