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What would a Muslim world of fantasy look like? Tolkien gave us Middle-earth. C.S. Lewis gave us Narnia. Could Islamic storytelling create fictional worlds that capture the imagination of a generation?

Peter Gould joins Muhammad Jalal on The Thinking Muslim to discuss **Tales of Khayal**, a fantasy universe he co-created with author Rehan Khan, inspired by Islamic spirituality and the rich heritage of Muslim civilisation. With a novel series and plans for animation and a video game, the project explores how faith can shape the stories young Muslims grow up with.

Recorded in Istanbul, this conversation examines the Islamic understanding of imagination, or *khayal*, and its relationship to the heart. Gould shares how embracing Islam changed his approach to design, and how Islamic art and architecture continue to inform his work.

They discuss the concerns parents have about gaming and screen time, alongside the possibilities for immersive storytelling that encourages remembrance of Allah. Gould explains how Tales of Khayal draws on sacred knowledge and the history of colonialism, weaving questions about power and technological change into an adventure story.

The episode also explores why some Muslim professionals put aside their artistic ambitions, how they can return to creative work, and what artificial intelligence could mean for the future of design. Gould offers practical advice for anyone hoping to begin writing or rediscover their creativity.

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This episode is sponsored by Seed Education Trust, which funds education and community projects in the UK, with a particular focus on young people. Find out more: https://www.seed.org.uk

Three years after the beginning of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023, the ummah is still reckoning with what it has witnessed. Ustadha Dalya Ayoub joins Muhammad Jalal on The Thinking Muslim to examine the illusion of claiming to be people of the Qur’an while growing numb to Palestinian suffering and moving on.

As reports of Israeli attacks in Gaza continue despite the ceasefire, this conversation asks how Muslims can sustain their commitment to Palestine when exhaustion takes hold. Ustadha Dalya explains what the people of Gaza have taught her about the Qur’an, and how their steadfastness has changed the way she reads its verses.

Drawing on Surah Ali ‘Imran and Surah Al-‘Asr, she explores sabr as the resolve to take action and endure its consequences. She discusses the responsibility to uphold justice, the Qur’anic understanding of victory, and the accountability each of us will face before Allah for our own choices.

Recorded at the Prophetic Strategy Summit in Istanbul, the discussion also offers practical guidance for rebuilding our relationship with the Qur’an. Ustadha Dalya explains tadabbur, the careful study of its verses and examination of our lives through them, and what it means to make the Qur’an our minhaj: the guidance that shapes our daily decisions and our work for the ummah.

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Dr. Assal Rad is a Middle East historian known as the “headline fixer” for her viral media corrections. Her new book, Don’t Say Palestine: How the Media Manufactured Consent for Genocide, examines how outlets including The New York Times and the BBC helped manufacture consent for Israel’s genocide in Gaza through language, framing and omission.

In this conversation, Assal joins Muhammad Jalal to examine how Western media has reported on Palestine, Israel and Gaza, and what that reporting reveals about the relationship between journalism, political power and public consent.

From passive language around Palestinian deaths to the treatment of Israeli military claims, the discussion looks at how headlines and editorial choices can shape the way audiences understand war.

As tensions involving the United States, Iran and the wider Middle East remain at the centre of global politics, we also ask whether Western media can still manufacture support for war in the way it did before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The conversation explores Gaza, the killing of Palestinian journalists, declining trust in mainstream media, the rise of social media and citizen journalism, and the different ways the Biden and Trump administrations have approached Israel and the Middle East.

Has Gaza permanently changed the way people consume the news? And what happens when audiences can compare what they see on their phones with what appears in the headlines?

Dr. Assal Rad is the author of The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran and Don’t Say Palestine: How the Media Manufactured Consent for Genocide.

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:15 - Meet Assal Rad

02:09 - Media Manufactured Consent

06:08 - Thinking Muslim Conference

06:52 - Headlines Hide Israel

12:02 - Western Media Complicity

14:10 - Liberal Media Bias

18:36 - Fox News vs Liberals

20:56 - Donate to Baitulmaal

21:31 - Palestinian Journalists Silenced

27:36 - Why Journalists Stayed

34:53 Who Controls Gaza History

38:20 Social Media Censorship

39:28 The Headline Fixer

44:02 Right Turns on Israel

47:54 Gaza’s Media Future

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