Media Appearances

The Takeaway: How Riots Abroad Affect Muslims at Home

Hussein September 18, 2012

While the filmmakers behind the anti-Islam film, ‘Innocence of Muslims,’ may not have intended to cause protests and violence across the Muslim World, they did clearly intend to perpetuate Islamophobia. And while their film may not have succeeded in directly doing so, it seems as if the subsequent violent protests may be helping them achieve their aim.

So as protests in the Muslim world continue, more Americans may become disillusioned with our involvement in the region. But what does that mean for Muslim Americans, here in the United States?

Answering that question is Hussein Rashid, professor of religion at Hofstra University.

Behind anti-Muslim video ‘Innocence of Muslims:’ what L.A. County knows but isn’t saying | Alaska Dispatch

Hussein September 14, 2012

Behind anti-Muslim video 'Innocence of Muslims:' what L.A. County knows but isn't saying | Alaska Dispatch.

Professor Rashid says the moviemakers’ plan rested, in part, “on everyone being as full of hate as themselves. Fortunately, that's not the way the world actually is.”

Ramadan 2012: A HuffPost Community Observation Of The Islamic Month Of Fasting (LIVEBLOG)

Hussein July 23, 2012

Ramadan 2012: A HuffPost Community Observation Of The Islamic Month Of Fasting (LIVEBLOG).

HuffPost Religion community member Hussein Rashid is tweeting the Qur’an during Ramadan using the hashtag #ttQuran. This beautiful verse about the Virgin Mary shows some of the commonality between Christianity and Islam. You can follow Hussein on Twitter at @Islamoyankee

Pakistan: Neo-Sufi and the American Jugni, Part 2 | Clocktower Gallery & Radio | ARTonAIR.org

Hussein June 19, 2012

Pakistan: Neo-Sufi and the American Jugni, Part 2 | Clocktower Gallery & Radio | ARTonAIR.org.

Part two of Neo-Sufi and the American Jugni focuses on the music of Arooj Aftab and the instrument Arif Lohar always has by his side, the chimta, or “musical fire tongs.” 

On April 28th, 2012, Pakistani musical icon M. Arif Lohar and Pakistani American musician Arooj Aftab brought their passionate blend of traditional Punjabi music, Sufi spiritual poetry and contemporary rock and pop music to Asia Society for the organization’s Creative Voices of Muslim Asia project. Before this outstanding event, David Weinstein had the chance to sit down with the two artists, as well as professor and journalist Hussein Rashid, Aristic Director of Caravanserai Zeyba Rahman and Asia Society’s Director of Performing Arts and Programs Rachel Cooper, to listen to and discuss the myriad of voices Jugni brings to life within Punjabi folk music.

ARTonAir: Neo-Sufi and the American Jugni, Part 1

Hussein June 18, 2012

Pakistan: Neo-Sufi and the American Jugni, Part 1 | Clocktower Gallery & Radio | ARTonAIR.org.

On April 28th, 2012, Pakistani musical icon M. Arif Lohar and Pakistani American musician Arooj Aftab brought their passionate blend of traditional Punjabi music, Sufi spiritual poetry and contemporary rock and pop music to Asia Society for the organization's Creative Voices of Muslim Asia project. Before this outstanding event, David Weinstein had the chance to sit down with the two artists, as well as professor and journalist Hussein Rashid, Aristic Director of Caravanserai Zeyba Rahman and Asia Society's Director of Performing Arts and Programs Rachel Cooper, to listen to and discuss the myriad of voices Jugni brings to life within Punjabi folk music.

Odyssey Network: Interviews on Muslims

Hussein June 15, 2012

I did two interviews for Odyssey Network’s Faith in Perspective. One on Muslims in America and one on Muslim Misperceptions. Both are embedded below.

What Does Islamic Music Have to do With Blues, Jazz, and Surf Rock?

Hussein April 27, 2012

What Does Islamic Music Have to do With Blues, Jazz, and Surf Rock? More Than You Think. | FrontRow.

What do Bruce Springsteen, Mahalia Jackson, and John Coltrane all have in common? Well according to Dr. Hussein Rashid of Hofstra University  each bear witness to the Islamic Contribution to American Music. This was the title of his lecture at my law school alma mater, Southern Methodist University.

Quoted: Patheos: American Muslims and the NYPD Trust Deficit

Hussein February 29, 2012

American Muslims and the NYPD Trust Deficit.

Do you feel comfortable living your life as a Muslim in America?
 

I do. I am firm enough in my faith and happy enough to be an American that I know what the NYPD is doing is wrong. They will not take my faith in either God or country. The NYPD may not believe in the constitution, the bill of rights, or civil liberties, but that doesn’t mean they are right.

Quoted HuffPo: NYPD Muslim Surveillance Lampooned On Twitter With #myNYPDfile

Hussein February 22, 2012

NYPD Muslim Surveillance Lampooned On Twitter With #myNYPDfile.

Others took to Twitter, turning their frustration at the NYPD into humor

Guest on The Takeaway: Anti-Muslim Rhetoric in the 2012 Primary – The Takeaway

Hussein January 24, 2012

Anti-Muslim Rhetoric in the 2012 Primary – The Takeaway.

While political mud-slinging is de riguer in primary races, 2012 has brought several not-so-thinly-veiled anti-Muslim soundbytes from its frontrunning candidates. Last week, Newt Gingrich said that he would not support a Muslim president unless they would “commit in public to giv[ing] up Sharia.” Rick Santorum also expressed his thoughts on Islam, saying that the concept of equality “doesn’t come from Islam” or “Eastern Religions.” Instead, he said, “it comes from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”