Asma Gull Hasan ( ur, ; born 1974) is an American writer. Her work includes the book ''Red, White, and Muslim'', a biographical view of growing up as an American Muslim. She is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States and raised in

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Early life

Asma Gull Hasan is the daughter of Malik M. Hasan and Seeme Gull Khan Hasan (co-founder of iSufiRock.com). She is the sister of film director and writer Muhammad Ali Hasan and cousin of Pakistani rock singer

Salman Ahmad Salman Ahmad ( ur, , born 12 December 1963) is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York. He earned nationwide popularity in 1998 for his uni ...

. She also has a sister, Aliya Gull Hasan and another brother, Rehan Khan Hasan. Hasan grew up in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

, where she snowboarded and rode horses as a child."I am a Muslim and a Feminist"
on feministezine.com Hasan explains that she calls herself a "

cowgirl A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

" based on the cowboy values of appreciating the outdoors, oneself, and other people. Hasan went on to receive her diploma from

Groton School Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliated ...

in 1993, where she graduated magna cum laude. She obtained a Bachelors in Arts from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

in 1997, graduating magna cum laude, as well as being named a Durant Scholar. And in 2001, she received her Juris Doctor from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

.''Why I Love Sufism''
Asma Gull Hasan on beliefnet.com
on Muslim Women's League website

Career

Writer

Hasan is the author of three published works, including ''American Muslims: The New Generation'' (Continuum 2000), ''Why I Am A Muslim'' (HarperCollins Thorsons/Element 2004), and ''Red, White, and Muslim'' (HarperCollins 2008). All three books are non-fiction, dealing with the American Muslim movement through critical analysis and personal biography. As an American Muslim voice, Hasan has been chosen for educational presentations and missions by

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, in hopes of building better relations between Muslims and the United States. One such mission included sending Hasan to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, where she spoke to people all over the country about the commonalities between Islamic and American culture, in hopes of building stronger relations between both countries. Interviews of her work as an author are often seen on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

's ''

Book TV ''Book TV'' is the name given to weekend programming on the American cable network C-SPAN2 airing from 8 a.m. Eastern Time Sunday morning to 8 a.m. Eastern Time Monday morning each week. The 24-hour block of programming is focused on non-fictio ...

''.CNN-video
on author's website

Political pundit

Hasan appears frequently on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

as an American Muslim voice and political commentator. Her television appearances include ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

'', ''

Anderson Cooper 360 Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson R ...

'', ''

Hannity and Colmes ''Hannity & Colmes'' was a live television show on Fox News in the United States, hosted by Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, who respectively presented a conservative and liberal perspective. The series premiered on October 7, 1996, and the final epi ...

'', and ''CNN Newsroom''. Hasan is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, often using her punditry to provide insight into Republican policies and their effect on the Muslim world. Her op-eds have been published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'', and

Beliefnet Beliefnet is a lifestyle website featuring editorial content related to the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news, and entertainment. History Launched in 1999 by Steven Waldman and Robert Nylen, Beliefnet ...

among others. She was a columnist for ''

The Pueblo Chieftain The ''Pueblo Chieftain'' is an American daily newspaper published in Pueblo, Colorado. The ''Chieftain'' was established in 1868 by Dr. Michael Beshoar, the first doctor in Trinidad, Colorado. Wilbur Fisk Stone and George A. Hinsdale were the fi ...

'', ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'', and ''The Pakistan Link'' newspapers. Her other political pundit appearances include the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'',

Politically Incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

Fresh Air with Terry Gross ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 6 ...

, ''

The Dennis Miller Show ''The Dennis Miller Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Dennis Miller. The show launched in January 1992 and was hosted by the former ''Saturday Night Live'' Weekend Update anchor as an attempt b ...

'' of

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

and

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

. As of 2008, Hasan worked as a political blogger for ''

Glamour Magazine ''Glamour'' is today an online women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. For many years a traditional hard-copy magazine, it was founded in 1939 and first published in April 1939 in the United States. It was originally called '' ...

'' and its political website, Glamocracy, a website dedicated to featuring weekly political insight from American women writers.

Law

Hasan received her law degree from

. She currently serves as a

senior vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

and

chief legal officer A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

to HealthTrio LLC, a software company that specializes in electronic healthcare record technology.

Views

Hasan has said that the

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

is not required, because modesty comes from within.''Asma Gull Hasan: La modestia viene del interior.''
(

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

) on an-nisa.es She has also expressed a deep admiration for

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

, a mystical practice within

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. The views are expressed in various interviews as well as in her book, ''Why I Am a Muslim''. Of note, Hasan served as one of the contributors on iSufiRock.com. Hasan has stated that bigotry and intolerance towards Muslims Americans has increased in the last decades. Hasan notes the rising and sometimes open hostility towards the Islamic faith, the Quran and mosques by some non-Muslim Americans and politicians.

Works

*''Red, White, and Muslim: My Story of Belief '' (2009) *''Why I Am a Muslim: An American Odyssey'' (2004) *''American Muslims: The New Generation '' (2000)

References

External links

Asma Gull Hasan Official Website

Asma Gull Hasan Glamocracy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Asma Gull 1974 births American feminist writers American Muslims 21st-century American non-fiction writers American people of Pakistani descent The Denver Post people Colorado Republicans Living people New York University School of Law alumni People from Pueblo, Colorado Wellesley College alumni Writers from Chicago 21st-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers