Hussein Rashid - clippings.me

Hussein Rashid's portfolio

What Tsarnaev gets wrong about Islam

CNN Belief Blog 05/16/2013

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bomb suspects, reportedly wrote that “an attack against one Muslim is an attack against all” on the wall of the boat in which he was hiding from police last month. Variations of...
After 9/11, reaction to Muslim Americans more nuanced

CNN In America Blog 04/24/2013

However, whatever we learn about them does not tell us why they did what they did – only parts of who they are. It is easy, in the initial aftermath of the bombings, to make careless associations between identity and motive,...
I’d Rather Go Back to Yemen than Face NYPD

Religion Dispatches 03/11/2013

A coalition of civil rights organizations just released “Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and its Impact on American Muslims” which pulls together what we know of the NYPD surveillance of Muslim communities throughout the...
A Gay Mosque?

Huffington Post 01/17/2013

In the American Muslim community, a separate masjid seems to limit possibilities of what the community could become.
Islamophobia is Real, Mr. Mayor—A New York City Muslim Explains

Religion Dispatches 01/17/2013

I want to offer a reflection of what a New York Muslim sees and hears as Islamophobia becomes so normalized that it becomes an institution.
An Honest Man

Love, Inshallah 06/07/2012

honesty is hard, and no matter how much we practice it – and it is something we practice, because it’s not natural for us – it’s still a radical thing.
Remembering the Heroism and Ethic of Hazrat Ali (a.s.) in the Persian New Year

Simerg 03/20/2012

The first dot of the Qur’an, the meaning of the Qur’an, the beginning of the line of Imams, Hazrat Ali (a.s.). Who is the king of men? Who is the Lion of God? Who is the hero without peer? Who is Hazrat Ali?
An Introduction to Ashura

City of Brass 12/29/08

It is arguably the death of the Prophet that crystallizes Shi’ah identity, not the death of his grandson.
Reading the Qur’an in a Muslim way

AltMuslimah 3/8/09

All religious texts are open to interpretation and new readings. Our understanding of the text is not bound to a moment, nor is it fixed. It is dynamic and not in English.
Re: The ambivalence of a toothbrush

AltMuslimah 3/19/09

My friend Mona Sheikh writes about verse 4:34 in a way that is complementary to my approach to the text.
A distressing statement from NOW-NY

AltMuslimah 3/22/09

The comments by the National Organization for Women-New York regarding the Aasiya Zubair case unfortunately perpetuate the erroneous claim that domestic violence is religiously sanctioned by Islam. Thankfully, other womens...
A male response to Zeba

AltMuslimah 4/9/09

Recently, Zeba Iqbal wrote a series of articles concerning the state of gender relations in the Muslim-American community. Although she focused on matrimony for over-30 women, I think she highlights a much larger issue of what...
What is Shi'ism?

City of Brass 4/19/09

In this post I want to give a brief outline of Shi’ah understandings of authority. Rather than cover the issues in great detail, I want to summarize some of the key issues and point to references that people who are interested...
The cudgel of faith

AltMuslimah 7/14/09

What do Sarkozy and Mullah Muhammad Omar have in common? A penis!
Revealing Ramadan

On Being 09/15/2009

Recently on Twitter, someone asked, "What is the first thing you do in the morning?" An odd question, but I thought so interesting. I cannot answer the question in the 140 characters that Twitter demands. That first waking...
Pope's moral authority for peace

CNN.com 05/11/2009

Pope Benedict XVI's moral authority can help foster peace
Music and Islam

Muslim Voices 7/15/09

The religious arts of the Muslim world manifest particular cultural characteristics and a sense of unity across cultures. The devotional music of Nigeria and Pakistan, for example, have a recognizable relationship, but are also...
Qawwali and the Art of Devotional Singing

Muslim Voices 7/15/09

Qawwali is a musical form associated with the sama’, spiritual concert, of the Chishti Sufi Order. In its religious context it functions as a way to bring members of the order into a trance-like state that makes them more aware...
Muslim Voices in America: The Making of a Modern Music Scene

Muslim Voices 7/15/09

Current research suggests that the expression of West African music, influenced by the Arabic basis of Islamic liturgy, has a deep and abiding impact on American musical culture.
God in 100 Words

Patheos 3/17/10

God is Light. Light upon Light (Quran 24:35)
The Mind of Yazid, the Faith of Hussein

Simerg 4/7/10

What possesses Yazid to kill the Prophet’s favorite grandson after torturing the Prophet’s family?
Those Wild Fes Sufi Nights Are Calling

On Being 9/30/10

Some people had Elvis. Others had The Beatles. My dream concert is the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. With a rotating list of performers, it does not matter who was there, but the idea of the festival is what counts.
Muslim Blogger Hussein Rashid on “God Is Not One”

Patheos 10/19/10

The idea that religions do not, in their essence, mean anything is fairly troubling.
Peter King's Muslim hearings: more questions than answers

Washington Post: On Faith 3/10/11

Approximately half-way through the King hearings today, I am struck by how nebulous the purpose of the hearings are. I am unclear as to why Rep. King has called them, and what goals they will serve. The congressional panel...
Who is Ali (as), the universal hero of Islam?

City of Brass 8/18/11

Thinking about the beginning of Ramadan. Thinking about the beginning of the Qur’an. Thinking about the line of Imams.
My Name is islamoyankee

My Name Is 08/18/2011

My name is islamoyankee. I grew up in an age where you had three letters to put your name in electronic gadgets. I used to be “WIZ.” I wasn’t trying to hide who I was or be duplicitous. It’s the way the machines made us name...
Islam meets reality TV

Washington Post: On Faith 11/11/11

Almost a year ago, CBS anchor Katie Couric suggested that Muslim-Americans needed their own “Cosby Show,” to help improve the image of the community in the US. It’s obvious that if you want to reach a large number of Americans,...
The Power of Pop Culture

Our Shared Future Blog 11/22/11

However, I am more interested in what artistic creation can tell us about how Muslims see themselves in the US or the UK. For me, the key issue is one of crafting a national narrative. That narrative is shaped and reflected...
What's so Threatening about All-American Muslim?

Our Shared Future Blog 12/13/11

In a recent blog entry, I wrote about the power of popular culture in changing common discourse. A recent controversy around the US-based reality series, All-American Muslim, seems to strengthen my basic premise and show that...