Originally Published in The Dallas Morning News It is hardly a fair and accurate assessment to say Islam — a religion of over 1 billion followers — has “a penchant for murder.” While an extremely vocal minority commits violent and inexcusable acts, they do not reflect the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of Muslims – nor of Islam. Their actions find prohibition both in the Quran and the...
Originally Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer The recent violence in Libya and other Muslim nations has a message for both sides. Muslims must learn to deal with the freedom of expression. Resorting to violence can never be the answer to an opinion – no matter how offensive. As a member of Ahmadiyya Muslim community, I strongly condemn any acts of violence committed in the name of...
Originally Published in The Washington Post It’s not about a clash of ideologies or a clash of civilizations; it is a clash between two groups of idiots. An Israeli spokesman characterized the alleged filmmaker as “an unspeakable idiot.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) described the video as “stupid,” “inaccurate” and “provocative.” It only provided a lame excuse to the other group of...
Originally Published in The Chicago Sun Times and The Daily Herald. Life is difficult being an American Muslim, but having to deal with the fear of losing my life is even worse — and Abel Daoud allegedly almost made this fear become reality when his attempt to plot a bomb across from my office failed miserably. As a Muslim, it is not that I deny jihad; in fact, I embrace it because I...
Originally Published in The San Francisco Chronicle As a member of the international Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, I wish to appeal to all Muslims to exercise restraint and patience, for Quran says God is with the patient. Secondly, Quran says not to create disorder on earth whether it is simple misdemeanor or of felonious nature causing property damage or risking human life. Being patient is not...
Originally Published in The Star Ledger What was the aim of the movie “Innocence of Muslims” if not to hurt the feelings of more than 1 billion Muslims across the globe? The moviemaker not only succeeded in achieving this objective, he was indirectly responsible for the loss of innocent lives, including that of the U.S. ambassador to Libya. That said, responding with violence...
Originally Published in The Dallas Morning News The murder of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens is an abhorrent and inexcusable crime. Murder has no place in Islam. Nowhere in the Quran is anyone permitted to harm, riot or kill anyone for speaking against Islam or Prophet Muhammad. The very actions the rioters took violate the example set by Prophet Muhammad. When a mob was about to...
Originally Published in The Perry Hall Patch Sinaan A. Younus, a sixth grade student at Perry Hall Middle School, submitted the following as a letter to the editor. 9/11 Memorial—a monument or a tourist attraction? As an 11-year-old, I was both touched and shocked to visit the 9/11 Memorial earlier this year. I was touched to see how we, as a country, have honored the people who lost their lives...
Originally Published in The Express-Times, Lehigh Valley Edition and The Morning Call Eleven years have passed, yet memories of the horrific event remain fresh. On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 American civilians were killed. The mastermind professed Islam as his religion, even though we read in the Holy Quran, “whosoever killed a person … it shall be as if he had killed all mankind.”...
Originally Published in The San Francisco Chronicle and The Sacramento Bee I find it alarming that Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass murderer, has been declared “sane” by Norwegian courts (“Mass murderer gets at least 21-year term,” Aug. 25). Indeed, being declared sane was part of Breivik’s master plan. He wanted to murder, get caught and draw public attention to...