A Divinity School Program Became a Political Liability. In One Semester, Harvard Took It Apart.
The report on combating anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian bias raised concerns about the recent leadership changes within the program, referencing Rashid’s accusations of bias within the University.
How a Harvard initiative studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict collapsed
“Nobody came to our defense,” said Hussein Rashid, the program’s former assistant dean, who resigned from his post in January and left at the end of June. “Our students were fantastic — our administrators were cowards.”
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The next day, Rashid sent his own scathing resignation letter, accusing Harvard of failing to intervene on behalf of the program against what he viewed as months of defamatory attacks.
“My program was being attacked using extremely Islamophobic, anti-Arab language, and the school refused to respond, saying that they couldn’t get into an intra-Harvard fight,” he said.
In the spring of 2024, [Israeli scholar Atalia] Omer was told her contract with Harvard would not be renewed. In January of 2025, Diane L. Moore, then the associate dean of the Religion and Public Life program, was removed from the deanship, months ahead of her planned retirement in July. The next day, Hussein Rashid, Religion and Public Life’s assistant dean, announced he was resigning in a letter that accused Harvard of institutional anti-Muslim bias.
Harvard Dismantled the Program That Changed My Life
Three weeks ago, HDS announced it would “suspend” RCPI amidst budget cuts and accusations of one-sidedness. HDS also let go of Hilary Rantisi, a dedicated teacher, scholar, and mentor — and the only Palestinian American employed at HDS. In January, Diane L. Moore, the Associate Dean of the Religion and Public Life program at HDS — which houses RCPI — abruptly departed a semester before she was set to retire. One day later, RPL Assistant Dean Hussein Rashid announced his resignation, citing Islamophobia and Harvard’s interference in the RPL program.
‘A Campaign of Anti-Palestinian Racism’: HDS Students, Alumni Decry Program Suspension
In January, RPL Associate Dean Diane L. Moore and Assistant Dean for RPL Hussein Rashid departed unexpectedly. In a blistering resignation letter, Rashid accused Harvard of enabling anti-Muslim bias by failing to respond to “racist” and “false” statements against RPL by Harvard affiliates.
Harvard Divinity School Suspends Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative
The RPL program has already seen significant leadership turnover in recent months. Its director, Diane L. Moore, announced her retirement in January, departing a semester earlier than originally planned.
And its assistant director, Hussein Rashid, announced plans to resign at the end of this year in a letter to affiliates that same month, in which he slammed Harvard for failing to respond to criticism of the program.
In this episode, Dr. Hussein Rashid talks about his recently published volume, Islam in North America: An Introduction (Bloomsbury, 2024), which he co-edited with Huma Mohibullah and Vincent Biondo. Hussein discusses his trajectory as a scholar and how beginning his academic career in the post-9/11 world led him to believe in the importance of public-facing and accessible scholarship. The chapters of the book cover a wide range of topics related to Islam in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean and explore themes of race, gender, class, and sexuality, among others. Hussein sheds light on the long and little-known history of Muslims in North America, the changing perception of Muslims in the American imagination, and how Islamophobia/anti-Muslim bias and the racialization of Muslims manifest in the past and present.
Understanding the Aga Khan, leader of Ismaili Muslims
The Aga Khan IV, who headed the Aga Khan Development Network, was often referred to as a philanthropist, a label that he himself called deeply inaccurate. According to broader Shi’ah belief, three interrelated elements are believed to elevate one another: faith, knowledge, and action. To increase in any one area, you must increase in the other areas as well, and together each amplifies the other. Most importantly, faith and knowledge without action is selfish and a denial of God’s blessings.
Both Jay Ulfelder, program director of Harvard Kennedy School’s Nonviolent Action Lab and Hussein Rashid, Assistant Dean of Religion and Public Life at the Harvard Divinity School, submitted resignation letters in January.
Administrators at Harvard Divinity School quit, say school condoned hate
“Since I was a student here decades ago, I have been acutely aware of the anti-Muslim bias (amongst other racisms and discriminatory attitudes that exist here),” Rashid wrote. “That bias has only gotten worse and Harvard is not a space where I choose to spend my time. I have no interest in supporting an institution of white supremacy that actively seeks to harm me and mine.”
Hussein