Originally Published in “The Middletown Press” By Miyan Zahir Muhammad Mannan As an Ahmadiyya Muslim American, I wholeheartedly extend my prayers, condolences, solidarity and support to my Jewish brothers and sisters amid rising anti-Semitism and another condemnable attack. The despicable onslaught on the Jewish community has this time come in the heartbreaking form of destruction and...
Originally published in “The Citizens’ Voice” By Arsalan Ahmad Khan Hate crimes in the U.S. have seen an increase in the recent months following the election of President Trump. A hate crime is defined as abuse against a group or individual based on religious views or racial ethnic background. This increase includes heinous acts against people belonging to Jewish communities and...
Originally Published in Daily Bulletin Column on December 15th 2016. On the one-year anniversary of the Dec. 2, 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, we gathered in our places of worship and civic venues to honor those taken from us by two people who called themselves Muslims, but who violated God’s sacred laws in the Quran and chose instead the path of hate — choosing the evil of murder over the...
Originally Published in Patheos The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association has been conducting a successful #MeetAMuslim campaign across the country where our youth take to the streets to introduce themselves to the community and spread peace and understanding. Taking note of this campaign, an anti-Islam website called JihadWatch put together a set of questions for their readers to ask: . Several of...
Originally published in The Baltimore Sun In 1974, the Pakistani government declared Ahmadi Muslims, a minority sect of Islam, as non-Muslims. Ever since, Ahmadi Muslims have been victims of mosque burnings, massacres, targeted killings and other atrocities. Ahmadis in Pakistan are banned from reading the Quran, banned from calling their places of worship “mosques” and banned from...
Originally Published in USA Today President Trump’s travel ban bothers me to my core. But what bothers me more is the false sympathy that’s present because of it. Whether it’s a 40-year-old hijabi woman like my mother or a 15-year-old high school student like myself, any Muslim American can share her experience with veiled Islamophobia since 9/11. This ban lifts the veil. Sadly, we’ve learned to...
Originally Published in The Baltimore Sun On Friday, our nation stood united to inaugurate Donald Trump (“Donald Trump sworn in as 45th president of the United States of America,” Jan. 20). As an American and Ahmadi Muslim, I value the democratic transition of power and appreciate the fact that we live in a country that gives us our inalienable rights of religious freedom and...
Originally published in The Ambler Gazette Regarding vandalism of religious building To the Editor: As a Muslim I condemn the senseless vandalism at a Jewish religious building in Northeast Philadelphia. My faith tells me that it is my duty to respect all religions and to protect all places of worship. In the Quran it clearly states “…And if Allah had not repelled some people by means of others...
Originally Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer Today marks the 31st Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As a Muslim American, I encourage my fellow citizens to reflect on the importance of this day. King famously stated, “I look to the day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” This profound notion has always been a...
Originally Published in Beliefnet For many Americans last week looking to spend some holiday time with family and friends at the mall, what they thought was going to be cheerful moments taking pictures with Santa and flying new toy drones in their local Brookstone store turned into a nightmare with panic and terror. All across the country, we were witness to waves of disorder and chaos at our...