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…
‘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…
Why Peter Kassig was the Islamic State's greatest threat (COMMENTARY) – Religion News Service. With each bloody act, Islamic State militants demonstrate their need for self-importance overrides any moral, ethical, or religious boundary. Peter Kassig’s beheading is a microcosm of all the Islamic State wants, and religion is not high…
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…
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 —- Contingent Faculty Task Force Theme: Contingency in Religious Studies: A Roundtable —- Contemporary Islam Group Theme: Making Muslim American…
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…
ISIS: More Manson Family Than Religious Movement – The Takeaway. Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Hofstra University, argues that extremism appeals to those with mental illness because of their perceived lack of control in their own lives.