Originally published in Pakistan Daily Times I was living in New Jersey in the summer of 2011 when Governor Chris Christie appointed Sohail Muhammed to the bench of the Superior Court of New Jersey. Almost immediately, the governor faced a serious backlash from the conservative right, which attacked his move to appoint a US Muslim judge to high office. Governor Christie was unmoved. With the...
Originally published in the Huffington Post Religious clerics in Pakistan celebrate September 7th as a day of victory for Islam and Pakistan. Officially dubbed the “Khatme Nubuwwat Day” or “Finality of Prophethood Day,” many mosques come alive with celebrations this day, sweets are distributed andintense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this...
Originally published in the Huffington Post My name is Kashif Chaudhry. I am a Pakistani immigrant to the United States. Currently, I am completing a Cardiology fellowship in Boston. While speaking at Yale a few days back, Ayaan Hirsi Ali declared war on me. But why? To provide some perspective, I am a Muslim who belongs to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the single...
Originally published in the Express Tribune Religious clerics in Pakistan celebrate September 7th as a day of victory for Islam and Pakistan. Officially dubbed the “Khatme Nubuwwat Day” or “Finality of Prophethood Day,” many mosques come alive with celebrations this day, sweets are distributed and intense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this day, Pakistan passed...
Originally published in the Daily Times Israel emerged on the world map as an independent nation in the late 1940s. Over the last 65 years of its existence, the nation has faced significant challenges. One thing that has remained constant, however, is the state’s treatment of its Muslim citizens. There are over a million Muslims in Israel. The orthodox rabbis have been intimidating them...
Originally published in The Huffington Post We have all heard of Sudan’s death penalty for the “crime” of leaving Islam. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan (since 2007), Yemen and Afghanistan have similar rulings for apostasy. Do these punishments have any basis in the Islamic faith? Does Islam really punish freedom of conscience? I was discussing this on social media when a friend...
Originally published in Daily Times One of Pakistan’s organisations of the clergy, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), held a national conference titled, ‘Why dialogue between various sects and religions is essential.’ The PUC’s central chairman, Maulana Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, presided over this well-attended conference in Islamabad. The conference was reported widely in the media. And why wouldn’t...
Originally published in The Huffington Post Pakistan’s supreme organization of religious clergy, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), recently held a national conference titled, “Why dialogue between various sects and religions is essential.” The Council’s central Chairman, Mr. Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, presided over this well-attended conference in Islamabad, Pakistan. The...
Originally published in The Express Tribune Ashir is just two-years-old. Yesterday, he was witness to the most horrific tragedy anyone can imagine. His father – a 50-year-old doctor – was brutally murdered in Pakistan. His crime: He belonged to the Ahmadiyya community. Dr Mehdi Ali was a US-trained cardiologist on a medical mission to Pakistan. He was visiting Tahir Heart Institute; a state-of...
Originally published in The Huffington Post The Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram recently kidnapped young girls, allegedly to sell into sexual slavery. Extremist Muslim clerics and extreme critics of Islam have long shared the conviction – amongst some others – that Islam allows keeping slaves, at least in certain circumstances, and permits their rape. This myth is completely...