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...
Muslim Detained on a Flight: I’m Your Biggest Ally
Originally published on Time.com I’m a Muslim American. On Nov. 15, two days after the Paris attacks, I boarded a plane from Newark to Houston. I had just returned from a formal event, so I was wearing a plain white “shalwar,” a shirt that stops at the knees and is commonly worn by South Asians. As is my routine, I purchased in-flight WiFi to catch up on emails. But the WiFi was out on the plane...
The Origins of Terrorism are Geopolitical, Not Religious
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...
Retaliation against terrorists justified
Originally published on GoErie.com By targeting a soccer game, restaurant and concert hall, Islamic State terrorists tried to upset the normalcy of ordinary Parisians. Places like those targeted are the sort of spots where the ordinary young folks of Paris gather on the weekends to unwind after a week of work. Now the responsible powers of the civilized world should give the terrorists an...
Youths set right example
Originally posted on Philly More than 130 people were brutally murdered Friday in attacks around Paris. This is not Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association USA challenges radicalization and extremists’ claims about Islam by showing through words and deeds the true essence of Islam. The association has fed about 180,000 people and collected 5,000 units of blood in service...
AS I SEE IT: A call for understanding of Islam’s place in America
Originally posted on Telegram On November 13, simultaneous attacks on six different locations in Paris left at least 129 people dead and hundreds wounded. France has been the recipient of numerous attacks this year, beginning with the horrific attack on Charie Hebdo newspaper, which left 12 dead including a security officer by the name of Ahmed. While the perpetrators claim to have acted in the...
Greg Abbott refuses Syrian refugees, joining other governors
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...
The Islamic State group is not part of Islam
Originally published on the Pittsburgh Post Gazette I was extremely saddened and hurt when I found out about the attacks in Paris and Beirut, which resulted in the loss of more than 170 lives. The perpetrators did this under the guise of Islam and by loudly proclaiming “Allaho Akbar,” which literally means God is the greatest. But their actions were brutal, inhumane and of a very low standard. My...
Duke’s commendable gesture toward religious co-existence
Originally published in The News and Observer In the wake of the despicable terrorist act at the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo and the Kosher supermarket in France, a lot of questions are being asked about the tolerance and peaceful nature of the followers of Islam. Studying the Quran and the prophet Muhammad’s life, however, it becomes abundantly clear that this barbaric act is against the true...
Let’s Extend Our Generosity and Hospitality to Syrian Refugees
Originally published in Patheos Never before in the history of mankind has the world witnessed such a mass migration of refugees. They come seeking shelter and safe haven from the barbaric onslaught of ISIS and President Assad’s regime. As the world watches in horror the untold sufferings of thousands of refugees in the Middle East and Europe (Hungary and Greece) on TV, one cannot help but...