Season Two of The Secret Life of Muslims by Smartypants is distributed by NPR, CBS Sunday Morning, Gizmodo Media and AJ+.

 
 

If you watch CBS Sunday Morning, listen to NPR, use Facebook, read USA Today or attend SXSW, you’ve likely already encountered THE SECRET LIFE OF MUSLIMS, a series of short-form, first-person documentary films that uses humor and empathy to subvert stereotypes and employs a cutting-edge distribution strategy, making it available on TV, radio, the internet, and at live events from NYC to LA.

Featuring a diverse set of American Muslims from a wide range of ethnic and national origins speaking directly to their own respective experiences, the series illuminates the existing complexity and diversity of America’s 3.3 million Muslims, while pointing to a common shared humanity. The first season has been viewed more than 56 million times in our effort to contribute to a dialogue of tolerance and peace in contentious times.

 
 

Season Two Funding Provided by


Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art
El-Hibri Foundation
Hartley Film Foundation
Mohannad Malas
New York Community Trust
Orange County Islamic Foundation
Righteous Persons Foundation
World Without Hate

Season One Funding Provided by

 

Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art
JustFilms Ford Foundation
New York Community Trust
Pillars Fund
El-Hibri Foundation

 

Advisory Board

Asma UddinAsma T. Uddin is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of altmuslimah.com, and Co-founder of altVentures Media, Inc., in which capacity she produces web content and offline programming on a wide range of issues pertinent to faith and gender. She…

Asma Uddin

Asma T. Uddin is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of altmuslimah.com, and Co-founder of altVentures Media, Inc., in which capacity she produces web content and offline programming on a wide range of issues pertinent to faith and gender. She is also a lawyer and scholar specializing in American and international religious liberty.

Dave EggersAuthor (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Zeitoun), Screenwriter (Where the Wild Things Are, Away We Go)

Dave Eggers

Author (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Zeitoun), Screenwriter (Where the Wild Things Are, Away We Go)

Howard GordonExecutive Producer, Writer (24, Homeland)

Howard Gordon

Executive Producer, Writer (24, Homeland)

Al-Husein MadhanyExecutive Assistant to the Chief Information Officer at Facebook

Al-Husein Madhany

Executive Assistant to the Chief Information Officer at Facebook

 
Jonathan A. C. BrownAssociate Professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, Author, Council on Foreign Relations

Jonathan A. C. Brown

Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, Author, Council on Foreign Relations

Kashif ShaikhProgram Officer at McCormick Foundation

Kashif Shaikh

Program Officer at McCormick Foundation

Meryl ChertoffDirector, The Aspen Institute’s Justice and Society Program, Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law

Meryl Chertoff

Director, The Aspen Institute’s Justice and Society Program, Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law

Mona DamlujiMona Damluji, PhD Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies University of California, Santa Barbara

Mona Damluji

Mona Damluji, PhD Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies University of California, Santa Barbara

 
Salam Al-MarayatiFounder and Executive Director, The Muslim Public Affairs Council

Salam Al-Marayati

Founder and Executive Director, The Muslim Public Affairs Council

Saleemah Abdul-GhafurAuthor (Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak), Activist.

Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur

Author (Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak), Activist.

Wajahat AliPlaywright (Domestic Crusaders), Writer, Attorney, and Associate Editor of the website AltMuslim

Wajahat Ali

Playwright (Domestic Crusaders), Writer, Attorney, and Associate Editor of the website AltMuslim

Layla ShaikleyCofounder of Wise Systems and Mipsterz

Layla Shaikley

Cofounder of Wise Systems and Mipsterz

 
Imam Khalid LatifExecutive Director and Chaplain for the Islamic Center at New York University, Chaplain for NYPD

Imam Khalid Latif

Executive Director and Chaplain for the Islamic Center at New York University, Chaplain for NYPD

 
 
Daisy KhanFounder and Executive Director, Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality

Daisy Khan

Founder and Executive Director, Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality

Maz JobraniActor, Superior Donuts. Comedian, Axis of Evil.

Maz Jobrani

Actor, Superior Donuts. Comedian, Axis of Evil.

Rabia ChaudryAttorney and NYT Bestselling author of Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial

Rabia Chaudry

Attorney and NYT Bestselling author of Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial

 

executive producers

 
 
Josh and John square.jpg

Joshua Seftel

Filmmaker Joshua Seftel began his career at age 22 with the Emmy-nominated Lost and Found, a documentary film about Romania’s orphaned and abandoned children. The PBS broadcast of the film led to the American adoption of thousands of orphaned children. Seftel went on to direct the anti-war film War Inc., a political satire starring John Cusack, Ben Kingsley and Marisa Tomei, as well as the groundbreaking Emmy Award-winning television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Recently, he created a YouTube series consisting of candid conversations between him and his 79-year-old mother. Seftel's essays and commentaries have appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, and This American Life.

 

 
 
 

Reza Aslan

Reza Aslan is a best-selling author (Zealot, No god But God), commentator, professor, and producer for The Leftovers (HBO), Of Kings and Prophets (ABC), Rough Draft (Ovation), and Believer (CNN).

 
 
 
 

Season One credits

Director
Joshua Seftel

Executive Producers
Joshua Seftel
Reza Aslan

Supervising Producer
Anna Bick Rowe

Co-Executive Producer
Jill Landaker Grunes

Series Created By
Joshua Seftel
Brittany Huckabee

Producers
Wajahat Ali
Mona Damluji
Erika Frankel
al-Husein Madhany
Asma Uddin

Co-Producer
Jaclyn Biskup

Consulting Producer
Dena Takruri
Kashif Shaikh

Associate Producers
Eric Nichols
Salwa Shameem

Editors
Rob Chapman
Rabab Haj Yahya
Amanda Larson
Jacob Steingroot

Assistant Editors
Steve Benjamin
Nick Cancelliere
Katrina Pastore

Production Coordinator
Amy Shand

Music By
John Dragonetti

Animation By
Dan Sousa

Graphic Design by
Ehsaan Mesghali

Cinematographers
Ben Bloodwell
Naiti Gamez
Omar Mullick
Adam Silver

Funders
Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art
Ford Foundation
New York Community Trust
Pillars Funds

Legal Services
Sandy Forman

Series Advisors
Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur
Salam Al-Marayati
Jonathan A. Brown
Meryl Chertoff
Dave Eggers
Howard Gordon

Production Company
Seftel Productions

Copyright
© Seftel Productions, Inc. 2016

 

Season Two Credits

Director
Joshua Seftel

Executive Producers
Joshua Seftel
Reza Aslan

Series Created By
Joshua Seftel
Brittany Huckabee

Co-Executive Producers
Anna Bick Rowe
Erika Frankel

Producers
Wajahat Ali
Mona Damluji
al-Husein Madhany
Nathalie O’Neill
Layla Shaikley
Asma Uddin

Co-Producers
Eric Nichols
Amy Shand

Consulting Producer
Kashif Shaikh

Development Coordinator
Cory Saul

Production Coordinator
Olivia Huzenis

Post-Production Coordinator
Cait Murphy

Editors
Rob Chapman
Rabab Haj Yahya
Sheila Shirazi
Jacob Steingroot

Lead Assistant Editor
Steve Benjamin

Assistant Editor
Nick Cancelliere

Music By
John Dragonetti

Animation By
Dan Sousa

Graphic Design By
Ehsaan Mesghali

Cinematographers
Clay Westervelt
Omar Mullick

Additional Cinematography By
David Freemas

Gaffers
Eric Fahy
Dave Steffey

Sound
Richard Gavin
Fiona McBain
Eric Perez

Assistant Camera
Lisa Stacilauskas
Corey Stein

2nd Assistant Camera
Curran Banach
Tony Garcia
Collin Welch

Production Assistants
Josh Corbaley
James Kinne

Funding Provided By
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art
El-Hibri Foundation
Hartley Film Foundation
Mohannad Malas
New York Community Trust
Orange County Islamic Foundation
Righteous Persons Foundation

Legal Services
Sandy Forman

Series Advisors

Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur
Wajahat Ali
Salam Al-Marayati
Jonathan A. C. Brown
Rabia Chaudry
Meryl Chertoff
Mona Damluji, PhD
Dave Eggers
Howard Gordon
Maz Jobrani
Daisy Khan
Imam Khalid Latif
al-Husein Madhany
Kashif Shaikh
Layla Shaikley
Asma Uddin

© Smartypants Pictures 2019