Category: Media Appearances

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…

Ms. Marvel’s America: Looking toward a superhero in challenging times | Goshen College. “Superheroes, of course, can’t swoop in and save us in times of crisis. But they can demonstrate ways for us to help each other with the tools we do have at hand,” says Goshen College Professor of English Jessica Baldanzi.  A new book edited by Baldanzi and Hussein Rashid, a religious studies scholar, professor and interfaith activist, aims to combat the notion of a “stereotypical” superhero. “Ms. Marvel’s America: No Normal” features essays about being Muslim and female in the Marvel Universe.

This week we feature selections from the December 8, 2019 Sounds of Faith concert at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. According to Dr. Hussein Rashid a religious literacy expert and cultural competency consultant who teaches at the New School in New York,  if you don’t appreciate the religious and spiritual dimension of music you miss the depth of the genre.

Scholars of religion and biblical literature object to having conference badges coded and scanned. Hussein Rashid, independent scholar of religion, also tweeted that he’d seen nothing in his conference registration documents to suggest QR codes were a possibility. The society was therefore retroactively changing its terms of attendance, he said, raising the possibility that someone could refuse to be scanned, be denied entry and later challenge the academy legally.

NYCC ‘19: Wilson, Shammas, Alfageeh & Henderson on Orientalism in comics & the White, Western gaze – The Beat. Rashid began proceedings by citing theorist Edward Said and describing Orientalism as “a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.” The othering that Orientalism does to Asian and Arab cultures, he continued, is “a tool of colonization, a means of convincing people that some people are less worthy of their humanity.” The panellists nodded along, taking this definition as their starting point for discussion.  In turn, each panelist presented some examples of where we see Orientalism in…

Discovering Islam in New York City: a tour of its Muslim History | the.Ismaili. Hussein Rashid, professor at Columbia University and himself once the coordinator for CPOI, said he arranged this tour for Jamati members in order to “seize opportunities to expand our knowledge,” following Mawlana Hazar Imam’s general guidance. “As an Ismaili Muslim, I believe it’s important that we learn about and engage with our history in ways that do not isolate us but recognize our role in the world. As a result, I look for opportunities that allow [me] to experience my history and faith and try to…

My Salaam – Bringing comics to heal and preserve culture in Syrian refugee camps. CYRIC’s founder, A. David Lewis, is himself a comics and graphic novel author. He started the organisation as a way to help Syrian refugee children by preserving their cultural heritage. “Specifically, it focuses on traditional Syrian stories,” CYRIC board member Hussein Rashid explained. “It helps the children, and hopefully will aid in making sure some part of Syrian story culture persists.”

Breaking fast and drawing together: The iftar at Ramadan with Hussein Rashid – Religion News Service. The holy month of Ramadan is marked by a well-known 30-day fast from sunup to sundown. When the sun goes down, the fast is traditionally broken with water and three dates. To unpack some deeper meaning behind this rigorous and difficult ritual fast, Beliefs producer Jonathan Woodward sat with Dr. Hussein Rashid, Islamic scholar and educator.