Originally published on Philly.com Hostile climate The recent act of throwing a severed pig’s head at the Al Aqsa Islamic Society mosque in North Philadelphia was clearly an act of Islamophobia, signifying grave disrespect toward Muslims. But it is much more than that. The act also reflects a growing climate in this country of intolerance aimed at practitioners of Islam. It represents an...
Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent According to them, it is an act of Islamic virtue to fire a pistol or gun at an innocent person. Where are those who will act like the Companions of the Holy Prophet and remain patient while suffering torture? Has God commanded us to capture complete strangers and cut them to pieces or to shoot them without reason or proof of an offence? Can a...
Originally posted in The News & Observer The shocking massacre at San Bernardino that killed 14 innocent souls and wounded 21 people unfortunately adds to the tally of the mass shooting epidemic in the country and must be condemned under no uncertain terms. This time around, the perpetrators were Muslims with links to an ISIS terror group and thus have inflamed the already volatile...
Originally posted in The New York Times As a Muslim-American, I completely agree with President Obama’s comments that Muslim leaders must speak out against not just acts of violence, but also those interpretations of Islam that are incompatible with the values of religious tolerance. Muslim leaders have a major role to play in the war against terrorism. Perverse interpretations of Islam are the...
Originally posted at True Jersey The Paris terrorist attacks have fueled rising Islamophobia in America. Presidential candidates have called for a national database of Muslims and surveillance of mosques. The House of Representatives has passed the bill to temporarily halt the Syrian and Iraqi refugee program. As a member of Ahmadiyya Muslim community, I advocate for proper and useful security...
Originally Published in The Huffington Post In the wake of the recent Paris attacks, new atheist writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali is screaming out at her loudest again. “Islam needs reform,” she insists. But is she right? We must understand that Muslims are not a monolith. They come in all colors and sects. I, for instance, identify with the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim...
Originally posted on The Buffalo News I have previously written in this space condemning radical and cowardly attacks. Again, with deep sorrow and frustration, we see that ISIS recently massacred nearly 170 people in attacks on the cities of Beirut and Paris one day apart. And this will not be the last time. Radicalization and its eerie reach are getting worse, and beating back this terribly...
Originally posted on SJR I just turned the TV on after coming home from a weekend spent in New Jersey with Muslim Youth Leaders around the country who came together to discuss how to stop radicalization, how to #StopTheCrISIS — and my heart almost exploded with pain when CBS 60 Minutes played an interview of one of the victims who was shot during the Paris attacks, but lived to talk about it. As...
Originally posted on The Charlotte Observer Another day, another terrorist attack orchestrated by the perverted group called ISIS. The religion to which I adhere, Islam, stands for peace. It is once again under the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons. How could ISIS justify the Paris attack, which killed nearly 150 innocent souls, and the Beirut bombing last week as Islamic while the Quran...
Originally posted on The Bronx Chronicle UCLA law professor, Mr. Amjad Mahmood Khan decries the popular perception in today’s 24 hours news cycle and social media that associate Islam with acts of terrorism. These acts, he noted, were disproportionately emphasized and singled out a recent New York Times report that suggested that after 2001, non-Muslim extremists than by radical Muslims killed...