Originally published in the Huffington Post There exist two scenarios where no one can hear you scream. The first is of course, in space because there’s no oxygen. And the second is on Earth, but only if you’re a global Muslim leader condemning ISIS and promoting universal religious freedom. Such was the result of the landmark address His Holiness the Khalifa of Islam, Mirza Masroor...
Originally published in the Huffington Post I was born in Pakistan, completed my medical school there and then moved to the United States for higher medical training. I also moved to escape the horrid persecution my Islamic sect — the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community — faces back home. In America, I could enjoy all the freedoms I was denied under Pakistan’s law, most importantly the...
Originally published in News & Observer Many differences, but linked by a Nobel Prize”: Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi won the 2014 Noble Peace Prize for championing the importance of education. Along with billions of Muslims around the world, I congratulate this incredible achievement. In light of all the violence and discord that has arisen in the Middle East, it is beautiful to see...
Originally published in Pakistan Daily Times I was living in New Jersey in the summer of 2011 when Governor Chris Christie appointed Sohail Muhammed to the bench of the Superior Court of New Jersey. Almost immediately, the governor faced a serious backlash from the conservative right, which attacked his move to appoint a US Muslim judge to high office. Governor Christie was unmoved. With the...
Originally published in NewsOK Regarding “Both sides due criticism in Oklahoma-Islam flap” (Your Views, Sept. 21): State Rep. John Bennett’s wholesale condemnation of Islam paints a negative picture of Oklahoma. That’s why I appreciated that The Oklahoman repudiated Bennett’s remarks. But I must take exception to one statement in the editorial: “CAIR and other Islamic groups should be more...
Originally published in OnFaith A horrifying tragedy in Oklahoma has been hijacked to become a tool of partisan politics, and lost is the practice of an intelligent discourse. Last Thursday, 30-year-old Alton Nolen brutally attacked co-workers at a food processing plant, killing and decapitating 54-year-old Colleen Hufford and attempting to kill 43-year-old Traci Johnson. Let’s get some facts...
Originally published in the Huffington Post Religious clerics in Pakistan celebrate September 7th as a day of victory for Islam and Pakistan. Officially dubbed the “Khatme Nubuwwat Day” or “Finality of Prophethood Day,” many mosques come alive with celebrations this day, sweets are distributed andintense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this...
Originally published in the Huffington Post My name is Kashif Chaudhry. I am a Pakistani immigrant to the United States. Currently, I am completing a Cardiology fellowship in Boston. While speaking at Yale a few days back, Ayaan Hirsi Ali declared war on me. But why? To provide some perspective, I am a Muslim who belongs to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the single...
Originally published in the Huffington Post It is no secret I’ve been critical of Muslim leadership for their deafening apathy and silence over the 125-year worldwide persecution of Ahmadi Muslims. To add insult to injury, every time a new atrocity emerges I’m bombarded with standard anti-Ahmadi talking points in a shameless attempt to justify the violence. Just recently in...
Originally published in the Huffington Post While President Obama reveals his plan to obliterate ISIS with force, and Bill Maher continues his ignorant rant to tie ISIS to Islam, New York Times journalist David Brooks provides the correct counter to ISIS in his September 4 column, “But, ultimately, [ISIS is] a spiritual movement that will have to be surmounted by a superior version of Islam...