Qasim Rashid

Qasim Rashid (born July 21, 1982) is an author, human rights activist and attorney. He previously served as the national spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA. He is the author of several books including The Wrong Kind of Muslim and Talk To Me. He is a Democratic Party activist, and in 2019 he unsuccessfully ran for the Virginia State Senate.

Rashid was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 1982. His father was an Ahmadiyya missionary. In 1987, he moved with his family to the United States, where they lived in Washington, D.C., and Chicago. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois.

Rashid is an attorney who received his J.D. degree from the University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law. He served as Executive Editor of The Richmond Journal of Global Law and Business.

March on Washington

In October 2010, Rashid rallied a group of Muslim youth to march on Washington, raising slogans of "Love for all, hatred for none" as a part of the "Muslims for Peace" campaign. In August of the same year, the New York Times ran a feature story on Rashid, covering his outreach efforts in the American Midwest.

Public Outreach

Rashid has written for numerous outlets including Time Magazine, NPR and The Independent. His essay I believe in love for all, hatred for none was featured on NPR's This I Believe. As a freelance author he has written on Donald Trump's so-called "Muslim ban" and other current affairs such as the 2019 Christchurch shooting and the subsequent debate on gun control. Rashid has testified before the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Controversy

Rashid is a critic of certain clerics in the Muslim world. His Huffington Post article has been criticized online on the popular Muftisays.com forum.

Muslim charity Islamic Relief cancelled a planned Twitter chat to be held with Rashid after extremists threatened a Twitter storm of the event and a boycott of Islamic Relief should it go ahead.

During an interview, Rashid responded by saying "I never said I speak for others. According to me, I do represent mainstream Islam. But mainstream Islam does not accept me. I represent the Ahmadiyya interpretation of Islam to the best of my ability."

Rashid has authored three books, The Wrong Kind of Muslim, Extremist: A Response to Geert Wilders & Terrorists Everywhere and Talk To Me: Changing the Narrative on Race, Religion, and Education and has co-authored and co-edited two books, Towards a Greater Jihad and By the Dawn's Early Light.

The Wrong Kind of Muslim

This book, released in June 2013 was Rashid's first solo attempt in authoring a book. The book received financial support through crowd-sourcing. The book looks at the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims and other minority faiths in Pakistan. Rashid conveys the stories of those who were jailed, injured, and martyred for their faith. He also seeks to explain why they maintain their faith.

Talk To Me

Rashid newest book Talk to Me, was published on May 17, 2016. As stated on Rashid's website, TalkToMe is a non-fiction memoir from inspiring thought leaders on how the power of dialogue can overcome racism, xenophobia, intolerance, and violence. The book highlights the importance of meaningful and moral conversation between people of all faiths, ages, genders, etc. in order to facilitate better understanding and tolerance and promote a more peaceful society.

Hannah and the Ramadan Gift

Rashid will release his first children's book through Penguin Publishing, titled Hannah and the Ramadan Gift.

In 2019, Rashid announced he was to run as a Democratic Party candidate for Virginia Senate District 28. He successfully defeated Laura Ann Sellers in the Democratic primary but was defeated by incumbent Richard Stuart in the general election. Rashid later released a statement on Twitter saying he had "no regrets" about running for the seat.

Rashid is an Ahmadi Muslim, is married with three children and lives in Virginia. He is the younger brother of Tayyib Rashid, a United States Marine who runs a social media outreach brand as "the Muslim Marine". Tayyib Rashid has also completed media interviews and raises awareness about Muslims living in the United States.