2014

Music Presentation – Ismaili Institutions for Canada

Ismaili Institutions for Canada.

Dr. Rashid’s presentation entitled “Sounding Off: Making National Narratives through Music” focused on how Muslims integrate different musical expressions to alter national narratives and normalize the presence of Muslims in North America. Dr. Rashid looked at musical genres from hip-hop to qawwali, including the practice of silence. The talk also touched on transnational flows, mixing of traditions, and Muslims ignorance of their own traditions. The question-and-answer revolved around two themes: valuing the human being and the race to cultural amnesia that Muslims are participating in.

‘Serial’ whodunit shows how perceptions of Muslims have changed (COMMENTARY) – Religion News Service

‘Serial’ whodunit shows how perceptions of Muslims have changed (COMMENTARY) – Religion News Service.

The podcast “Serial” is an addictive radio documentary that revolves around a real-life whodunit: the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and the conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for the crime.
It also illustrates how our thinking about Muslims has changed.

The delicate politics of school holidays (COMMENTARY) – Religion News Service

The delicate politics of school holidays (COMMENTARY) – Religion News Service.

Changing school calendars is a politically difficult maneuver because it makes statements about community identity. Our initial school calendar was determined by a mix of agricultural schedules and dominant religious thought. The result: summers off to work the land, and the end of December off to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Despite changing economies and demographics, we hold on to this system because it tells a story of who we are as a nation.

AAR 2014 Schedule

My appearances at the American Academy of Religion 2014.

THATCamp

Organizing Committee

Social Science Research Council

Theme: New Media, New Audiences: Making the Study of Religion Online

Respondent

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Contingent Faculty Task Force

Theme: Contingency in Religious Studies: A Roundtable

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Contemporary Islam Group

Theme: Making Muslim American Musics 

Consuming Qawwali: Hollywood and Muslim Devotionals

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Moral Injury and Recovery in Religion, Society, and Culture Group

Theme: Extending Moral Injury: Examining Moral Injury as an Interdisciplinary Resource for Scholars and Practitioners 

Where Am I From?: Bullying, The Immigrant Muslim Experience, and Moral Injury

Council on Foreign Relations

Theme: Sectarian Conflict in the Middle East

Moderating

The Islamophobia Of Media Analysis In ‘Lone Wolf’ Shootings

The Islamophobia Of Media Analysis In ‘Lone Wolf’ Shootings.

The recent attacks on military and law enforcement personnel in Canada and the U.S. raises the specter of “lone wolf” terrorist attacks, making Muslims suspect. Such thinking is superficial and reactionary. In the age of modern Islamophobia, it is a situation of owning a hammer and thinking everything is a nail. Looking at so-called “lone wolf” attacks in more detail and in a larger context reveals disconcerting issues in mental health care and media representations of Islam.

State of Formation – Every Land is #Ferguson

State of Formation – Every Land is #Ferguson.

There is a power in raising our hands for Ferguson. We do not raise our hands like the Illuminati or a Rockefella [sicknowledge]; we do not raise our hands to act out an NWA lyric; we do not even raise our hands in an “Allah Akbar.” Instead, we raise our hands in surrender. Our submission is to the police. The power in raising our hands is with the police. It’s not an act of agency, but a recognition of the value(lessness) of brown and black bodies. This submission to authoritarianism should concern us.

State of Formation – The World is on Fire, so I rode The Ark

State of Formation – The World is on Fire, so I rode The Ark.

On Sunday, September 21, I was blessed to be asked to join The Ark, organized by Auburn Seminary and Groundswell (with help from lots of named and unnamed supporters) for the People's Climate March. The New York Times found it an “odd juxtaposition," that so many faith groups were next to one another, missing the point that we all share one planet. More importantly, the NYT is in the business of showing us in conflict, not the billions of ways we get along with one another because of all the things we have in common. 

 Like so many others on Green Faith Street, I marched because it is a moral imperative. Although I could easily point to the Quran and show how defiling and wasting water are potentially the greatest sins in the tradition, I want to move immediately to a broader discussion. The ethics of caring for God's creation is a means of being God conscious.