Year: 2014

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.

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…

State of Formation – The Aga Khan and the Human Connection. Following my previous post on putting the Aga Khan’s speech at Brown in a historical context, I want to spend some time on his discussion of technology and human interaction. Rather than speaking only to the Nizari Ismaili community, or to concerns that affect only Nizari Ismailis, he is addressing a larger human concern. If, as the Qur’an states, the Prophet Muhammad was sent as a mercy to all mankind, than it is only logical that his descendants and the inheritors of his spiritual authority should continue to speak…

State of Formation – Understanding the Aga Khan’s Speech in History. Recently, the Aga Khan gave a speech at Brown University. As the head of a community of Muslims spread throughout the world, a community to which I belong, the speech needs some reflection. As the Imam, or Divinely appointed head of the community, it would be a mistake to read his comments as a concern for the moment.