AuthorBasiyr Rodney

A Call for African-American Empathy towards Muslims

Originally published in Patheos Americans have become more worried about terrorism in the face of recent terrorist attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, and, more recently, Istanbul. In recent conversations with relatives and friends in my African-American community, this fear is palpable and real. Hijab wearing African-American Muslim sisters recount how routine visits to a local grocery store has...

Harming people is not in the true teachings of Islam

Originally published in The St. Louis Dispatch As we reflect on the tragic events that unfolded at the Boston Marathon a year ago and try to understand what brought the perpetrators to this dark place, let us not blame the Islamic faith. There is no place in a true Islamic conversion experience that allows for the wanton killing of other people. The Holy Quran, the main sourcebook of Islam...