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 Express Tribune 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 and intense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this day, Pakistan passed...
Originally published in the Daily Reflector “Whosoever killed a person… it shall be as if he killed all mankind and whosoever gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind” (5:33). In the spirit of this verse, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is beginning its 4th annual Muslims for Life Campaign. All across the nation and in several universities in North...
Originally published in the Daily Herald ISIS self-proclaims to be “The Islamic state of Iraq and al-Sham.” However, the reality is there is nothing Islamic about ISIS. Innocent civilians are dying and minorities such as Christians, Yazidi, Kurdish and Shiites have been targeted by ISIS. Muslims follow Islam by the Holy Quran and the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The true...
Originally published in The Morning Call e peaceful religion of Islam is yet again being dishonored by the barbaric acts of the militant group ISIS (“Chaos in Baghdad,” Aug. 12). It has taken over key parts of Northern Iraq, demolished several holy sites and has targeted many minority groups. The group’s members have also threatened the Christians living in the cities they have...
Originally published in Time News Like hundreds of other Ahmadi Muslims, Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was murdered only for his faith. Combined, education and compassion can conquer such extremism. Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was the type of friend every American would proudly brag about. He was a loyal U.S. citizen. He was only 50, a loving husband and father of three. He dedicated his life to medicine and to...
Originally published in The Express Tribune Ashir is just two-years-old. Yesterday, he was witness to the most horrific tragedy anyone can imagine. His father – a 50-year-old doctor – was brutally murdered in Pakistan. His crime: He belonged to the Ahmadiyya community. Dr Mehdi Ali was a US-trained cardiologist on a medical mission to Pakistan. He was visiting Tahir Heart Institute; a state-of...
Originally published in The Daily Caller Some 50 years before terrorists brutally murdered him because they believed him an infidel, Mehdi Ali Qamar was born a Muslim. But by the age of 10 Pakistan’s government declared him an infidel, an apostate, and in the opinion of many extremist clerics — worthy of death. But that didn’t deter him. By the age of 20 Pakistan’s government declared Qamar a...
Originally published in The Hartford Courant There is a dire need to stand up against religious persecution. Last Monday, after paying tribute to our men and women in uniform on Memorial Day, my religious community, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, commemorated another recent American hero, who made the ultimate sacrifice for his service. Dr. Mehdi Qamar, a cardiologist practicing near...
Originally published in Twin Cities Daily Planet On Monday, May 25, Ohio based cardiologist, Dr. Mehdi Ali was assassinated in Pakistan. According to a report in the New York Times: “An American doctor volunteering at a hospital in eastern Pakistan was shot to death on Monday in front of his wife and 3-year-old son in the latest attack on a follower of the minority Ahmadi faith at a time of...