The American Muslim Podcast · El-Amin Communications

Kalia Abiade, VP of Pillars Fund, on Faith, Family, and the Future We Fight For

·1 hr 1 min·2 clips

I became Muslim in Florida and started my first journalism job in the months after 9/11 as the only Muslim in the newsroom—the world changed.

This episode features Imam Tariq El-Amin in conversation with Kalia Abiade, the Executive Vice President of Pillars Fund, a nonprofit supporting Muslim civic and creative leaders. Abiade brings nearly two decades of experience advocating for racial equity, religious freedom, and immigrant rights, with her insights featured in major outlets like the New York Times and NPR. She discusses how her personal history informs her professional mission to amplify marginalized voices. Abiade recounts formative childhood experiences in California within her Filipino and Black families, who migrated during the Great Migration and the 1920s-40s. She describes learning about her grandmother’s work as a nurse at Chicago’s Michael Reese Hospital and her grandfather’s connection to the Pullman Porters union. A move to Palatka, Florida, at age fourteen exposed her to deep Southern roots and was where she converted to Islam and began her journalism career shortly after 9/11. She critiques the journalistic ideal of objectivity, citing a photojournalism professor who challenged her early belief in it. A pivotal insight was a question posed by thought leader Rashid Shabazz: “What would not exist if not for the presence of Muslims in the United States?” This shifted Pillars Fund’s strategy to prioritize Muslim audiences first, trusting authentic stories will resonate broadly. Abiade highlights the Pillars Artist Fellowship, which supports emerging filmmakers like Nuhash, a Bangladeshi director creating horror films that explore spiritual and earthly themes. She also praises the PBS documentary series "American Muslim" for focusing on ordinary historical figures, like a woman named Florence navigating 1930s Chicago, to create intimate personal connections. The conversation reveals how Abiade’s family stories of labor organizing and mutual aid, once seen simply as family lore, now provide a framework for her advocacy. She argues that supporting community-based media, like the historic Chicago Defender, is crucial for truthful storytelling. The episode has a reflective and conversational tone, blending personal narrative with professional analysis. Listeners interested in narrative change, philanthropy, and the intersection of faith, identity, and social justice will find this discussion deeply engaging. Those seeking a fast-paced debate or purely theological discussion might find the introspective style less compelling.

As heard by us

A calm case for telling a community's own stories first.

The episode argues that Muslim civic and creative leaders gain more ground when they tell their own stories first instead of chasing a dominant audience.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a Muslim leadership conversation that starts with story, not slogans.

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