When Joe Rogan brought up Muslim politician Zohran Mamdani on his podcast, it sparked a broader conversation about Islam in American politics and public life. In this episode of The Deen Show, guest SonnyFaz — an Italian-American revert to Islam — reacts to that viral moment and opens up about his own journey to faith, why Andrew Tate was only the starting point of his exploration, and how the truth of Islam speaks for itself once you look past the headlines and propaganda.
Joe Rogan, Zohran Mamdani, and the Double Standard in Politics
SonnyFaz highlights a pattern that many Muslims have noticed in mainstream media and politics: the framing is always different when Islam is involved. When immigrants arrive from Latin America, they are called “Mexican immigrants,” but when people come from Muslim-majority countries, they are labeled “Muslim immigrants” — tying an entire faith to immigration debates. This same double standard surfaces in political conversations like the one Joe Rogan had about Zohran Mamdani, where a Muslim candidate’s religion becomes the focal point rather than policy or character. SonnyFaz and Deen Show host Eddie break down how this bias operates:
- Media consistently frames Muslims by their religion rather than nationality, unlike any other group
- Politicians are pressured to pledge allegiance to foreign interests rather than judged on their values
- Islam’s emphasis on justice, family, and community aligns with values many Americans already hold
- Traveling to Muslim-majority countries like Bosnia dispels the myth that Islam is incompatible with Western civilization
“Islam could fix all these problems, but just trying to get that through to people — it’s really surreal. If they would just give Islam a shot, this is what they actually want, but it’s not in the packaging they expect.”
Andrew Tate Did Not Make Me Muslim — The Truth Did
One of the most important points SonnyFaz makes is setting the record straight about Andrew Tate and Islam. While Tate’s reversion first prompted SonnyFaz to look into the faith, he is clear that curiosity is not conversion. It was the preservation of the Quran, the pure monotheism, the honor given to Jesus as a prophet, and the undeniable miracles within Islamic scripture that moved his heart. He and his mother watched Islamic videos together, researched the Abrahamic roots of the faith, and came to understand that submitting to the Creator — not to any celebrity or trend — is what Islam truly means. SonnyFaz now lives by a strict moral code, lowering his gaze, rejecting the hyper-sexualized culture around him, and preparing himself for marriage with discipline and intention.
“The only thing that will get people that connected is loving and worshiping the one God. Your skin color, your nationality, sports teams, concerts — nothing else brings millions of people together without a single fight the way faith in Allah does.”
Why Islam Is the Answer America Has Been Looking For
SonnyFaz paints a compelling picture of what American Islam could look like — not the extreme caricature pushed by fear-mongers, but something closer to the modesty, respect, and family values that defined 1960s America. After traveling from Medina to Mecca to Bosnia, he witnessed firsthand that Islam transcends race and culture. Less than 20% of Muslims worldwide are Arab, and the faith unites Europeans, Africans, Asians, and Americans under one purpose: submission to the Creator of the heavens and the earth. As Malcolm X once declared, Islam is the only real solution to racism — and SonnyFaz’s own life is living proof that when someone seeks the truth with sincerity, God guides them to it.
