Exploring Religious Literacy: Interview with AC4

Islam in America: What you don’t know about Islam’s U.S. roots. “A lot of people might assume Muslim immigration started in 1965 when the U.S. had a period of immigration reform, others will date it back to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, yet others to the 9/11 attacks, but usually no one looks farther back than the 1960s and certainly not beyond the 20th century for this history at the popular level,” said Hussein Rashid, who teaches at Columbia University.

How Muslims Have Been a Major Part of American History. Muslims have been an integral part of American history since the days of Christopher Columbus. The video above explores the many ways Muslims have been involved in everything from politics to sports to art. Even the Statue of Liberty has a connection to Muslims.

Terror in Paris: The Muslim Community Responds – The Takeaway. Over the last year, Muslim refugees fleeing the brutality of war in Iraq and Syria have sought asylum in a number of Western European countries, including France. But many lifelong French citizens are Muslim—the Muslim nation of Algeria was actually part of France in the 20th century.   Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Hofstra University, explains how the Muslim community is responding to these attacks.