Originally published in The Daily Bulletin June 29th will be the first day of the fast in Ramadhan this year for all healthy Muslim men and women. The fast, which starts an hour and 20-minutes before sunrise and ends after sunset, will run for 30 days, concluding with the sighting of the new moon on July 28. The following day, July 29, will be Eid-ul Fitr, the festival commemorating the end of...
Originally published in The Daily Bulletin Dear readers: here are 10 ways you can become closer to God. These were written 125 years ago by the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the messiah and mahdi … 1. Do not associate partners with God. This means believing that God is singularly one, the only supreme being and sole creator of the universe. 2. Abstain from...
Originally published in The Daily Bulletin A May 15 letter states that I should stop my “continual challenge” of Christianity, take heed of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:3 regarding specks and logs in people’s eyes, and spend my time correcting the “shortcomings” of my own religion of Islam. Any “challenges” I have issued in the form of questioning Christian beliefs have been in defense of the...
Originally published in The Daily Bulletin After the death and resurrection of Jesus (peace be upon him) as believed by Christians, nothing is closer to their heart or more central to their belief than his long-awaited second coming. Biblical prophecies about the second coming have been debated by Christian scholars for centuries. When Jesus failed to reappear at the dawn of the second...
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 Daily Bulletin My column last month entitled “Focus on God should not be split” generated a few letters in response. You can read my Dec. column here. One letter came from Mr. George C. in Ontario and another from Mr. Tom V. in Chino Hills. Thank you both for your letters — I always welcome them. And while Tom wrote a polite two-page letter quoting many Bible verses to...
Originally published in the Liberty Magezine Religious blasphemy laws can be a touchy subject, especially in Pakistan, where just bringing up the subject of the blasphemy laws and whether they are right or wrong is considered, well …blasphemous. This wasn’t always the case. The sentiment behind most blasphemy laws is easy to understand. No person or group should insult another religion’s beliefs...
Originally published in the Sun Opinion Can Muslims celebrate Thanksgiving? Of course they can! Muslims should celebrate Thanksgiving because it’s all about being thankful to God and that is what Islam is all about. As Muslims, we are taught that God blesses us all the time — indeed, every breath we take is a gift from God — and so we should be grateful to God all the time. To this end, Islam...
Originally published in The Sun Opinion and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Can Muslims celebrate Thanksgiving? Of course they can! Muslims should celebrate Thanksgiving because it’s all about being thankful to God and that is what Islam is all about. As Muslims, we are taught that God blesses us all the time — indeed, every breath we take is a gift from God — and so we should be grateful to God...
Originally published in Liberty Magazine Religious blasphemy laws can be a touchy subject, especially in Pakistan, where just bringing up the subject of the blasphemy laws and whether they are right or wrong is considered, well …blasphemous. This wasn’t always the case. The sentiment behind most blasphemy laws is easy to understand. No person or group should insult another religion’s beliefs or...