When a Grammy-connected Malaysian songwriter lost her music to religious gatekeepers who banned female voices and forbade instrumentation, she did not walk away from Islam. She walked straight into it, through theology, human rights law, and eventually the United Nations.

In this episode of WISE Women with Daisy Khan, with host Dr. Daisy Khan, singer, activist, and the founder of Muslims for Progressive Values, Ani Zonneveld traces a life built at the intersection of music, faith, and social justice. When Muslim retail stores refused to carry her album because a woman's singing voice was deemed forbidden, that rejection sent her into Islamic theology and human rights advocacy. She and Dr. Daisy Khan debates whether the word feminist belongs in Islamic spaces, why Prophet Muhammad was the original feminist, and why secular framing consistently fails communities anchored in faith identity. She closes with her hoped-for legacy: a musical theater production called Welcome to My Eid.

Ani Zonneveld's work spans the UN, Africa, Afghanistan, and American living rooms, everywhere Islam is used as a political instrument and everywhere people are quietly reclaiming it for justice. Ani did not leave Islam when it was used against her. She went deeper into it, and that decision changed what progressive Muslim advocacy looks like.

Listen to WISE Women with Daisy Khan because every story matters. The qualities that sustain us through difficulty often become the very gifts we offer to the world. Like, follow, and connect with Dr. Daisy Khan.

#WISEWomenwithDaisyKhan #WISEWomen #MuslimWomen #MuslimFeminist #IslamicFeminism #ProgressiveIslam #WomensRights #FaithAndJustice #SocialJustice #InterfaithDialogue #ReligionVsCulture #AmericanMuslim #MuslimCulture #HumanRights #Podcast #MPVUSA #AniZonneveld #IslamicHymns

Connect with Dr. Daisy Khan:

Websites:

https://daisykhan.com/

https://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009431034002

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daisykhan.nyc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DaisyKhan

Follow WISE Women with Daisy Khan:

Podcast: https://wisewomenwithdaisykhan.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdaisykhan/