Originally published in the Huffington Post Religious clerics in Pakistan celebrate September 7th as a day of victory for Islam and Pakistan. Officially dubbed the “Khatme Nubuwwat Day” or “Finality of Prophethood Day,” many mosques come alive with celebrations this day, sweets are distributed andintense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this...
Originally published in the Huffington Post My name is Kashif Chaudhry. I am a Pakistani immigrant to the United States. Currently, I am completing a Cardiology fellowship in Boston. While speaking at Yale a few days back, Ayaan Hirsi Ali declared war on me. But why? To provide some perspective, I am a Muslim who belongs to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the single...
Originally published in the Huffington Post It is no secret I’ve been critical of Muslim leadership for their deafening apathy and silence over the 125-year worldwide persecution of Ahmadi Muslims. To add insult to injury, every time a new atrocity emerges I’m bombarded with standard anti-Ahmadi talking points in a shameless attempt to justify the violence. Just recently in...
Originally published in the Huffington Post While President Obama reveals his plan to obliterate ISIS with force, and Bill Maher continues his ignorant rant to tie ISIS to Islam, New York Times journalist David Brooks provides the correct counter to ISIS in his September 4 column, “But, ultimately, [ISIS is] a spiritual movement that will have to be surmounted by a superior version of Islam...
Originally published in the The Santa Clarita Valley Signal On this anniversary of 9/11, it seems there is more to be concerned about now than to alleviate us from the wounds inflicted 13 years ago. Sept. 11 has come to symbolize terrorism, cruelty and injustice. Over the course of the previous year we have seen an astounding rise in all of these vices around the world. The Israeli-Palestinian...
Originally published in the Star Telegram As painful as it is to admit, the image of Islam in America is tainted. A heinous act 13 years ago by barbarians who claim to be Muslim will forever haunt not only the image of Islam, but America as a whole. Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, Boko Haram and any other terrorist organization claiming to represent Islam have dragged my beautiful religion through...
Originally published in the Express Tribune Religious clerics in Pakistan celebrate September 7th as a day of victory for Islam and Pakistan. Officially dubbed the “Khatme Nubuwwat Day” or “Finality of Prophethood Day,” many mosques come alive with celebrations this day, sweets are distributed and intense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this day, Pakistan passed...
Originally published in the Huffington Post Earlier this month Islamic scholar Dr. Tariq Ramadan publicized his impassioned decision to boycott the ISNA conference. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I disagreed with his decision. In fact, even if I agreed with every complaint he made, I still would not boycott ISNA for one simple reason — I can’t rationalize Prophet Muhammad’s pluralistic...
Originally published in the Daily Reflector “Whosoever killed a person… it shall be as if he killed all mankind and whosoever gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind” (5:33). In the spirit of this verse, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is beginning its 4th annual Muslims for Life Campaign. All across the nation and in several universities in North...
Originally published in the Daily Herald ISIS self-proclaims to be “The Islamic state of Iraq and al-Sham.” However, the reality is there is nothing Islamic about ISIS. Innocent civilians are dying and minorities such as Christians, Yazidi, Kurdish and Shiites have been targeted by ISIS. Muslims follow Islam by the Holy Quran and the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The true...