As Published In Daily Times To the Times: Right now Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer that began on May 27 and ends in late June. The national rhetoric concerning people who are Muslim has been heated and too often hateful. There is always a danger of stereotyping people, especially those we don’t know much about. In an effort to dispel...
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 on May 29th, 2017 On Monday, ISIL claimed responsibility for another terrorist attack, this time in the great city of Manchester, England. We do not know for sure if so called Muslims committed this terrorist attack but we should condemn all terrorist attacks no matter who orchestrates them and those who believe in the power of prayer should pray for peace and...
Originally Published in OnFaith on May 29th, 2017 The week following September 11th was a sad and tense time for us at the Portland Rizwan Mosque. Not only had we experienced the same shock and horror from the attacks as any other American, but we also had the fear of retaliatory attacks that might occur at our mosque or against community members. The initial response wasn’t nearly as bad as...
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...
Originally Published on Patheos on April 7th, 2017 by Imam Azam Akram As a Muslim Imam (Religious Minister), I find myself in a bind each time an atrocious act against Humanity is committed. Whether it is an act of terror or an act of injustice. That is because my eight years of formal training in the Qur’an, Sunnah, Hadith, and authentic teachings of Islam have no basis for these atrocities. In...
Originally Published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer on March 10th, 2017 NORTH CANTON, Ohio — It’s easier to blur the lines about what is and what isn’t acceptable speech about a certain group of people if they are just an abstract concept. This situation prevails in America, in which, when some individuals refer to Muslims, they are speaking not about real people but ideas...