Current Affairs

State of Formation – Every Land is #Ferguson

State of Formation – Every Land is #Ferguson. There is a power in raising our hands for Ferguson. We do not raise our hands like the Illuminati or a Rockefella [sicknowledge]; we do not raise our hands to act out an NWA lyric; we do not even raise our hands in an “Allah Akbar.” Instead, we raise our hands in surrender. Our submission is to the police. The power in raising our hands is with the police. It’s not an act of agency, but a recognition of the value(lessness) of brown and black bodies. This submission to authoritarianism should concern…

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Media Appearances

Inside The Growing Organic Halal Movement – The Daily Beast

Inside The Growing Organic Halal Movement – The Daily Beast. Hussein Rashid, a professor at Hofstra University and an Islamic scholar, said these debates have been raging within the Muslim community, who are fragmented on what should be eaten. Other issues include whether stunning an animal before death is halal and the age-old debate on whether it’s okay to eat meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians.

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Media Appearances

Quoted: ISIS vs. mainstream Muslims: The media battle – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs

ISIS vs. mainstream Muslims: The media battle – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs. Quoting Islam’s holiest text to make that point was smart, said Hussein Rashid, a religion scholar at Hofstra University in New York. “ISIS violates every single tenet of this verse, so Barfi shows them to be ignorant,” he said.  “By using the Quran as the basis for debate he also demonstrates that ISIS does not actually base themselves in Muslim traditions, but in the language of hatred and rage.”  Likewise, Barfi’s use of the phrase “debate with calm preachings” rings a particular note in Islam, Muslim scholars said.  It recalls…

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Books Literature

Review: Sufi Comics – Rumi

I am a huge fan of Sufi Comics. I've been reading them for years, and appreciate their dedication to their craft, and the fact that they use the teachings of both Sufism and Shi'ism in their lessons. I was super excited when their first book came out, even though it was a collection of material they had already published on their blog. I bought several copies, and then several more when the color version came out. Their second book, The Wise Fool of Baghdad, was also a gem. They used the name Bahlool, but the figure they wrote about is…

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