How Arab Music Makes Movie Villains

Muslims’ mixed response to new Mohammed cover – CNN.com. “My initial thought is that the cover is a near perfect response to the tragedy,” said Hussein Rashid, a professor of Islamic thought at Hofstra University in New York.   “They are not backing down from the depiction of Mohammed, exercising their free speech rights. At the same time, the message is conciliatory, humble, and will hopefully reduce the anger directed to the Muslim communities of France.”   Rashid noted that the cover’s central message — forgiveness — resonates not only throughout Islam but through other world religions as well, embracing all in…

As Ismailis, We Should all Care about Climate Change. | IsmailisRiseUp. Our generation is faced with a daunting task: stop climate change. But how? Dr. Rashid, who has witnessed his home city of New York transition from a sub-temperate to a sub-tropical climate in his lifetime, explains that it is more than just individual responsibility. There are individual choices that we can make but ultimately when a handful of corporations are responsible for over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is hard to place responsibility on individuals. That does not mean, however, that we as individuals do not have…

Why Islam forbids images of Mohammed – CNN.com. In a bitter irony, the sometimes violent attacks against portrayals of the prophet are kind of reverse idol-worship, revering — and killing for — the absence of an image, said Hussein Rashid, a professor of Islamic studies at Hofstra University in New York.