I'll be responding to my friend and colleague Dr. Khalil Abdur-Rashid on Islam in Society, hosted by The Interfaith Council of The Thanks-Giving Foundation, SMU Perkins School of Theology, and The Dallas Institute.
The event is Oct. 5 at 4PM CST.
Free registration at: https://dallasinstitute.org/faiths
I was asked by the Convention on Founding Principles to join an interfaith invocation. While I do not agree with all the platform points of the group, it was a good opportunity to join other progressives to demonstrate that we can work together, as long as we do not deny each other's humanity.
I'm pleased to announce I'm an advisor on a new project on American Muslim Stories.
I am humbled to be part of an amazing line-up of speakers for the Believers Bail Out Day of Action in Ramadan 2020.
Belief without evidence, that’s faith. It’s the cornerstone of religion. For many, it is a centering force that’s essential for navigating life’s mysteries and challenges. But for others, ever-increasing access to information, science, advanced technology has meant a loss of faith, or at least a reckoning with what it means.
https://www.thegreenespace.org/watch/do-we-still-need-faith-in-the-21st-century/
Today tens of thousands of farmworkers in seven states are harvesting free from slavery, sexual violence, and fear through the Fair Food Program which Harvard Business Review called “among the most important social impact stories of the past century.” Now the program’s model is being translated to supply chains around the world.”
I am a longtime fan of the Imaginary Worlds podcast, and was ecstatic was I was asked to participate in roundtable on the role of faith in imaginary worlds.
I was joined by friend of many years, the Velveteen Rabbi, Rachel Barenblat, who did a wonderful write-up of her experience here.
The episode description is:
Science fiction has not always been compatible with religion — in fact many futuristic settings imagine no religion at all. But sci-fi and fantasy have long fascinated people of different faiths because the genres wrestle with the big questions of life.
You can listen to episode embedded below, or on the podcast page here.
There is a new film on Rikers, called Rikers: An American Jail, and I'm quoted in the interfaith discussion guide.
As a Muslim, when I hear about prison, I think to the Story of Joseph, told in Chapter 12 of the Qur’an: are we punishing difference, rather than actions, and putting the innocent in jail? Do we seek to turn people to repentance, or are we fulfilling our needs for revenge? One of the clear commandments in the Qur’an is to maintain the balance of justice, and to not give into our own desires and call it justice (55:9, 4:135). We are warned that we can easily corrupt society in the name of public good (2:11). The Qur’an seems to be warning us against our prison industrial complex, exemplified by Rikers Island Jail.
On Nov. 6, 2016, the Sunday before Election Day, I was asked to preach at First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn. Below is the audio of the sermon.
Hussein