MSNBC: Faith and Peace Amid a Potential War
Hussein I was recently invited to join a panel on MSNBC with my friends Rabbi Joshua Stanton and Dr. Rev. Jacqui Lewis to talk about religion and peace.
2023
Event: Sacred Door Project – Truth, Justice, and the Spiritual Way
Date: Thursday, October 12th
Time: 6:30 pm (doors open at 6 pm)
Location: Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, Rooms 405/406, NYC 10012
Please join the Islamic Center at NYU on Thursday, October 12th for the kickoff of this year’s Sacred Door Lecture Series: “Truth, Justice, and the Spiritual Way: Exploring Muslim Super-heroism through Imam Ali (as)” with our guest speaker Dr. Hussein Rashid.
In the age of fictional superheroes, this talk will look to an original Muslim superhero, Imam Ali (as). Through an exploration of his actions and discussion of his teachings, we will learn how belief and actions are complementary and necessary aspects of what it means to be Muslim. By realizing this connection to its fullest, Imam Ali defines a Muslim superhero.
Quoted in RNS Story on Daredevil
Marvel’s latest adversary for ‘Daredevil’ exposes its blindness to antisemitic art
Not everyone sees the “Daredevil” images as only antisemitic. “The image also seems to pull on anti-Arab imagery,” said Hussein Rashid, an independent scholar whose focus is religion and comics.
“The use of symbols against an adversary or The Adversary is quite common in comics,” said Rashid, adding that “comics, not just Marvel, are replete with images and storylines that continue to reinforce narratives of marginalization.”
Though he admits that the comics companies are improving on this score, “these tropes need to be pointed out.”
Video: Building Community Through Film
Discover how films can bring people together, spark conversations, and inspire positive change. From exploring the role of documentaries in raising awareness about social issues to discussing the influence of fictional films in shaping our perceptions, this event offers a unique opportunity to delve into the world of community building through cinema. This conversation explores the transformative power of movies!
On Wednesday, September 20th, the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign held a conversation about the power of film as a tool to support community healing, process experiences of violence, and engage new communities in the important ongoing work of building a pluralistic and inclusive country. This conversation featured Pardeep S. Kaleka, co-director of Not in Our Town, Aber Kawas, a community organizer featured in An Act of Worship, and Dr. Hussein Rashid, a professor and scholar of religion specializing in Muslims and American Popular Culture.
Event: Building Community through Film
Join Shoulder to Shoulder on Wednesday, September 20th at 2pmET for a 90-minute conversationabout the power of film as a tool to support community healing, process experiences of violence, and engage new communities in the important ongoing work of building a pluralistic and inclusive country. This conversation will feature Pardeep S. Kaleka co-director of Not in Our Town, Aber Kawas, a community organizer featured in An Act of Worship, and Dr. Hussein Rashid a professor and scholar of religion specializing in Muslims and American Popular Culture. This conversation will equip community leaders with a new and growing list of films and resources they can use in their community conversations and engagement as we explore how films can help change hearts, minds, and actions.
Please register here.
ICNY Video: Diversity in Religious Traditions
I participated in a conversation on diversity of religious traditions at an Interfaith Center of New York teacher session. Below is an excerpt of my longer remarks.
PBS POV Discussion Guide for “An Act of Worship”
The director of the documentary film An Act of Worship, Nausheen Dadabhoy, suggested to that I contribute to the PBS/POV discussion guide for the film. Thankfully it I was able to contribute and you can download the file from here.
Chapter on Ihsan in Pillars Fund Khayal
I’m honored to have contributed a chapter on “Ihsan: Aesthetic Ethics,” in the digital book Khayal, sponsored by the Pillars Fund. From their description:
In January 2020, we assembled a group of brilliant Muslim poets, writers, activists, scholars, historians, and artists to develop a roadmap for telling authentic Muslim stories. And for more than three years, these MNC Fellows were vital thought partners, helping us build our Culture Change program from the ground up.
To honor their contributions to Pillars, we’ve assembled “Khayál: A Multimedia Collection by Muslim Creatives,” a publication co-authored by the brilliant minds of the MNC Fellows.
Visit the link below to page through this digital, multimedia collection and learn about the creative inhale with Zaheer Ali, examine Malcolm X’s letters with Maytha Alhassen, dive into philosophy with Hussein Rashid, explore Su’ad Abdul Khabeer‘s memories of ’90s Brooklyn, go behind the scenes of Omar Offendum’s hip-hopera Little Syria, and experience Asad Ali Jafri’s comic from the future.
We hope this collection inspires you as much as it inspired us.
Cover by Alaa Musa
The full archive can be downloaded from here.
New York City’s religious diversity bucks stereotypes
“You can’t go more than a block without finding a house of worship in New York City, an actively used house of worship,” said Hussein Rashid, a scholar of religion with The New School and Union Theological Seminary.
While accurate and up-to-date data on the state of religious identity in the five boroughs is hard to find, Rashid and other scholars say the city is as spiritually diverse as it’s ever been, even as religious affiliation is declining here in step with the rest of the country.
Source: New York City’s religious diversity bucks stereotypes
University Distinguished Teaching Award 2023
Since 1988, The New School has recognized outstanding teachers with the Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2014, the university established an Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Justice Teaching to recognize members of the faculty who significantly advance social justice through their teaching and research. Listed below are individuals who have been recognized for their outstanding commitment to teaching.
2023 Distinguished University Teaching Awards
- Anjali Khosla, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Design, Eugene Lang College
- Kenneth Millington, Part-Time Assistant Professor, Parsons First Year, Parsons School of Design
- Hussein Rashid, Part-Time Lecturer, Religious Studies, Eugene Lang College
From The New School
