Originally published in The Nation Chapel Hill massacre in North Carolina, where three young students were shot to death on Tuesday was a horrendous incident. To say that they were Muslim,the news would have some weight of discrimination, but the truth is they were. However, the question is has media given the news due coverage? The answer would be a no. I would like to know why? As a member of...
Originally published in San Francisco Chronicle
For decades, I have been a die-hard “NBC Nightly News” viewer and as such have repeated information reported by Brian Williams as fact. I am all about forgiveness as I realize that as a regular guy, he is subject to the same kind of minor embellishments as the rest of us. But not this time, not this kind, and not in his position.
Originally published in The Huffington Post As the old wisdom goes, the opposite of love isn’t hate — it’s apathy. If you don’t understand why that is, look no further than the Syrian refugee crisis. A five-year Syrian civil war rages on that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. And as the worst refugee crisis since WWII erupts onto the world stage, the...
Originally published in Akron Beacon Journal The recent shooting at Chapel Hill, N.C., shows me, as an American Muslim, that whenever a tragedy happens unnecessarily to any person of any faith or way of life, we should pray for them and extend our condolences. The alleged shooter was an outspoken anti-theist. Craig Hicks’ Facebook page was filled with hatred toward religion. Although we hear that...
Originally published in The Michigan Daily
I’ve always felt safe in America. Granted, growing up as a Muslim American in the post-9/11 era poses its challenges, but I’ve always maintained the “it won’t be me” mentality. That is, until Tuesday evening. The news reported that three innocent Muslim students were brutally murdered in their home near Chapel Hill, N.C.
Muslim students. Just like me...
Originally published in News & Observer All one has to do to see the beauty of Islam is to take a look at the lives of the three amazing young Muslims or the response and reaction from their families and Muslim community in the wake of the tragic slayings in Chapel Hill. Contrast this with every major news channel’s favorite depiction of Islam as a religion of hate and evil whose followers...
Originally published in The Houston Chronicle Regarding “Vigil honors 3 Muslim students shot to death in N. Carolina” (Page B1, Monday), what kind of resentment can cause someone to shoot 3 college students in the head as happened in the recent Chapel Hill shootings? Some say it was over a “parking dispute,” but the answer may lie in the growing Islamophobia in the...
Originally published in the Pak Tea House Given the sensitive subject of this article, let me begin with a brief introduction of myself. The reader may appreciate knowing ahead that I am an Ahmadi-Muslim. I was born in Pakistan to a family with some Ahmadis but mostly Sunni-orthodox. I have lived and worked in Pakistan for many years. Currently, I reside in the United States of America. Today, I...
Originally published in The Baltimore Sun Black History month is an important time to commemorate the accomplishments of blacks around the world; it is also a time to remember and address the unresolved issues in our society dealing with race. Last year highlighted several issues which, despite the successes of the Civil Rights movement, still plague our society. They include the disproportionate...
Originally published in Patheos Recently The Atlantic published a piece titled, “What ISIS Really Wants.” The lengthy piece makes numerous fallacious claims about ISIS and its relation to Islam and Islamic doctrine. Accordingly, and significantly, it misses the strategy necessary to counter and overcome ISIS terrorism. Perhaps most frustrating about the article is it offers no new insights...