by Muhammad Akif Qadeer Originally Published in the Daily Record Another horrendous act of violence has been committed and fingers are once again being pointed towards Islam. ISIS have claimed responsibility for attack in Barcelona, Spain where a van was driven into a crowd of innocent people. The perpetrator was one who was inspired by the Islamic State and their ideologies. As an Ahmadi Muslim...
Originally Published: The Press-Enterprise 08/02/2018 Re: “Riverside imam accused of anti-Semitic sermon that called Jews ‘tyrants’” [News, Aug. 1]: As an Ahmadi Muslim, I was dismayed to learn of the anti-Semitic remarks made by a local Imam at a Riverside mosque. Such divisive language is toxic to our social climate today and we need to build bridges, rather than burn them, to make our nation...
Originally published in Observer Reporter 07/15/2017 Muslims all around the world celebrated Eid last month. The festival of Eid marks the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting, and is celebrated with the sighting of the moon crescent. Eid is an opportunity to celebrate and reflect upon all the spiritual progress made by Muslims in the last month. Apart from abstaining from food and water, Muslims...
by Imran Tahir I was utterly shocked and horrified to hear about the truly sadistic suicide bombing in Manchester (U.K.) at the conclusion of a music concert attended by thousands of youth, most of them young girls. Terrorism in all its heinous forms — and especially depraved attacks targeting children — is a painful blight on our society, and needs to be eradicated completely through a...
Originally Published on Cleveland.com (June 6, 2017) The Khalifa of Islam, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, is the worldwide spiritual and administrative head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Under his leadership, our community has been at the forefront of combatting all radical (false) interpretations of the Qur’an. Through our bookstalls, flier distributions, peace symposia...
Originally Published in Beliefnet on June 8th, 2017 by Nayyar Ahmad Almost all major religions and cultures around the world believe in fasting; Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism etc. Likewise, Islam also enjoins its followers to fast during the month of Ramadhan. Now a week into Ramadhan, Muslims are observing fast from sunup to sundown for 30 days. Apart from abstaining from food and water...
Originally Published in Patheos on June 2nd, 2017 Yesterday, I attended a seminar by Professor Mahzarin Banaji of Harvard University on the topic of unconscious bias. It was an incredibly mind-opening seminar that brought many biases I hold to the surface. But it also enabled me, in a way, to see the biases that other people hold, specifically towards the Muslim community. Last week, 22 people...
Originally Published in Patheos on May 29th, 2017 There is no doubt that in every institution be it religious or secular, leadership plays a vital role in its progress. That is why every town, city or nation has to have people who lead. Even in the animal kingdom, there is a well observed role of leadership. When camels move in the desert, it is observed that a dominant male leads and the rest...
Originally Published on Beliefnet In the first week of May 2017, nearly 300 young Muslim men from the US went to visit the Khalifa of Islam, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad in London, UK. The event was organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association USA. Mirza Masroor Ahmad is the Head of the world wide Ahmadiyya Muslim community. For the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, His...
Originally Published in Patheos We’ve all seen the tragic images of children killed or injured in the Syrian civil war. An estimated 55,000 children have been killed in the fighting. This is among the hundreds of thousands total casualties of civilian deaths. Less known are the thousands that have died in the conflicts taking place in Yemen, Iraq, and Libya. The war in Yemen between the Sunni...