In the 15 years since I began writing the books titled Secular Jinnah I have always refused interviews, for my own reasons (with the exception of one or two written online ones). But in August, a chance query email from a fabulous lady, Boston-based Shua Khan Arshad, led to my decision to finally give an audio interview about my Secular Jinnah books and a few other topics. The interview is being published in parts, and the Part 1 went live last week. In the first part I talked about the Munir quote, the reactions to my book, secularism in Pakistan and the ‘secular’ versus ‘Muslim’ debate.

This is an audio interview, but there are two versions of Part 1 on YouTube:

The interview is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and a few other podcast sites.

In Part 2, due to go live today to coincide with M.A. Jinnah’s birthday, I talk about what makes the Munir quote saga so unique, the intellectual link between Iqbal, and the interview also moves to more informal topics such as my views on parenting, and problem solving. Direct link is forthcoming, but you can catch all 3 parts by subscribing to the YouTube channel LightupwithShua, hosted by Shua Khan Arshad.

About the interviewer: Shua Khan Arshad is an educationist and academic working in interfaith and multicultural relations. Her podcast, LightupWithShua, is on conscious living and parenting, and features interviews with people across the world.

This blog article will be updated once I have the links for Part 2, or they will appear in a separate article.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays!