Shireen Khanum is a paediatrician, who grew up in Austria, England and Pakistan and who now lives in the United Arab Emirates. Raised by a mother who was a Roman Catholic and a father who was a Muslim, Shireen turned to Islam more because at the time it was the dominant religion where she lived, although most of her education was done with Irish nuns. Luckily, Shireen has never experienced islamophobia in her life.
I invited her on the show because I feel that in the West, and I am producing this podcast in the UK, there is an underrepresentation of islam but also a vilification. Stereotypes are rife and what better way to combat stereotypes than to meet and get to know real people.
Shireen is actually a dear friend of mine and I wanted her to have an opportunity to share about her religion and debunk some myths. Shireen shares the fact that both her grandfather and her father were very enlightened and did not put any pressure on Shireen’s mum to convert.
But Shireen is also unusual inasmuch as she can see through her patients’ bodies and is often able to diagnosed them before they have a chance to share what is troubling them, and for her to examine them. By night, Shireen writes novels. She has just published her fourth one about the Indus Valley, with a bit of a science fiction angle. To listen to the episode, click here. To find out more about Shireen and her books, head over to her Facebook profile where she uses her mother’s maiden name, Magedin. She has a website and all her books are available on Amazon.
To listen to the episode, click here.