the grounding: 

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. 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 facilitators:

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

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

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

financial transparency 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. see more here. all volunteers and production staff are paid for their labor

thank you: deep gratitude to falaknaaz, our facilitators, AFA, and the volunteers.