Originally published in The Tribune-Review “Momma, Momma!” “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” No innocent human being should have to die with these words on their lips. A police officer, tasked to protect George Floyd’s life, mercilessly crushed George’s neck for 9 long minutes. He has been charged with murder. Is George’s death an isolated incident, one in which an officer of the law went...
Originally published in The Minnesota Daily “Allah has made you brethren one to another, so be not divided. An Arab has no preference over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab; nor is a white one to be preferred to a dark one, nor a dark one to a white one.” These are some of the last words the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) of Islam bestowed upon his followers during his...
Originally published in The Gazette Intermittent fasting is hailed by many as the new ‘cool’ fad diet of this decade. Experts ranging from medical physicians to health nutritionists have described at length the health, mental, social, and financial benefits that come with this type of lifestyle. But there is another source that made intermittent fasting cool before anyone else. Islam and its...
Originally published in Arizona Daily Star Professor Nicholas Damask of Scottsdale Community College received criticism this semester for asking certain questions on a quiz for his World Politics course. These included Who do terrorists strive to emulate? where his ‘correct answer’ was Mohammad, and Terrorism is [blank] in Islam” where the ‘correct answer’ was justified within the context...
Originally published in The Tribune-Review “Mom, don’t leave. It’s too dangerous.” “If I don’t,” my mother replies, “my children will starve.” “I’m your child,” I respond. “So are they,” she says. I have had this debate with my mother for more than a month. Deemed an essential worker, my 61-year old mother leaves her house every day and takes the bus to work — so she can prepare meals for New...
Originally published in Austin American-Statesman With social distancing and work from home, it’s all too easy to get buried in the news coverage surrounding the coronavirus crisis. At the same time, there is a lot of need in our communities. Our food banks are under strain due to increased demand. Our blood banks are in need of life-saving donations. Our elderly and high-risk individuals would...
A tremor of worry has fallen upon Christian America. With 90% of Americans under stay-at-home orders and only one-fifth of religious Americans still attending worship services, many Christians are left wondering, “How will I celebrate Easter this year?” Even President Trump sought to dull the effects of this tremor, considering last weekend to allow churches to open for Easter...
One hundred years ago this week, the Philadelphia Inquirer recorded the arrival in its city of a South Asian man in a green and gold turban. Others noted his “Gospel likeness” and “flowing” beard, as one who “spoke like a Biblical prophet.” Upon seeing him, one young girl would later remark, “Look, Mother, Jesus Christ has come!” Immigration officers denied him entry because they feared...
On Feb. 15, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will celebrate its centennial in the United States. Ahmadiyya is a revivalist movement in Islam founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in India in 1889. Ahmadi Muslims believe that Ahmad was the symbolic second coming of Jesus in a sense similar to how the New Testament states Jesus of Nazareth spoke of John the Baptist as the second coming of the Old Testament...
Originally published in East Bay Times Even though we are in the 21st century, racism and injustice still exist in the United States and other parts of the world. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I encourage our brothers and sisters in humanity to reflect on this day and ponder upon it on Martin Luther King Day. Over 13 centuries ago, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) offered the same message that Dr...