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A voice for true Islam

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Originally published in News & Observer Many differences, but linked by a Nobel Prize”: Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi won the 2014 Noble Peace Prize for championing the importance of education. Along with billions of Muslims around the world, I congratulate this incredible achievement. In light of all the violence and discord that has arisen in the Middle East, it is beautiful to see...

Eid a time to remember shared history

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Originally published in the Orange County Register This weekend, Muslims around the world will be celebrating the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, which concludes the ritual of Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and celebrates events during the time of the patriarch prophet Abraham. During Eid, Muslims are enjoined to sacrifice animals in which one-third of the portion of meat is given to neighbors, one...

Boko Haram offers a distorted picture of Islam

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Originally published in The Baltimore Sun Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group, has claimed responsibility for kidnapping at least 300 schoolgirls last month (“The world has finally noticed Boko Haram,” May 13). Boko Haram, which means “Western education is a sin,” has repeatedly affirmed that they commit such acts of violence in the name of Islam and that Islam...

A Muslim’s Ramadan Message to ISIS: You Don’t Speak for Islam

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Originally published in the Huffington Post The terrorist organization ISIS has set a new low standard of barbarity and inhumanity. Their most recent act of terrorism is a demand that Christians either convert, pay the jizya, leave their homes, or be killed. Their destruction of an 1800-year-old church in Mosul is painful, condemnable without exception, and wholly in violation of every...

Still not ready to give fasting a try?

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Originally published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer In response to the Boston Tea Party, King George III ordered a blockade of Boston Harbor. Concerned by the anticipated economic strain, our Founding Fathers turned, not to arms or protest, but to God. In the summer of 1774, Thomas Jefferson drafted a “Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer” resolution. And so, on June 1, 1774, among...

A Ramadan Message to ISIS: You Don’t Speak For Islam

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Originally published in A Hotchpotch Hijabi in Italy The terrorist organization ISIS has set a new low standard of barbarity and inhumanity. Their most recent act of terrorism is a demand that Christians either convert, pay the jizya, leave their homes, or be killed.      Nothing in Islam or Prophet Muhammad’s example supports ISIS’s barbarity. The below modified excerpt from my...

4 reasons why Ramadan is a great time to talk to a Muslim

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Originally published in the New Haven Register   Have you ever passed by a Muslim woman with a headscarf and wanted to ask her what motivates her to live out her faith?     Have you ever thought to strike up a conversation with a Muslim colleague over his views on Muslim extremists in the news?     But were you too afraid to ask? Or maybe the moment wasn’t right.  ...

Why Is It So Easy To Arrest a Person For Blasphemy In Pakistan?

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Originally published in Foreign Policy On May 13, 2014, police in the province of Punjab announced that they had registered a complaint of blasphemy against sixty-eight lawyers who had been involved in a protest against a police officer. The protest started after a senior officer allegedly detained and beat one of the lawyer’s colleagues. During the protests, the lawyers had called out the...

Letter to a real martyr: #Justice4Mehdi

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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...

Extremism Is a Concept Alien to Islam–And to Human Decency

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Originally published in Time News Like hundreds of other Ahmadi Muslims, Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was murdered only for his faith. Combined, education and compassion can conquer such extremism. Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was the type of friend every American would proudly brag about. He was a loyal U.S. citizen. He was only 50, a loving husband and father of three. He dedicated his life to medicine and to...