Originally published in Huffington Post “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship. That has nothing to do with business of state.” Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, spoke these words on the eve of the end of British rule over India. Despite these words, his country has fell to painful depths at the...
Originally published in The Boston Globe AS A Muslim American, I am tired of the double standard when it comes to media coverage of violence not committed by “Muslims.” If Craig Stephen Hicks was a Muslim and the three victims were white, the headlines would be filled with “Muslims” and “terrorist.” But no, this execution-style killing of three students in their home was due to a “parking dispute...
Originally published in Statesman Re: Jan. 8 article, “One held in deadly raid on Paris satirical paper” The targeted and horrific attacks at the office of Charlie Hebdo have shocked us all. No matter how distasteful the satire may be, it does not give anyone the right to kill in retaliation. By committing this heinous crime, the killers have done little to defend the honor of Prophet...
Originally published in Baltimore Sun The recent killing of two New York City Police officers is tragic, but it should not be used as an excuse to ignore the issues that have led to it (“Hundreds of Maryland police attend NYPD officer’s funeral Dec. 27). Our country faces a rising problem of police abuse of power, much of which is racially skewed. Consequently, protests have...
Originally published in The Dallas Morning News Michael Jackson once sang, “It don’t matter if you’re black or white,” but apparently it does matter as is evident by the racial tension across America the past few months, starting with the Ferguson case and the subsequent protests. Then came the brutal murders of two New York City police officers. As a member of the Ahmadi Muslim Youth...
Originally published in Houston Chronicles Regarding “Pakistan vows to step up fight after school massacre” (Page A1, Wednesday), as an alumnus of the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, it grieves me greatly to see the tragedy that took the lives of over 130 children. I was dumbfounded when I saw the hallways of my school that made up my childhood in pictures across the...
Originally published in Statesman Unfortunately, many extremists claiming to act in the name of Islam believe that Islam disallows the education of women. This is in direct contradiction with the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings, which valued the education of daughters so much that he stated: “If a daughter is born to a person and he brings her up, giving her good education and training in...
Originally published in Lancaster Eagle-Gazette n 1943, Nazi forces in Poland rounded up roughly 300,000 Jews and packed them into an area of 3.3-square kilometers in central Warsaw. Prisoners endured horrendous conditions and, load-by-load, were taken to Treblinka extermination camp to meet their end. One group among them, however, refused to be defeated. And so ensued the Warsaw Ghetto...
Originally published on Philly.com My prayers go out to all those affected by the tragic hostage crisis in Australia on Monday (“Sydney hostage crisis ends in gunfire; 3 dead,” Dec. 16). As a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) USA, I strongly condemn such acts. Such acts against peace and humanity have no place in the fold of Islam. Because of this, the AMYA has...
Originally published in The Press Enterprise The horrific killing of at least 132 schoolchildren and nine adults by the Taliban in Pakistan saddens me tremendously as a parent, a Muslim and a son of Pakistani immigrants. There is no place for this senseless violence. It must be condemned in the strongest terms. The Pakistani government must come down hard on these cowards who are an embarrassment...