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AuthorFaheem Younus

A doctor, a writer, a professor, a student, a family man, a humanitarian – enjoys figuring out the challenges of Muslim American life. Learn more about him at www.Muslimerican.com

Answering 7 Charges of Animal Cruelty Against Muslims

Originally published in The Huffington Post I was in high school when my parents bought a goat in 1984, Pakistan. I named it, fed it, walked it, and then within a week, witnessed it getting slaughtered. It was a heart-wrenching experience at Eid-ul-Adha, a major Islamic holiday which honors Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son for God. The incident taught me a lesson: Be...

What Americans should know about Ramadan

Originally published in Fox News This year, Ramadan starts on June 29. Over 1.5 billion Muslims, despite their sectarian differences, will be united to reinvigorate their faith. In a country where nearly one in four Americans don’t want to have a Muslim neighbor and some employers are not eager to recruit them, this poses a problem. Because in July 2014, folks may notice a change in the...

Letter to a real martyr: #Justice4Mehdi

Originally published in Fox News Dear Mehdi, Greetings of peace! You’ve been all over the place: CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal,Washington Post, Reuters… Up until a week ago, most Americans didn’t know you. But now, for millions, you are a celebrity. Because the media is telling your story… How you hail from this tiny hamlet called Rabwah, out in the boondocks of...

5 reasons the 9/11 museum should drop ‘Islamist’

Originally published in The Washington Post On May 21, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York is scheduled to release “The Rise of Al Qaeda,” a seven-minute film telling the story of the attacks. Full disclosure: I have not watched the film. But last week, The New York Times reported how American Muslims were concerned that the film uses words such as “Islamist” and “jihadist,”...

Don’t Blame Islam for Boko Haram

Originally published in The Huffington Post When the news broke that over 200 girls had been abducted by Boko Haram, I was prepared for some Islamophobic rhetoric from the Spencer/Gellar ilk. What I was not expecting were Pulitzer prize winners like Leonard Pitts, even for once, falling for the sensational “extremist Islam is scared of little girls” narrative. It’s not Islam but...

BANGLADESH I am sorry

Originally published in The Daily Star I was born in Pakistan, a few months before the war which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971. And it was only after I moved to the US that I recognised the magnitude of human rights abuses the Pakistani army committed against their Bengali “brothers and sisters in faith.” So now, whenever I come across a Bengali in the...

The half-truths of drone warfare

  Originally Published in The Baltimore Sun   American drones have been operating since 2004 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, my motherland. But on Nov. 21, a drone fired missiles at a religious seminary in Hangu, a settled area in mainland Pakistan, killing five men in addition to a top leader of the pro-Taliban Haqqani network. Pakistanis are angry. Imran Khan...

The half-truths of drone warfare

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun American drones have been operating since 2004 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, my motherland. But on Nov. 21, a drone fired missiles at a religious seminary in Hangu, a settled area in mainland Pakistan, killing five men in addition to a top leader of the pro-Taliban Haqqani network. Pakistanis are angry. Imran Khan, the chairman...

A Brown, Bearded Muslim American Gives Thanks to Gap on Thanksgiving

Originally Published in The Huffington Post As this brown, bearded Muslim was getting ready to pick up his Thanksgiving turkey order from a local Boston Market, news broke of racist graffiti in New York city. Gap had recently launched a holiday ad campaign featuring diverse models. One such ad showcasing the famous designer and actor Waris Ahluwalia, a Sikh American, had been vandalized, its...

How Prophet Muhammad’s Humility Could Shape the US-Iranian Peace Deal

Originally Published in The Huffington Post As the freezing winds pierced through Washington DC this past weekend, Tehran warmed up to a nuclear peace deal. Since you may have gotten an earful about the three decades of US-Iranian diplomatic quagmire, the two decades of Israeli-Iranian mien of ancient warriors, and a decade old label of “Axis of evil,” I won’t dwell over it...