Launching "Islam Today"

Waging the intellectual Jihad of the Pen for justice and humanity against violence, disinformation, hate, and fear

Let me start with a short story.

The first letter to the editor I ever published was shortly after 9/11. It was a piece calling out anti-Muslim and Islamophobic bigotry sweeping the nation in the wake of the Afghan war, the impending invasion of Iraq, and the so-called Patriot Act (used to target and discriminate against Americans who were Muslim). I was heart-warmed by the response. Readers sent me notes of appreciation and gratitude because the short letter helped them better understand Islam and Muslims, and recognize that our enemy wasn’t a faith or 1.6B people, but that our enemy was disinformation and fear.

I understood first hand the true power of the Jihad of the Pen for justice and humanity, against violence, disinformation, hate, and fear.

So I decided, I could not stop my advocacy there.

Building the platform

I built on that experience and fostered a small online platform on YouTube, then Facebook, then Twitter, to continue to counter hateful disinformation. And that once modest platform is now literally millions of followers committed to universal human rights for people of all faiths and no faith, economic, social, and climate justice, and yes, dad jokes. (You’ll know if I write a dad joke because it will be apparent).

I addressed the “Obama is a Muslim” conspiracies in 2010, debunked the “creeping Shariah” movement in 2011 and 2012, condemned the proposed Muslim ban in 2015, the actual Muslim ban in 2017, dismantled Daesh (ISIS) and Taliban extremism throughout, rebuked hijab bans and attacks on Sikhs and Hindus perceived to be Muslim, advocated against antisemitism, and for the rights of atheists to not believe—and more. I hosted a podcast on Islamic history that garnered more than 100,000 downloads, testified before the US Commission on International Religious freedom on the persecution of faith minorities in Muslim majority nations, spoke directly to then U.S. Religious Freedom Ambassador at Large at a public forum to stop bombing Yemen, and traveled to the UAE on an international peace conference to champion universal religious freedom globally.

Expanding advocacy

And as I expanded my platform to discuss more than the singular topic of Islam, I’ve proudly marched in movements to combat fascism, stood on picket lines to combat economic injustice, launched campaigns for U.S. Congress, raised money for dozens of people funded candidates, and built my legal practice as a human rights lawyer.

But throughout, one of the most common requests I’ve received is to revive my writing and scholarship on Islam, Islamic history, Prophet Muhammad (sa), American Muslims, the Muslim world today—and how all of it ties into modern day United States of America. And as we see the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the ongoing devastation of women’s rights in Afghanistan, the war consuming Sudan, and the war drums beating to invade Iran, I feel now is as critical a time as any to revive my roots once more with the intellectual Jihad of the Pen against injustice.

Reviving roots

To be sure, I will continue to write and report on critical human rights issues on a daily basis on Let’s Address This with Qasim Rashid. This new project, Islam Today, is not in replacement of Let’s Address This—it is in addition to Let’s Address This.

Truth be told, I’m deeply passionate about these topics, and hold a sincere desire to continue to write about them. And unlike 23 years ago when I had an obscure email address with no one paying attention to my work, I am now privileged to have a robust and growing platform that reaches hundreds of millions of readers annually. I recognize this honor, and this opportunity to combat the immense amounts of disinformation disseminated today. And so, I find a calling to in invest in education and resources to build bridges of understanding, dialogue, and interfaith unity and harmony—between Muslims and non-Muslims (including nonbelievers) alike.

So here’s my ask of you.

Join our Jihad of the Pen for Justice

The word Jihad means to struggle. I ask you to join our intellectual Jihad of the Pen for justice, our intellectual struggle for justice.

Subscribe as a free or paid subscriber. As always, none of my content will sit behind a paywall. It seems counter-intuitive for a writer to admit this, but on this platform, readers receive no special benefits for being a paid subscriber. And likewise, readers suffer no restriction for being a free subscriber. Because I don’t believe in requiring payment for access to education. Instead, I want readers to subscribe at the level they are comfortable—without any compulsion whatsoever. To those who are able to support this effort as a paid subscriber, I offer to you my immense gratitude for helping fuel this mission. To everyone who reads and shares my writing in general, I offer my immense appreciation to you for your trust and partnership.

You can expect 2-3 pieces per week, regular dialogues with people of different faiths (and no faith), and the fact-based verifiable content you already know me for. We might even revive that podcast on Islamic history I mentioned.

And, yes there will be dad jokes. (My cat was born in a mosque—he’s a Meowslim).

Closing Note

I often reflect that the first word of the Qur’an ever revealed to Islam’s Founder Prophet Muhammad (sa) was iqra, which means “to read” or “to recite.” This is particularly significant because the Prophet Muhammad (sa) himself was unlettered—he could neither read nor write.

I see iqra as a call to action that drives every bit of what I do in how I respond to the challenges we face—read, recite, educate, understand, improve, and then get to work.

So I invite you to subscribe to Islam Today as a reader committed to justice. Subscribe to increase your education. To combat disinformation. To advance your insights of Muslims and Islam. To acquire the tools to combat hate. To be a human who is more and better informed on a faith that more than 1.6 billion people globally adhere to. To know that when certain western politicians declare, “I think Islam hates us,” it’s a cruel ploy to dehumanize and divide us—a ploy we must stand firmly against.

But most of all, I invite you to subscribe because at the end of the day, I’m still at heart that idealistic 19 year old kid doing my best, writing one letter at a time, to create a more just and compassionate world for my family and yours. Thank you for your trust.

Now let’s get to work, and wage that intellectual Jihad of the Pen—together.

With peace,

Qasim

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