Originally Published in Tucson.com by Aamir Quraishy Living in America I am very thankful to all our armed men and women in the forces who work tirelessly to defend our country and freedom. As an Ahmadi Muslim, My family came here to flee the religious persecution we faced in Pakistan. My family was able to move here to America because of my great uncle who served as an anesthesiologist during...
Originally Published on BeliefNet on May 29th, 2017 On Monday, ISIL claimed responsibility for another terrorist attack, this time in the great city of Manchester, England. We do not know for sure if so called Muslims committed this terrorist attack but we should condemn all terrorist attacks no matter who orchestrates them and those who believe in the power of prayer should pray for peace and...
Originally Published in OnFaith on May 29th, 2017 The week following September 11th was a sad and tense time for us at the Portland Rizwan Mosque. Not only had we experienced the same shock and horror from the attacks as any other American, but we also had the fear of retaliatory attacks that might occur at our mosque or against community members. The initial response wasn’t nearly as bad as...
Originally published at Cleveland.com Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday, May 14,. As an American Ahmadi Muslim who has seen some of the many prevailing stereotypes regarding the status of women in Islam, I would like to highlight the status Islam confers upon mothers. The Holy Quran states, “Worship God and join not any partners with Him; and be kind to your parents…”...
Originally Published on Beliefnet In the first week of May 2017, nearly 300 young Muslim men from the US went to visit the Khalifa of Islam, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad in London, UK. The event was organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association USA. Mirza Masroor Ahmad is the Head of the world wide Ahmadiyya Muslim community. For the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, His...
Published on Philly.com on May 13th, 2017: With prevailing stereotypes regarding the status of women in Islam, I wanted to mention a few things taught in Islam. The Holy Quran states, “Worship God and join not any partners with Him; and be kind to your parents. . . .” (4:37). Prophet Muhammad stated, “Heaven lies under the feet of your mother.” With that, let me be the...
Published in the New Haven Register on May 13th 2017: As an ambassador of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mother’s Day for me isn’t just once a year or a sensational phrase, but a daily honor practiced in true Islam. My mother, Talhaht Mannan, was the first love of my life. Before I even knew and fell in love with God, I knew and loved my mother. She was the earliest manifestation of God for me...
Originally Published in Beliefnet With Mother’s Day here, we can use this opportunity to remind ourselves of the respect that is due to to all mothers. Mother’s Day isn’t just meant to celebrate our mothers once a year, but rather it reminds us of the respect due to our mothers every day. We live in a fast-paced society where it’s sometimes very easy to get consumed in our own lives and forget to...
Originally Published in Patheos We’ve all seen the tragic images of children killed or injured in the Syrian civil war. An estimated 55,000 children have been killed in the fighting. This is among the hundreds of thousands total casualties of civilian deaths. Less known are the thousands that have died in the conflicts taking place in Yemen, Iraq, and Libya. The war in Yemen between the Sunni...
Originally published in: Meriden Patch (04/24/2017) The Inter-Religious Clergy Alliance of CT is perpetuating a unifying three-part Interfaith Dinner Reception and Scripture study of spiritually awakening proportions free and open to all ages and backgrounds! Amid rising divisiveness, several religious communities, including Jewish, Christian, and Islamic, of CT River Valley are uniting on an...