Originally published in Muftah After intense international pressure, France’s highest court overturned the “Burkini” ban on Friday, August 26, 2016. Before the move, over a dozen French cities had banned the burkini. Most recently, armed officers forced a Muslim woman to dress down under threat of pepper spray and arrest, essentially criminalizing modesty. That this act of forced uncovering...
Originally posted in Tribliv This Muslim-American believes President Obama deserves praise for separating ISIL from Islam. Unlike some caustic contenders for the Oval Office, Obama advised the nation to “enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them away through suspicion and hate.” The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been at the forefront of the ideological...
Originally posted in The Daily Caller In his latest — and most provocative — statement, Trump has called for a ban on all Muslim immigration. I was hoping he would backtrack in the recent GOP debate, but he doubled down instead. Other politicians appeasing America’s far right have voiced similar bigotry in the past, but the fact that a presidential candidate is bagging more influence with his...
Originally published in The Daily Caller Last night, those vying for the Republican nomination spent two hours arguing why they would make this nation more safe and secure than anyone else on the stage. Aside from the false or gray statements that are already being debunked by fact checkers, I was amazed by the general solution being proposed to stop the growth and terror of Daesh (otherwise...
Originally posted on APP Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released a statement on Monday calling for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S. until “our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” Trump’s campaign slogan is “Make America great again!” I wonder if he truly understands what makes America great? It is our Constitution, rooted...
Originally posted on NewsWeek The great Indian scholar and immigrant Muslim missionary, Dr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, was immediately detained upon arriving in Philadelphia in 1920. In a racially charged nation, at a time when the KKK was 4 million strong, Sadiq—an Indian missionary for the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community—had little chance of equal treatment. The immigration police feared he...
Originally published on Patheos.com Why didn’t we hear the term “Muslim terrorist” or “Jihadist” before the 1980s? Islam has been around for more than 1400 years but “Islamic” terrorist organizations were not to be found prior to 1980. The first Islamist terrorist attack was the bombing of the Tyre Headquarters in 1982. Was Islam different prior to the 1980s or was there some sort of fundamental...
Originally published on the Statesman As a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, I emigrated to the United States fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan. I am blessed and thankful for the freedom and liberties which the U.S. provides to me. Therefore, I find Gov. Abbott’s refusal to accept any Syrian refugees morally wrong and against the American values of fairness, justice and compassion...
Originally published in Salon In his recent anti-Muslim crusade, Ben Carson promoted a disturbing form of religious segregation, claiming that a Muslim should only be president if he or she “renounces the tenets of Islam.” Sadly, just as racial segregationists long garnered votes by promoting fear of black Americans, religious segregationists such as Carson today garner votes by promoting fear...
Originally published in the Orange County Register As an American Muslim, I was surprised to read presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson’s recent remarks that a Muslim should never be U.S. president. Perhaps Dr. Carson overlooked the fact that the Constitution (Article VI, Clause 3) states that religion should not be a determinant in any public office in the United States. Perhaps he should be...