Creative Team

We are a diverse team of filmmakers and storytellers united by our desire to foster a greater understanding of American Muslims at this pivotal moment in United States history. With our combined expertise, we bring a wealth of experience in producing acclaimed non-fiction content for public media, commercial television, and digital platforms.

Executive Producer

Maytha Alhassen

Maytha is a journalist, poet, community organizer, and scholar whose work bridges media, justice advocacy, research, and artistic expression. She's a Co-Executive Producer on Hulu's award-winning Ramy, a Pop Culture Collaborative Pluralist Visionaries Fellow, TED Resident, and Harvard Religion and Public Life Art and Pop Culture Fellow (2021–2024), and lectures at Stanford University's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. As a journalist, she has hosted on Al Jazeera English, reported for CNN, Huffington Post, Mic, and The Baffler, and written for Boston Review and LA Review of Books. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies & Ethnicity from USC, an M.A. in Anthropology from Columbia, and a B.A. in Political Science and Arabic & Islamic Studies from UCLA.

Executive Producer

Zaheer Ali

Zaheer is an educator and oral historian with over a decade of experience directing nationally recognized public history and cultural heritage initiatives. He has been a Senior Fellow of the Pillars Fund Muslim Narrative Change Cohort and a recipient of the Open Society Foundation's Soros Equality Fellowship. As the oral historian at the Brooklyn Historical Society, he directed the Muslims in Brooklyn documentary history and arts initiative and co-produced FLATBUSH + MAIN, an award-winning monthly podcast. His work has been featured in four documentaries including Netflix's WHO KILLED MALCOLM X? (2020) and HIGH ON THE HOG season 2 (2023).

Timestamp Media Co-Founder, Executive Producer & Project Lead

Graham Judd

Graham is an award-winning documentary producer with a track record of telling complex, underrepresented stories with clarity, depth, and impact. With a background at the BBC, including work in the Religion & Ethics department, he brings editorial rigour, narrative flair, and a deep commitment to public service storytelling. His work includes the critically acclaimed AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES (PBS) with Henry Louis Gates Jr., THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE (PBS), and the Emmy-nominated FABRIC OF THE COSMOS (PBS).

Senior Producer & Lead Writer, Executive Consultant for Timestamp Media

Mafaz Al-Suwaidan

Mafaz is a writer, researcher, and educator specializing in religion with a focus on Islam and modern thought. She is passionate about education, both in the classroom and on public media platforms. She holds a Master of Theological Study degree in Islamic Studies, a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, and a Bachelor of Journalism degree. She is currently completing a PhD in Religion with a secondary in African and African American Studies at Harvard University.

Supervising Producer for Timestamp Media

Kelly Thomson

Kelly is a documentary producer, line producer, and editor whose collaborations with Timestamp Media include HARVARD & THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY and AMERICAN MUSLIMS. Her producing work includes the Emmy-nominated POISONED WATER and AMERICAN DENIAL, and the DuPont award-winning series UNNATURAL CAUSES. Other titles include COMPUTERS v. CRIME (NOVA), HERSKOVITZ AT THE HEART OF BLACKNESS (Independent Lens), and SOUTH TO BLACK POWER (HBO). Kelly is currently directing her second feature documentary, DIE BEFORE YOU DIE, which explores female leadership in Islamic mysticism.

Lead Editor & Writer

Beyza Boyacioglu

Beyza is an award-winning documentarian and film editor from Istanbul, currently based in Brooklyn. Her work includes the feature documentaries IN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM (directed by Vivek Bald with support from PBS & Ford Foundation) and BLACK LIVES MATTER: A GLOBAL RECKONING - ITALY (directed by Nicole Bozorgmir for VICE Media). Most recently, Beyza was an editor on Season 2 of COUNTER SPACE by VICE Media. Her clients have included BBC, VICE, American Express, Harvard University, MIT, and Eyebeam.

Co-Producer

Zehra Rehman

Zehra brings to the project several years of experience working on the popular PBS series FINDING YOUR ROOTS with Henry Louis Gates Jr. In 2019, she researched and wrote a series of short films for the Webby-winning online documentary series BLACK HISTORY IN TWO MINUTES (OR SO), also with Henry Louis Gates Jr. Zehra began her career conducting research and teaching international relations and politics at universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2014, she moved to New York, where she transitioned into journalism and documentary, focusing on the stories of minorities and marginalized groups.

Consulting Producer

Salimah El-Amin

Salimah is an experienced documentary filmmaker working at Ken Burns' Florentine Films. She is co-producer on Florentine's latest PBS film about the life and work of Ernest Hemingway. In 2019, Salimah was producer on COLLEGE BEHIND BARS, a documentary directed by Lynn Novick. Salimah was also a co-producer on Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's THE VIETNAM WAR, where she received an Emmy Award in Research for her work.

Consulting Producer / Director

Khaula Malik

Khaula is a Pakistani-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles whose work centers on womanhood and intersectional identity. Her short film HOW THE AIR FEELS won the National Board of Review Student Grant Award and the Special Jury Award at the Sharjah Film Platform. She associate-produced the award-winning feature documentary OF LOVE & LAW. Khaula is a 2020 fellow for the Tribeca CHANEL Through Her Lens program and the Cine Qua Non-Lab. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, BFI's Sight & Sound Magazine, and on Netflix.

Graphic Designer

Sarah Sheikh Bridge

Sarah is a skilled motion graphics designer and editor based in L.A. With a passion for creativity and a keen eye for detail, Sarah has honed her craft to bring dynamic and visually stunning designs to life. With 10+ years of experience, she has worked with major names in the industry including Amazon, The Atlantic, Converse, Google, Meta, Nike, and PBS.

Archival Producer

Ines Farag

Ines is a New York-based archival producer with a wide range of projects under her belt. Hailing from D.C. where she was raised by her American and Egyptian journalist parents, in-depth research on documentary films was a natural career path. Her projects include O.J.: Made in America and The Last Dance for ESPN, Fauci for National Geographic, Reconstruction: America After the Civil War for PBS, Long Strange Trip for Amazon, and STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A. for HBO.

Production Manager

Christine Ricard

Christine is a versatile digital-first producer with a wide range of project experience, both fiction and non-fiction. She is now in-house for Timestamp Media, where she previously served on the production team for documentaries including THE BIGGER PICTURE and HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THE DAYS OF SLAVERY?. Prior to Timestamp, Christine held production roles at CNN, the Smithsonian Channel, HuffPost, and MasterClass.

Production and Research Intern

Aakef Khan

Aakef is pursuing his BFA in Digital Filmmaking from Rutgers University - Mason Gross, where he is gaining both an artistic and technical talent in film. Aakef started his journey creating a short narrative film for his high school festival, where it won first place and secured his seat in the Rutgers program. Aakef brings strong motivation and curiosity to the project, blending his passions for American history and film production.