Out of the silent night, two men moved swiftly through the mosque’s front gate. Magazines loaded and safeties off, one stopped at the front door, the other proceeded through. All that separated a fully loaded Kalashnikov in the hands of a madman from 50 innocent worshippers was a straw curtain that hung helplessly in the doorway. “In the end, they killed eight of my brothers, and shot...
Originally Published in The New Haven Register What society would tolerate a doctor who lies to his patient about his newly developed cancer, telling him it’s something else? Such a doctor would be stripped of his license to practice and might do jail time. Why? Because cancer ranks as the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., and it’s often curable if caught early. In medicine, gross...
The inside back-cover of Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam book, “Marked for Death,” says it all: “Expelled from Britain, banned from Indonesia, denounced by the UN Secretary General … Wilders is unbowed and unapologetic.” After having read his book, another word to describe Wilders comes to mind: uninformed. Wilders promises many things in his book, above all that...
Though I was born in Pakistan, I was still a baby when my dad had to move to The Gambia in West Africa. The Gambia is a small peaceful country. Here, I remember my mother teaching me the Urdu Qaida and telling me interesting stories about Pakistan. I could see she missed Pakistan a great deal. She would sometimes break down in tears, relating stories of the persecution she had witnessed growing...
During his 1960 Presidential campaign, then Senator John F. Kennedy said that if a conflict arose between his Presidency and his loyalty to the Pope, he would give up his Presidency. A few weeks ago, Reverend Gregory, while referencing my monthly column, essentially questioned whether being a Muslim and American was possible. His reasons, however, left me scratching my head. The Reverend...
My friend in Pakistan was unable to tweet this quote on May 20: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and conveniences, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Yes, it was more than 140 characters, but the bigger reason was Pakistan’s ban on Twitter. Why was the popular site banned? Because social media activists were...
On May 28th this year, we observed Memorial Day, a day to remember and honor those who have died in service to our nation. But on this year’s Memorial Day, I also reflected on other brave souls who died in another service: to their faith. May 28th has a special significance not just for me and the tens of millions of members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community worldwide. It is also a day of...
Originally Published in The Express Tribune As a rejected son, how do you celebrate Mother’s Day? Who enjoys the breakfast tray? Who receives the flower bouquet? That’s my story. But it’s not my biological mother who rejected me. It’s my motherland – Pakistan. So on this Mother’s Day, let me have a heart to heart talk with you – my motherland. You don’t want to accept my love; that’s your choice...
Originally Posted on PakTeaHouse Just when it seems that the boundary of idiocy cannot be pushed any further, Punjab police has proved us wrong. There are recent reports that an Ahmadi “place of worship” in Sultanpura, Lahore was damaged by policemen to fulfill the demands of local religious clerics. The offense which the Ahmadi “place of worship” had caused was the public display of Kalima in...
Waqar Hasan was a Pakistani Muslim immigrant who had come to New Jersey to live the American dream. Leaving his family in Milltown, NJ, he went to Dallas, TX, to open a grocery store. Four days after 9/11, a gunman came to his store and shot him in the face. The killer went on to shoot two more Muslims that same week, avenging the 9/11 attacks. 9/11 unleashed the most intense manhunt in American...