Hawzah News Agency – PBS will take viewers on a cross-country Route 66 journey when “The Great Muslim American Road Trip” airs in July.
The three-part documentary series follows a young Muslim American couple (rapper Mona Haydar and husband Sebastian Robins) as they explore the Mother Road and its surrounding Muslim communities on a 2,500-mile drive from Chicago to Los Angeles.
The title of the second episode is “A Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Tulsa to Albuquerque, New Mexico (w.t.).” While in Tulsa, Mona and Sebastian encounter jazz musician Leon Rollerson.
Said a news release for the series: “Although they are practicing Muslims — Mona is Syrian American and Sebastian converted after meeting Mona — the couple, like most Americans, is unfamiliar with Islam’s deeps roots in America. This road trip is an opportunity for them not only to experience the breathtaking panoramas and iconic roadside attractions that have made Route 66 famous, but also to learn more about the history of their faith and what it means to be Muslim in America today.”
Mona and Sebastian meet authors, entrepreneurs, students and others, including Muhammad Ali’s daughter Maryam Ali in Chicago; Bosnian immigrants and restaurant owners Sulejman and Emmina Grbic in St. Louis; Rollerson in Tulsa; and award-winning actor and writer Amir Abdullah in Pasadena.
“Who knew that one of the first non-indigenous people to set foot in North America was a Moroccan explorer or that a Syrian camel driver helped survey the very road that has provided millions of American tourists their kicks on Route 66?” producer and director Alex Kronemer said. “It was an amazing and always-surprising experience to join hip-hop sensation Mona Hayder and her husband, Sebastian Robins, as they explored both their Muslim roots and Route 66. People will never view Muslim Americans the same way again.”
“The Great Muslim American Road Trip” is scheduled to premiere July 5 on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video app.