Originally Published in The Cleveland I was deeply saddened by the recent Paris terror attacks, and shootings in San Bernardino. Since then I have been praying that America is able to stop ISIS and defeat terrorism motivated by a perversion of Islamic teachings. In the face of these terror attacks, we have a responsibility as Americans to think over how and why such terrorist attacks happen. In...
Originally published in Patheos One of the most prominent stories of 2015 has been the circus of the Donald Trump campaign. It seems Donald Trump will say just about anything to be the center of attention and has been more than willing to cross any line when it comes to violating the American ideal of religious freedom. We have seen an escalating pattern of anti-Muslim rhetoric from Trump and...
Originally published on Patheos The year 2015 can be remembered as the year Daesh (ISIS) dominated the news media in the Western world, from beginning to the end. It began with the merciless attack on the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo that drew worldwide condemnation, enslaving of Yazidi women, burning of a Jordanian pilot and ending with a spectacular attack in France and inspiring mass murder...
Originally published in the the Montgomery News I am deeply saddened at the horrific shooting that occurred in San Bernardino. It is a tragedy that so many lives were lost, all in the name of Islam. Farook and Malik were said to be deeply religious. I too consider myself deeply religious. Unlike them I follow Islam. I follow Islam where it states clearly in the Quran “that you slay not the soul...
Originally Published in The Roanoke Times As an American Muslim, I am obligated to serve my country. Thus it is an obligation for me to make it known that Donald Trump will not “make America great again,” as he promises. Rather, he will make us weaker than we have ever been. While he likes to quote the great past leaders in this country, it appears he has forgotten that Franklin...
Originally Published in Montgomery News To the Editor: I am deeply saddened at the horrific shooting that occurred in San Bernardino. It is a tragedy that so many lives were lost, all in the name of Islam. Farook and Malik were said to be deeply religious. I too consider myself deeply religious. Unlike them I follow Islam. I follow Islam where it states clearly in the Quran “that you slay not the...
Originally published in the Express Tribune As Christmas is nearing, I am starting to see the occasional anti-Christmas messages on the internet that say that greeting on the occasion of Christmas is haram (forbidden) according to scholarly consensus. Some are claiming that saying “Merry Christmas” is tantamount to committing “shirk” or associating partners with Allah. Of the many clerics that...
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 posted in Dawn IMAGINE sending your child to school in uniform in the morning, and finding him in a casket in the afternoon. Imagine having your child’s blood-stained clothes brought back to you, the dreams that you had for them shattered. Instead of your child arranging for your burial one day you have to pick up the greatest load in your life — the casket of your child. More than...
Originally posted on Daily Progress “Make America Great Again” is a quote used by the GOP front runner Donald Trump repeatedly where he is aiming supposedly to make America great, but so far all we have heard from the candidate is to ban Muslims or remove Muslims from America. I would like to let Mr. Trump know that it is not the Muslims that America is at war with but it’s this radical extremist...