CategoryAhmadiyya

Born of a Muslim who overcame an immigration ban, a community celebrates its centennial

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One hundred years ago this week, the Philadelphia Inquirer recorded the arrival in its city of a South Asian man in a green and gold turban. Others noted his “Gospel likeness” and “flowing” beard, as one who “spoke like a Biblical prophet.” Upon seeing him, one young girl would later remark, “Look, Mother, Jesus Christ has come!” Immigration officers denied him entry because they feared...

Ahmadiyya Muslims celebrating 100th year of spirituality in U.S.

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On Feb. 15, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will celebrate its centennial in the United States. Ahmadiyya is a revivalist movement in Islam founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in India in 1889. Ahmadi Muslims believe that Ahmad was the symbolic second coming of Jesus in a sense similar to how the New Testament states Jesus of Nazareth spoke of John the Baptist as the second coming of the Old Testament...

As a Muslim, here is why Juneteenth is important to me

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Originally published in Blavity: News on June 18th, 2019 On June 19, we Americans celebrate Juneteenth — the day slavery was completely abolished in America. As a Muslim, I believe this is one of the greatest moments of American history. The Qur’an, our holy book, states, “Do you know what the greatest ascent is? It is the freeing of a slave.” (Qur’an 90:12-13) This shows how blessed the complete...

After Christchurch, time to live by ‘love for all, hatred for none’

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Originally Published in The Middletown Press on March 27th, 2019 Commemorations are arising amid the aftermath of March 15’s barbaric terrorist attacks martyring 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, who gathered at mosques to observe the Islamic worship service that day. As Ahmadi Muslims, we mourned the sacred lives lost, many of whom were innocent children, to blind hatred and...

We’re getting desensitized to mass murders of children

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by Naseer Syed Originally Published in The Star Press on March 3rd, 2018 Seventeen kids were murdered at a high school in Parkland, Florida.  Three days later, less than 50 miles away at a gun show, hundreds thought buying more weapons was the appropriate response. Give it another week or two, and we’ll have brushed off the frenzy of activism that accompanies mass atrocities in our country. The...

Solving the problem of racism in the US through an Islamic lens

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Originally Published in The Caludron  Many Americans feel that our country faces an existential threat from Muslims and the entire religion of Islam. A hard look at historical data will provide us with a different story. As a Muslim-American, I am inclined to believe that Islam is not a problem for Americans, but can actually provide a solution when it comes to one of the most difficult and...

Eclipses in Islam; why Muslims observe special prayer

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Originally Published in The Middletown Press on February 6th, 2018 As an Ahmadiyya Muslim, I joined Muslims the world over recently in observing a special prayer called Khusoof as a rare phenomenon occurred in the heavens. A lunar eclipse took place. It was also a super blue blood moon, which is when the moon is closest to the Earth, the brightest, the second full moon of the month, and when it...

How True Islam Ahmadiyya Actualizes Martin Luther King Jr’s Dream

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Originally Published in The Patch on January 15th, 2018 1400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad heralded the “Promised Land” that MLK envisioned for America. 129 years ago, Messiah Ahmad brought it back. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the Rejected, In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Ever Merciful Esteemed brothers and sisters in humanity, I greet you all with the Islamic...