Scoot Over Podcast: History, a reckoning

I joined Nikki Sanchez on the Scoot Over Podcast, hosted by Aymann Ismail, to talk about the uses of history.

The official description is:

History is written by the victors is a famous phrase, but rarely do we dig into what it actually means and its consequences for how we understand who we are. Aymann speaks with two academics who are teaching the rest of us to resist the neat and convenient historical narratives we learned in school .

Hussein Rashid, PhD, is a freelance academic based in New York City, on the land of the Lenape people. His work focuses on religion in US popular culture, and Shi’i theologies of justice. He was the lead content consultant for the Children’s Museum of Manhattan’s exhibitAmerica to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far, an executive producer on the New York Times op-docSecret History of Muslims in the US, and is an executive producer on the documentary projectAmerican Muslims: A History Revealed.

Nikki Sanchez is a Pipil and Irish/Scottish academic, Indigenous media maker, and environmental educator.  Her TEDx presentation is entitled “Decolonization is for Everyone”, and she is the creator and director of "Decolonize Together", a collective of Indigenous and Black women who offer decolonial and inclusivity workshops and curriculum creation. In May of 2020, Nikki's first book, an anthology of the Salish Sea Resident Orca whales was released by the Royal BC Museum publisher, it has remained on the BC bestsellers list ever since.

And the audio is here:

And they made me this lovely cartoon:


Ep3 - HUSSEIN RASHID

 

‘Marvel’s Voices’: Hussein Rashid Discovers Layers of Identity Through ‘Ms. Marvel’ Comics | Marvel

‘Marvel’s Voices’: Hussein Rashid Discovers Layers of Identity Through ‘Ms. Marvel’ Comics | Marvel.

In the context of the US population, I am a statistic. I fill a whole bunch of categories if you want to play human bingo. My parents migrated from Tanzania, in East Africa, and I’m ethnically South Asian. I get to be even more specific, because I’m an Isma’ili Shi’ah Muslim. That means I’m a religious minority, in a religious minority, in a religious minority. 

Born in Manhattan, and growing up in Queens, New York, I wasn’t different. Everyone was different to everyone else. That was the norm. Then we moved to Long Island, and it was a different beast. Suddenly, my status as a “statistic” was glaring. In our new home, you needed to fit into categories, and people didn’t know or understand my categories. Thankfully, I found my escape in the world of speculative fiction that comics offered me.  When I first picked up comics in the 80s, I wasn’t thinking about representation. I was more focused on learning how to be like the Super Heroes I loved, different. Like most folks then, looking for something similar, I found the X-Men. Cyclops is still my man, and the fact that Jay Edidin recently made him canonically neuroatypical makes him even more dear to me, especially as someone who was diagnosed with ADD as an adult.

The Prophet’s Heir | Asia Society

The Prophet’s Heir | Asia Society.

Ali ibn Abi Talib is arguably is one of the most important spiritual and intellectual authority in Islam after prophet Mohammad. Through his teachings and leadership as fourth caliph, Ali nourished Islam; but Muslims are divided on whether he was supposed to be Mohammad’s political successor, and he continues to be a polarizing figure in Islamic history.
Hassan Abbas provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of this towering yet divisive figure and the origins of sectarian division within Islam. Abbas reveals how Ali assumed the spiritual mantle of Islam to spearhead the movement that the prophet had led. While Ali’s teachings about wisdom, justice, and selflessness continue to be cherished by both Shia and Sunni Muslims, his pluralist ideas have been buried under sectarian agendas and power politics. Today, Abbas argues, Ali’s legacy and message stands against that of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Taliban.

Panelist on May 19th and Muslim art and history

The Building Bridges project invites you to virtual workshop dialogues about cities, architecture, and contemporary life in Muslim communities. Expert panelists will offer their insights about these topics from global and local Texas frames, including the Aga Khan Trust for Culture initiativesLearn more about the panelists and this partnership between the Aga Khan Council for the Central US and The University of Texas at Arlington on the project website here.

Panelists will be engaging with workshop participants dedicated to developing short documentary film episodes relevant to these conversations. The Building Bridges project organizers will select 4 short film pitches offered by these workshops participants to fund! After production this summer, the film series will air on Ismaili TV in the fall of 2021. By joining these dialogues, you can learn more about these important topics and get a “behind-the-scenes” look into the film series.

 

We invite you to REGISTER using this form to gain access to zoom links for the workshop dialogues. Registration ensures that you will receive subsequent communications and links to the virtual events. As a member of the audience, you can attend any or all dialogues as you wish and your availability allows. PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR NETWORKS!

Workshop Schedule

Mon, May 17 from 7-8:30pm CST on Zoom
Dialogue 1: What is Building Bridges and what is the Aga Khan Trust for Culture?

Panelists: Raj Isar with UTA Faculty Dr. Leah McCurdy and Dr. Douglas Klahr.

Wed, May 19 from 7-9pm CST on Zoom
Dialogue 2: Why is the history of Muslim civilizations and culture significant and why should we preserve historic cities and buildings?

Panelists: Dr. Hussein Rashid and Raj Isar.

Fri, May 21 from 7-9pm CST on Zoom
Dialogue 3: How can architectural conservation impact global Muslim communities and local communities of Texas?

Panelists: Samia Rab Kirchner, David Preziosi, John Brown, and Nancy McCoy.

Mon, May 24 from 7-9pm CST on Zoom
Dialogue 4: How can contemporary architecture and urban spaces impact local communities in Muslim communities around the world?

Panelists: Khalil Pirani, Saif Ul Haque, and Andre Tchelistcheff.

Wed, May 26 from 7-8pm CST on Zoom
Dialogue 5: How can contemporary architecture and urban spaces impact local communities and address needs in the US and Texas? 
Panelists: Zamila Karimi and Lizzie MacWillie

We look forward to zooming with you!

Please contact Leah McCurdy at leah.mccurdy@uta.edu if you have questions about programming, networks to share the invitation with, or have technical difficulties with the registration form or website.