Qasim Rashid

On January 20, 2020, Rashid announced his candidacy for Virginia's District 1 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On April 26, 2020, Rashid made a swift appearance on the "How We'll Pay for it" virtual town hall on Modern Monetary Theory with popular Democratic Socialist activist and candidate for U.S. Congress in Oregon's 3rd Albert Lee as well as president of the Global Institute of Sustainable Prosperity, Fadhel Kaboub, and research scholar for the same institute, Mitch Green.

Rashid has written for numerous outlets including Time, 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Qasim Rashid (born July 21, 1982) is an author, human rights activist, politician, 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. In January of 2020, Rashid announced his bid to represent Virginia's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. Congress.

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 and 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.