2013

Should You Social Media Fast During Ramadan?

Hussein July 15, 2013

Should You Social Media Fast During Ramadan?.

Islamic scholar Hussein Rashid, on the other hand, has been going the exact opposite route when it comes to the holy month and social media since 2009. Over the last three Ramadans, Rashid estimated that he has tweeted between 35 and 40 percent of the Quran to his 3,000 followers. 

"I can definitely see the argument that you want to abstain from things that engage you too much, that are a distraction from your spiritual life," Rashid said. "I guess my approach is that these are things that are part of my daily life so how do I make them part of my spiritual life?"

National Security and the Muslim World – The Takeaway

Hussein May 24, 2013

National Security and the Muslim World – The Takeaway.

Hussein Rashid is a Professor of Religion at Hofstra University and he recently returned from Pakistan, where the locals talked with him openly about how the U.S. security efforts affect them.

CNN Piece: What Tsarnaev gets wrong about Islam

Hussein May 20, 2013

My Take: What Tsarnaev gets wrong about Islam – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bomb suspects, reportedly wrote that “an attack against one Muslim is an attack against all” on the wall of the boat in which he was hiding from police last month. Variations of this refrain seem to be common among angry young Muslim men, especially those who are attracted to violence. However, such a view ignores history, religious thinking and contemporary reality. It should be seen as a crass advertising slogan rather than a declaration of belief.

CNN Op-Ed on Boston Bombings

Hussein April 30, 2013

Opinion: After 9/11, reaction to Muslim Americans more nuanced

However, whatever we learn about them does not tell us why they did what they did – only parts of who they are. It is easy, in the initial aftermath of the bombings, to make careless associations between identity and motive, similar to post 9/11 reaction.

But this time, there is a change in rhetoric of how  potential suspects are identified, particularly if they are Muslim. It is because of this change we are learning to move past paralyzing fear and maturing in how we think of what it means to be American.

On the Importance of Desmond Tutu’s Templeton Prize | Odyssey Networks

Hussein April 5, 2013

Hussein Rashid on the Importance of Desmond Tutu's Templeton Prize | Odyssey Networks.

Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town who fought against apartheid in South Africa, was named the 2013 Templeton Prize winner Thursday. What Tutu shows is that theology is not divorced from the world, says Hussein Rashid, an associate editor at Religion Dispatches. Religion can help us understand the world and engage with modernity. "We can start exploring ways in which theology, study of religion and activism are all interrelated and interconnected in order to build healthy and more resilient communities," Rashid said. The Templeton Prize comes with a $1.7 million award, is given annually by the John Templeton Foundation.

Take the State out of Marriage | Odyssey Networks

Hussein March 27, 2013

Hussein Rashid: Take the State out of Marriage | Odyssey Networks.

As the Supreme Court considers two cases on gay marriage this week, arguments on both sides of the issue are heating up. Perhaps it’s worth reconsidering whether the state should be involved in the institution of marriage to begin with, says Hussein Rashid, an associate editor at Religion Dispatches. “The state should not be involved in matters of religious duties and obligations,” he says.

Quoted: HuffPo: Junaid Jahangir: Why All Muslims Are Talking About Queer Sexuality

Hussein March 14, 2013

Junaid Jahangir: Why All Muslims Are Talking About Queer Sexuality.

In February, U.K. based Muslim MP Sadiq Khan received death threats for voting in favour of same-sex marriage. Ignoring Muslim voices that condemned these threats, many commenters generalized and stereotyped the entire Muslim community.

Quoted: Patheos: ‘Mapping Muslims’ – New Report Reveals Devestating Effects NYPD Surveillance has on Muslim Community

Hussein March 14, 2013

‘Mapping Muslims’ – New Report Reveals Devestating Effects NYPD Surveillance has on Muslim Community.

By the end of last February, after Patheos first covered the breakdown of trust between the NYPD and the area Muslim community, the trust deficit grew even deeper when a series of ongoing articles from the Associated Press exposed wide-reaching domestic surveillance programs set up for the NYPD by the CIA. The last straw came with the report that the NYPD had been conducting secret surveillance on Muslim Student Associations at 16 colleges across New York and northeastern United States.  Click here to see how several NY-area academics, activists and students reacted to the news.

Hussein Rashid on the High Price of Islamophobia | Odyssey Networks

Hussein March 5, 2013

Hussein Rashid on the High Price of Islamophobia | Odyssey Networks.

Islamophobia is alive in America, and Hussein Rashid sees it playing out among Sikhs, often mistaken for Muslims. In the most recent example, a member of her own party mistook a Californian GOP candidate, who is Sikh, for being a Muslim. “The reality is that Islamophobia has very real consequences and more and more victims of Islamophobia and Islamophobic rhetoric tend to be non-Muslims,” Rashid said.