Hussein

Getting the Motives Right – Foreign Policy Association

Hussein May 26, 2015

My first piece for the Foreign Policy Association blog.

The recent attack against Ismaili Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan, will be read by most as part of a simple narrative of an ongoing Sunni-Shi’ah conflict. Unfortunately, as consistent fear-mongering has demonstrated with Sharia, bandying about non-English words conveys a facade of knowledge without any guarantee of any actual understanding. As is the case with most political violence, here is more to this attack than a simple retelling of a religious clash. There is a deeper history that is masked by using inappropriate vocabulary, and misusing it is allowing the most extreme voices to set the agenda.

Media Appearances

Quoted: Is Cape Town’s women and gay-friendly mosque a sign of new Muslim attitudes?

Hussein May 9, 2015

I was interviewed for PBS Newshour on questions of sexuality and Islam. Interesting situation in South Africa.

Events Inter-faith

Event: McGinley Lecture, April 14 and April 15

Hussein April 7, 2015

It is time for the McGinley Lecture at Fordham. This term, I will be giving a response to the theme of “Poverty: The Curse and The Blessing.”

The event will be Tuesday, April 14 at 6PM at the Lincoln Center campus, and repeated on Wednesday, April 15, at 6PM at the Rose Hill campus.

Details on this event can be found here.

Previous topics I have been a respondent to include:

Usury: A Moral Concern for Jews, Christians and Muslims (Video | text of my response)

Life After Death: Hopes and Fears for Jews, Christians and Muslims (Video | text of my response)cf. my talk at the Chautauqua Institution.

Inter-faith Media Appearances Music

Interview on NPR on Riyaaz Qawwali

Hussein March 22, 2015

I was recently interviewed on NPR about Riyaaz Qawwali, a group out of Austin, TX.

Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Hofstra University, says that many qawwaliartists working in South Asia today have limited themselves. He believes this American group is bringing the music back to its roots.

“You know, I think there’s been so much concern about what is Islam, and what isn’t, politically speaking and artistically speaking,” Rashid says, “that there’s been a push in modern qawwali to actually sanitize it and make it very sterile — and almost rule-bound — rather than ecstatic and devotional. For me, I think what Riyaaz Qawwali is doing is trying to go back to that very exciting, innovative space that qawwali was.”

And so to Rashid, it’s totally logical that such a burst of inspiration would come from deep in the heart of Texas. “In fact,” he says, “it seems natural that we would get a new flourishing of Muslim devotionals in a place like America, where we do have this freedom of religion.”

I previously wrote about the group of OnBeing, in a piece called Qawwalis, Found Sounds, and Benghazi: Locating the Sacred in a New York Church.

Events

Event: Lust in Islam, May 13

Hussein March 15, 2015

I am talking about Lust. As part of a lecture series at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, I’ll be giving a Muslim perspective on love and lust.

The talk will be the sixth in series, and will happen on Wednesday, May 13 from 6-7:30PM.

Details on the series can be found here.

Events

Event: Rubin Museum, April 10

Hussein March 15, 2015

On Friday, April 10, 2015, from 7-8:30PM, I will be discussing a film at the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC.

The film is about conjoined twins in Iran, one of whom is religious, and the other is not.

Please join me. Details can be found here.

Media Appearances

Controversy Swirls Around Oscar-Nominated Film – The Takeaway

Hussein January 28, 2015

Controversy Swirls Around Oscar-Nominated Film – The Takeaway.

Today, a highly acclaimed new film hits theaters across the U.S. It's called "Timbuktu," and it's a French-Mauritanian drama directed by Abderrahmane Sissako.

…

Hussein Rashid is professor of religion at Hofstra University. He joins us to share his thoughts on the film, and the controversy surrounding it.

Media Appearances

Muslims’ mixed response to new Mohammed cover – CNN.com

Hussein January 13, 2015

Muslims’ mixed response to new Mohammed cover – CNN.com.

“My initial thought is that the cover is a near perfect response to the tragedy,” said Hussein Rashid, a professor of Islamic thought at Hofstra University in New York.

“They are not backing down from the depiction of Mohammed, exercising their free speech rights. At the same time, the message is conciliatory, humble, and will hopefully reduce the anger directed to the Muslim communities of France.”

Rashid noted that the cover’s central message — forgiveness — resonates not only throughout Islam but through other world religions as well, embracing all in a spirit of reconciliation.

“The cover is a call to our better angels,” Rashid said, “and an acknowledgment that religion also offers good to the world.”

Inter-faith Video

Marble has a rich history of participating in interfaith activities and one of the highlights is our “Trialogue” under the leadership of Dr. Michael Brown. The focus of the service is a conversation among spiritual leaders of three faiths: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Ask a friend to join you for this unique and memorable worship experience.

With A Mighty Arm And An Outstretched Hand from Marble Collegiate Church on Vimeo.

Media Appearances

Charlie Hebdo: Freedom of Speech, or An Excuse to Bully? – The Takeaway

Hussein January 9, 2015

Charlie Hebdo: Freedom of Speech, or An Excuse to Bully? – The Takeaway.

Europe remains on edge in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack at the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo.

The attack has highlighted deep divisions between French nationals and Muslim immigrants—a community that Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Hofstra University, says has been under fire for years.

"French society has a very hard time integrating its minorities—whether they're Muslim, Jewish, or black," says Rashid. "Nicolas Sarkozy, the former prime minister, during his tenor as interior minister, once called the minorities of Francs scum."