Originally published in Youngstown News The month of July for many people means lots of sunshine and fun in the middle of summer. This year, for Muslims, it means Ramadan has come. If you have reached maturity, it is a full month from June 28 to the end of July, getting up at sunrise for a meal, and waiting until sunset to break the fast. Sure it’s tough, but there are many benefits of Ramadan...
Originally published in Foreign Policy On May 13, 2014, police in the province of Punjab announced that they had registered a complaint of blasphemy against sixty-eight lawyers who had been involved in a protest against a police officer. The protest started after a senior officer allegedly detained and beat one of the lawyer’s colleagues. During the protests, the lawyers had called out the...
Originally published in The Daily Caller We’ve all heard the old adage – those who don’t learn from the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. With the rise of ISIS, the world is at such a crossroads once again, except this time the stakes are much higher and the situation much more dire. In response to ISIS, His Holiness the Khalifa of Islam, Mirza Masroor Ahmad has unequivocally declared...
Originally published in the Tulsa World It’s nearly July, so I feel it appropriate that I should bring your attention to Christmas, or at least what many of my friends label as ‘Christmas for Muslims’. Although some people have a problem with this comparison, and while there are many differences between the Muslim month of Ramadan and Christmas, the true spirit of both these holidays has many...
Originally published in Religion News Service If a Muslim reads a Catholic newspaper in the Malay language and sees the word “Allah,” he might mistake it as a reference to the Quran and become a Christian when he learns those are actually references to the Bible. At least, that’s the reasoning Malaysian Muslim groups used when they pushed Malaysia’s Supreme Court to ban a Catholic newspaper...
Originally published in The Oregonian Q. Let’s start with the book title itself: “Demystifying Islam: Tackling the Tough Questions.” What do you think are the two or three most common misunderstandings among Americans about Islamic faith and culture? Zafar: First, there seems to be a major misconception that Islam is a monolithic entity, bereft of true diversity (of both...
Originally published in Dayton Daily News Dr. Mehdi A. Qamar, a cardiologist living in Pickerington was gunned doqn and martyred recently in front of his wife and two-year-old son while visiting an Ahmadiyya Muslim Cemetery in Rabwah, pakistan, allegedly for no reason than belonging to the minority group, the Ahmadiyya Muslims Community. He had taken a sabbatical to Rabwah Pakistan as a volunteer...
Originally published in The Huffington Post “She made me do it.” I hear this phrase all too often, and each time I hear it my heart bleeds. In my pro bono legal practice, I represent indigent women who suffer or have suffered through domestic violence. As an attorney, as a Muslim, as a husband, and as an uncle to five beautiful nieces, I see my clients as individuals that could just...
Originally published in Daily Times One of Pakistan’s organisations of the clergy, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), held a national conference titled, ‘Why dialogue between various sects and religions is essential.’ The PUC’s central chairman, Maulana Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, presided over this well-attended conference in Islamabad. The conference was reported widely in the media. And why wouldn’t...
Originally published in The Huffington Post Pakistan’s supreme organization of religious clergy, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), recently held a national conference titled, “Why dialogue between various sects and religions is essential.” The Council’s central Chairman, Mr. Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, presided over this well-attended conference in Islamabad, Pakistan. The...