Originally published in FaithStreet I often hear the phrase “Only 20,000 people?” as a critique of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in America, and I was not surprised when this phrase resurfaced after the Ahmadiyya Muslim Caucus launched this month. People may think that a group of 20,000 Americans do not deserve a caucus. If 20,000 Americans signed a petition on the White House website, the White...
Originally published in The Daily Caller Imagine if you picked up your morning paper and the news story read “Judaism’s inadvertent effects on adherents.” Imagine if article’s non-Jewish author wrote, “The Torah strictly bans the consumption of pork, leading to the virtual disappearance of domesticated pigs in Jewish-majority areas, then their replacement by sheep and goats. These herds have...
Originally published in The Northwestern The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is holding a ‘Messenger of Peace’ conference to discuss Prophet Muhammad, the most sacred figure in Islam. The goal of this conference is to explain the life and achievements of Prophet Muhammad and how they are relevant in a contemporary context. In a media-saturated environment, it is sometimes difficult to tell fact from...
Originally published in The Huffington Post March 8 is International Women’s Day. One crime against women that continues to plague humanity is FGM, i.e female genital mutilation. Experts estimate that some 3 million women suffer through FGM annually. The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book titled EXTREMIST. This excerpt specifically repudiates the barbaric myth that Islam in any...
Originally published in The Cap Times During Black History Month, we remembered the efforts that have been and are still being made toward racial harmony. One of the greatest civil rights leaders, Malcolm X, stated, “America needs to understand Islam because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem.” He said this because the Holy Quran states that the only criteria...
Originally published in The Baltimore Sun I was shocked, surprised and stunned to read of Ravens running back Ray Rice‘s arrest on domestic violence charges (“Ravens’ Rice knocked fiancee unconscious, police say,” Feb. 20). Mr. Rice was the last person I expected to commit such an act, if only because he champions the Ray of Hope anti-bullying campaign. By visiting...
Originally published in The Daily Bulletin The purpose of my Dec. column was to show from the clear statements by God and Jesus how it goes against the majesty and omnipotence of God that He could be or ever was a weak human being who was humiliated, disgraced and spat on by his enemies, and then condemned by a worldly court as a criminal, savagely whipped and then nailed to a cross to...
Originally published in Hartford Courant February is Black History Month and a time to reassess our commitment to racial equality. The subjugation of Africans to slavery in America is one of the biggest stains on our nation. Sadly, some slave owners went so far as to use an account in the Bible about Noah’s genealogy to legitimize the maltreatment of Africans. Religion should bring people...
Originally published in Delaware County Daily Times As I look around, I see our youth deteriorating day by day and wonder what the future will be like. School shootings are increasing, teenagers are having babies, teenage violence is rising, the amount of drugs used by our kids is increasing and test scores are falling. What has happened to our youth? Why do our kids look up to Kobe Bryant and...
Originally published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette February is Black History Month. This month provides us an opportunity to recognize the contribution of black Americans to American history. We should appreciate their role in making America what it is today. As a Muslim imam, I reflect on Prophet Muhammad’s teaching, “One who is not thankful to his fellow human being is not thankful to God at all.”...