26-year-old Mahmoud Ansari, host of the Ansari Podcast on YouTube, has quietly become one of the most influential American Muslim voices over the past two years. With more than 128,000 subscribers as of August 2025, the show ranks among the top three most-listened-to Muslim podcasts in English.

His show features prominent Muslim figures from Imams Omar Suleiman, Suhaib Webb, Dalia Mogahed to influencers and athletes like HalalMoaaz and Muhsin Cason. Episodes discuss a wide range of topics from Muslims in American politics to culture and Islamic history.

The Egyptian-American grew up in Maryland, where his journey to prominence began. It started with childhood curiosity, followed by distancing himself from Islam and an eventual return to his faith— culminating in a platform aimed at healing and empowering American Muslims.

When he was 6 years old, Ansari displayed a deep interest in Islam and the wider world. “I was very observant as a child,” he said. “I had a natural love for hearing about Islam and anything that sounded interesting."

His imagination was fueled by stories of medieval Muslim heroes like Saladin and Saifuddin Qutuz, paired with a passion for the Quran. “I wanted to be like them,” he recalled. 

At 9 years old however, his faith was shaken by negative experiences at his Salafist-leaning Islamic school. “I started seeing the stressed-out Salafi and Wahhabi versions [of Islam], and I became traumatized by the Muslim community,” he recalled. “I didn’t like how we were treated as enemies.”

Seeking a different environment, he maneuvered his way into public school, where his perception of Islam worsened. His old school, he explained, was “not diverse enough, not open enough to allow creative minds to find solutions for engaging the community.” At one point, he told himself, “I don’t want to even be Muslim anymore.”

For a period, Ansari pursued secularism, science and what he described as “trying to become American.” 

That path, he said, brought “a lot of hurt and pain.” But in hindsight, he believes “Allah kept calling me back — not always nicely, but the best way.”

His teenage and college years took him further from faith, and he admits he struggled academically. “My greatest accomplishment was that I never accomplished anything,” he said. “I was always picked last in sports, doubted by everyone."

Two professors at the University of Maryland-Baltimore Country [UMBC] changed that trajectory, according to Ansari. They offered encouragement that “revolutionized” his self-image and worldview. The support gave him “a chip on my shoulder” and motivated him to reconnect with Allah.

Still, he remained connected to friends who hindered his spiritual growth. One became a drug dealer, another died by suicide and others struggled with addiction or mental illness. 

Eventually, he and one of his friends “barely escaped by the help of Allah,” he said. “One night, I told him, ‘I’m done.’ We prayed Fajr the next day and never looked back.”

But reclaiming faith without strong community support during his college years were difficult, Ansari recalled.

"I had no Muslim friends," he said. Because he “looked like a frat kid,” he explained that members of the UMBC Muslim Student Association [MSA] alienated him.

That began to change when people from the Islamic Center of North America’s [ICNA] Baltimore chapter took him under his wing. They “helped me reconnect with my childhood dreams,” Ansari said. “I remembered my child self again, telling him all the things I wanted to do.”

He then immersed himself in charity work as a way to rebuild spirituality. “I folded clothes for hours, crying out of shame and fear for my sins,” he said. During his time with ICNA, he created a study group that taught journalism, public speaking, marketing, and media skills to college students.

The podcast, which he launched in November 2021, became his “final project” after multiple initiatives. Its true catalyst was the death of a friend who had recently returned to Islam. “He was one of my biggest followers,” Ansari recalled. “He told me he’d taken shahadah again. A month later, he took his own life. That broke me.”

Determined to help others avoid similar pain, he was set on having his podcast be a nonjudgmental space for young Muslims like him who wrestled with identity and community judgment. 

“I feel for those kids deeply,” he said. “There’s no judgment here. Brother, I’ve seen it all.”

The early stages of the podcast were grueling. For two years, the show’s subscriber count stalled at 750 despite his 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. workdays handling every task himself. 

“People threw shade,” Ansari said. He recalled how one of his friends even told him “I’m surprised you’re still doing this.”

Guests would sometimes fail to appear or demand payment, he added. 

“I sat on Zoom calls for hours and some never showed,” he said. “One charged me $150 but came 10 hours late.” 

These experiences, though frustrating, helped teach him humility and persistence.

That’s when high-profile guests began to appear on his podcast in August 2023. 

Episodes with thinkers like Sheikh Yasir Qadhi and Ousama Alshurafa have over 100,000 views. Other episodes featuring guests who share their journeys from hating Islam to eventual conversion have reached nearly a million views.

For Ansari, the podcast serves as a lifeline for listeners with a wide range of struggles. “If you’re depressed or having trouble finding a spouse, there’s an episode for you,” he said. 

He said he tries to have his interviewing style focused on thoughtful questions that give guests space to fully explain themselves for viewers.

This style appears to benefit many.

“Masha’Allah, what an amazing podcast,” one viewer commented. “It was so insightful and educational at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and please continue the good work.”

Others called Ansari’s show as “one of the best I've seen,” and that it frequently gives “goosebumps.”

“This is truly one of the most remarkable podcasts I've come across on YouTube, showcasing someone's inspiring journey of converting to Islam,” another viewer wrote.

Despite the support, Ansari acknowledged that some guests on his show may be controversial.

“I might host someone I shouldn’t, or ask the wrong question,” he said.

Still, Ansari insists his intentions remain clear: “My loyalty and passion are for the Muslim project — the Islamic civilizational project.”