Is Political Islam a Threat to the West?
As Hussein Rashid, a PhD candidate in Harvard University’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, remarked, “One thing to keep in mind is that ‘Islam doesn’t speak, Muslims do.’ It is Muslims who define what Islam says and does, within broad parameters. The new generation is engaged, informed, and articulate. It scares the Islamists, because [the new generation] won’t fall for the ideologues.”
Is Political Islam a Threat to the West?
“One thing to keep in mind is that ‘Islam doesn’t speak, Muslims do.’ It is Muslims who define what Islam says and does, within broad parameters. The new generation is engaged, informed, and articulate. It scares the Islamists, because [the new generation] won’t fall for the ideologues.”
I am an American, a Muslim, an academic, a believer. I believe the only way to learn is to teach. As a speaker and writer I hope to work with you and your community.
The Center for Religious Inquiry is always a great way to hear current lectures on religion.
This is a representative list of talks, and is not meant to be exhaustive. I hope it gives you some sense of the type of material I cover.
June 4, 2009
CNN Newshour with Kyra Phillps
Reactions to Pres. Obama’s Cairo Speech
May 7, 2009
The Daily Dish
American Muslims And Torture
April 22, 2009
HuffPo
Why No Muslim Response to Torture?
March 12, 2009
Change the Story
A Response to Fareed Zakaria
January 25, 2009
HuffPo
Is Political Islam a Threat to the West?
January 24, 2009
AltMuslim
Is Political Islam a Threat to the West?
Feb. 2, 2009 (from Sept. 25, 2008)
Highlights from a panel I was on in Sept. 2008 on “Muslims in the Media,” part of a series called “The Cost of War.” The full audio of the panel is available on this page.
Jan. 8, 2009
UN Press Conference
Nov. 8, 2008
The Journal News (New York)
Hussein is not a Slur
Sep. 11, 2008
Russia Today (New York)
Jul. 17, 2008
Shariah TV (UK)
Muslims and the 2008 Presidential Election
May 30, 2008
HuffPo
Swiftboating Obama: Renowned Muslim Scholar Couldn’t Publish Apostasy Response
May 2008
Iqra TV (Saudi Arabia)
Young Muslim Leaders in Cairo
Sept. 30, 2007
CBS Evening News
Talking about the intersection of religion and politics.
Oct. 25, 2006
Oxford University Press Blog
Ingrid Mattson named Head of ISNA
Aug. 13, 2006
State of Belief – Air America Radio
July 2006
New Jersey Jewish News
Rather than maintain multiple sites with my résumé, I have decided to simply keep my LinkedIn account current, and ask visitors to go there.
Hussein Rashid, PhD, is founder of islamicate, L3C, a consultancy focusing on religious literacy and cultural competency.
He works with a variety of NGOs, foundations, non-profits, and governmental agency for content expertise on religion broadly, with a specialization on Islam. His work includes exploring theology, the interaction between culture and religion, and the role of the arts in conflict mediation.
Academia
Hussein has a BA in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University, a Masters in Theological Studies focusing on Islam, and an MA and PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, focusing on South and Central Asia from Harvard University.
His research focuses on Muslims and American popular culture. He writes and speaks about music, comics, movies, and the blogistan.
He has published academic works on Muslims and American Popular Culture, Malcolm X, qawwali, intra-Muslim racism, teaching Shi’ism, Islam and comics, free speech, Sikhs and Islamophobia, Muslims in film, American Muslim spaces of worship, and the role of technology in teaching religion. He recently finished co-editing a book on Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. He is currently co-editing a volume on Islam and Popular Culture, and another volume on Islam in North America. He is also co-authoring a cultural history of Muslims in America.
He is a freelance academic and has taught at Hofstra University, Fordham University, Iona College, Virginia Theological Seminary, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, SUNY Old Westbury, Barnard College, Columbia University, and The New School.
Hussein is on the editorial board of book series Religion and Comics at Claremont Press and is a Cultural Co-Editor for CrossCurrents. He was on the editorial boards of Religion Dispatches, The Islamic Monthly, and Cyber Orient, in addition to being an emeritus scholar at State of Formation.
Community
He is a fellow with The Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship, the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, and the Truman National Security Project. He was a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, and a term member on the Council of Foreign Relations. He is also a member of the Guild of Future Architects and a Dūcō Expert.
He is on the advisory boards of The Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (Building Bridges Program), Sacred Matters, Anikaya Dance Theater, the Tanenbaum Center, Values and Voices, Rivrb, and Abe’s Eats. He served on the advisory boards of Deily, Project Interfaith, Everplans, Vennly, the British Council’s Our Shared Future Program, Intersections International, and Al-Rawiya.
Media
Hussein appears on mainstream media, including CNN, Channel 4 (UK), Al-Jazeera America, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and has published at On Faith (Washington Post), Belief Blog (CNN), On Being (NPR), The Revealer, and as a contributor to Religion News Service.
Projects
His current projects include an independent film on wrongful terrorism arrests, a documentary on Muslims in America, and a museum project on religion and jazz. He worked with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan as a content expert on their exhibit “America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far.”
He is also an executive producer on the award-winning animated short “The Secret History of Muslims in America.”
Recalling the 2006 Copenhagen conference, Mr. Rashid noted the diversity of the participants: “You had various Sunni Muslims, various Shia Muslims — progressive, conservative, liberal, reactionary, if you will — but all coming together at the same table to talk about how we can make the world a better place. And I am really looking forward to continuing those conversations at this conference now.”
Hussein