silsila sounds

we were grounded in surah al-duha (93): “your lord has not forsaken you, nor does he hate you... and he found you in need and made you self-sufficient."

we opened with a somatic grounding—breathing for our community, our ancestors, and our future . at silsila sounds, we believe that queer and trans bodies are ayat (signs of god); we aren't "reconciling" faith and gender, because they are one unified expression of the divine. as imam muhsin taught, God is found within our own personal experience.

the facilitators we were deeply honored to be led in conversation by:

dr. rachana rao umashankar (iona university): an anthropologist of religion 

sirajum sandhi: a masgd community member, founder of queer muslims of nyc,

together, we explored how our texts are dynamic and living—a "silsila" (chain) of liberation that challenges patriarchy and wealth hoarding while centering justice.

the crunchy bits: financial transparency theology is empty if it doesn't create systems of care; liberation means rent paid and bellies full . we are building a "parallel economy" of sustainability to protect the honorable labor of our artists.

the profit: our iftar gathering, attended by 50 people, acted as a direct investment in this survival system.

the 50/50 split: 50% of the profit is moved to the silsila mutual aid fund for dolls of color (direct redistribution to trans women of color), and 50% returns to the collective spindle to build infrastructure that resists wealth hoarding.

the labor: all volunteers and production staff will be paid for their labor as soon as our business accounts are finalized. thank you for your patience as we build a spindle that can actually hold us all.

thank you: deep gratitude to falaknaaz, our facilitators, the venue, and the volunteers. you are the hands that weave this fabric.

the roots: seeds & study

watch: The Radical 

read & study: this folder contains our full archive of pdfs, facilitation guides, and reading lists from the iftar