Breaking fast and drawing together: The iftar at Ramadan with Hussein Rashid – Religion News Service

Hussein May 28, 2019

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.

For many Muslims, Ramadan is a built-in digital detox program – Religion News Service

Hussein May 15, 2019

For many Muslims, Ramadan is a built-in digital detox program – Religion News Service.

Hussein Rashid, who teaches Islamic studies at The New School, is also trying to cut back on gaming this Ramadan as part of his ongoing pursuit of a more “mindful” use of technology. Back in 2016, Rashid was spending well over an hour on Facebook every day when he decided to log out for the month of Ramadan. 

‘The idea that Facebook promoted a false sense of self was really resonating with me and I started thinking about how Facebook encourages the nafs,” he said, using an Arabic word often used to describe one’s ego or animalistic self. At the end of the month, he realized he was both happier and more productive, engaging in less pointless arguments and idle chatter. The next year, he decided to delete it entirely. 

“For me, part of developing spirituality is being honest with yourself and people you want to connect with,” he said. “Facebook was encouraging my worst attributes, my nafs, my ego, and pushing me to say, ‘Look how great I am. This is what’s happening in my life.’”

Exploring the Intersection of Faith and Environmental Justice with Theologian Hussein Rashid – Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4)

Hussein February 26, 2019

Exploring the Intersection of Faith and Environmental Justice with Theologian Hussein Rashid – Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4).

Theologian Hussein Rashid discusses the challenges and possibilities he sees in environmental justice work today.

With limited involvement from adjuncts, Barnard diversity initiatives fail to reach full potential – Columbia Daily Spectator

Hussein February 14, 2019

With limited involvement from adjuncts, Barnard diversity initiatives fail to reach full potential – Columbia Daily Spectator.

When former Barnard adjunct professor Hussein Rashid, CC ’96, first came to Columbia, he navigated his way through his undergraduate years as a first-generation low-income student with some difficulty. Twenty years later, when he returned as an adjunct professor of religion, he also took on an informal advising role in order to pass on his knowledge to students at Barnard. 

“I’d talk to students about being a student of color when I was in school versus what it’s like now, what it’s like being a Muslim on campus, what it’s like being first generation and being on a lot of financial aid and still being conscious of class, as they themselves try to navigate that space,” Rashid said. 

Rashid is just one of Barnard’s many adjunct faculty members who have been making an active effort to facilitate conversations surrounding diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the classroom.

Muslim Girlhood, Past and Present: A Conversation with Shenila Khoja-Moolji – BLARB

Hussein February 7, 2019

Muslim Girlhood, Past and Present: A Conversation with Shenila Khoja-Moolji – BLARB.

HUSSEIN RASHID: Why did you decide to write a book about Muslim girls and their education? And why Muslim South Asia? SHENILA 

KHOJA-MOOLJI: I had been researching and writing about the convergence on the figure of the girl in international development policy and practice for some time. I noticed that many development campaigns portray girls in the Global South as not only threatened by poverty, disease, and terrorism, but also as holding the potential to resolve these problems.