Rattler Radio Grabs Interview with

Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini

Regarding Upheaval in the Middle East

San Jose, CA – February 18, 2011 – Author of The Watchman’s Rattle and host of Rattler Radio, Rebecca Costa, announced that the leader of the largest Islamic mosque in North America, Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini, has broken his silence concerning the upheaval in the Middle East.  Imam Al-Qazwini spoke with Costa in an exclusive interview which airs on AM 1240 KNRY (streaming live on KNRY.com) February 18 at 2PM Pacific Time.  The program will be available at www.rebeccacosta.com following the live interview.

“We reached out to Imam Al-Qazwini because there’s a lot of concern about Islamic organizations in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries where revolution is spreading.  With so much inflammatory reporting by the media, we felt it was important to offer the most respected Shia leader in the United States an opportunity to separate fact from fiction,” explained Costa.

In conjunction with the release of her controversial book, The Watchman’s Rattle - named the top science/philosophy book of 2010 by the Library Journal and top “green” book by ABC affiliates - Costa launched Rattler Radio in October 2010.   Since its inception the radio program has attracted national attention as well as an all-star lineup including activist Tom Hayden, former President of National Geographic films Adam Leipzig, actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. and acclaimed author/historian Dr. Pauline Maier.  The program has received widespread praise for its smart commentary on current events and thought-provoking interviews with today’s leaders.

“Talk radio is overrun with rage-aholics who get ratings by discrediting guests who don’t agree with the host’s ideology.  In my view, this is just a clever form of censorship.  One of the reasons these talk shows have become popular is because programs that are neutral are boring.  It’s like listening to a court clerk reading testimony,” says Costa.  “Rattler Radio began with one goal: to combine NPR-caliber content with AM talk radio entertainment - the best of both worlds.”

When asked about the February 18 interview, Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini offered, “We live in a time when misinformation and fear are our greatest enemy.  Many pundits fan the flames of our fears by spreading inaccurate information faster than we can replace it with facts.  I applaud Rattler Radio for providing the opportunity to educate Americans on issues pertaining to the Muslim faith in an open forum.  Millions of Americans lack basic knowledge on Islam.”

Costa agrees. “In the absence of real data, we have a history of following false prophets.  This is the reason we invited the Imam to a no-holds-barred interview on our program – so people can get their information first-hand and make up their own minds.  It’s a little thing called respecting the audience.””

As a result of explosive interest in Rattler Radio, Costa is currently in discussions with top AM talk radio stations and NPR affiliates in the Bay Area regarding national syndication in 2011.  The program will be lengthened to two-hours with listeners invited to call-in with questions and comments during the second hour.  According to show producers, “She wants the show to be weekly, but we can already see it’s going to five days a week.  The number of people downloading the radio program off the web site is off the charts.  But don’t tell her that!”

About Rebecca D. Costa

Rebecca D. Costa is a sociobiologist whose unique expertise is to spot and explain emerging trends in relationship to human evolution, global markets, and new technologies. A popular speaker at thought-leader and technology conferences, as well as major universities, she is the former CEO of Silicon Valley start-up Dazai Advertising, Inc., where her clients included such innovators as Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle Corporation, 3M, Amdahl, Siebel Systems and General Electric.  In October 2010, Costa released her first book The Watchman’s Rattle to international critical acclaim.  She currently hosts a weekly talk radio show called Rattler Radio on the Central Coast of California.  For a complete bio visit www.rebeccacosta.com.

About Imam Hassan Sayid Al-Qazwini

Imam Hassan Sayid Al-Qazwini is the leader of the largest Islamic Mosque in North America and is considered one of the most powerful Shia leaders in the world.  He is a seventh generation Islamic cleric from Karbala, Iraq, who graduated from the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, in 1992.  He has consulted with Presidents Clinton and Bush as well as the State and Defense Departments of the United States.  Qazwini has authored and published three books, including Meditation in Sahehain, Prophet Mohammad: The Ethical Prospect and American Crescent. 

About The Watchman’s Rattle

The Watchman’s Rattle is a lead title by Vanguard Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, which was released nationwide on October 12, 2010.  The book speaks to our growing inability to thrive in the complex world we have created.  It posits that the escalating complexity of our personal lives, technological capabilities, and governmental policies have led to conditions that have outpaced our capacity to manage them.  As a result, when it comes to complex problems such as climate change, a global recession, terrorism, etc., we have become gridlocked.  Costa offers an opportunity to address growing complexity by revealing scientific evidence that the human brain can be retrained to comprehend, analyze, and resolve highly chaotic and difficult problems.