Originally Published in The Daily Herald What do Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus and Muhammad all have in common? They were promoters of peace, justice and equality. These attributes help define America today as we pledge, “With liberty and justice for all.” The Prophet Muhammad stated, “All of you are equal. All men, whatever nation or tribe they may belong to, and...
Originally published in Cincinnati Enquirer This Sunday, Christians worldwide will celebrate Easter. Being an Ahmadi Muslim I will not be celebrating Easter. However, this does not mean that I won’t show my love for Jesus Christ. Islam teaches us to respect Christians and their right to celebrate. In fact, Islam teaches us to join them in the love of Jesus Christ. While differences exist, what...
Originally published in Hartford Courant Prayers and congratulations emanated from Muslims to Catholics as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio ascended the papacy after Pope Benedict’s resignation. The previous pope had insulted Islam and its holy founder Muhammad in his Regensburg Lecture, whereas Cardinal Bergoglio devoted a large portion of his efforts to strengthening Catholic-Islamic ties...
Billa was his nickname. A poor, uneducated Christian boy who cleaned sewer lines, removed garbage and, on a good day, played cricket with us on the streets of Lahore. I fondly remember how he could hit the ball out of the park and make the team proud. But life in Pakistan was rife with contradictions. In the afternoon, the team heard sermons narrating Muslim stories of equal treatment of non...
Originally published in SFGate As an American Muslim, I am saddened by the anti-Islamic bus ads in San Francisco by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. Regarding similar ads on the New York City transit system, Pamela Geller, executive director of the initiative, last year described her campaign as a triumph of the First Amendment. And she gave a simple reason to embark on this campaign:...
Pakistan ambassador to America Sherry Rehman’s Twitter bio declares, “Will take a bullet for the motherland but hope our children don’t have to.” But what is an ambassador to do when that bullet comes from Pakistan and strikes her in the back? Last month, Pakistan took the unprecedented step and charged their own ambassador with blasphemy — a crime that carries the...
More than 30 years ago, when my parents enrolled me in St. Anthony’s, a Catholic school in Pakistan, our neighbors expressed a concern: Will my faith be at risk because of attending a Catholic school? But I experienced no conflict. I noted how the nuns wore a black head cover with a long dress — just like my mother. I observed how the priests were kind — just like my father. I...
Originally published in Duluth News Tribune Since 1976 the United States has celebrated February as Black History Month. We celebrate Black History Month to commemorate the efforts and perseverance of African-Americans in American society. In school we learned how blacks were forced to give up their seats and go to the backs of buses any time a white person boarded. However, 1,400 years ago...
Originally published in The Huffington Post Sen. Mitch McConnell is guilty on both counts: What he believed to be news was a joke, and what he missed was the real news. It started on Nov. 12, when on The Duffle Blog, America’s John Stewart for the fake and funny military news made an Onion-style joke that the Obama administration was preparing to give the same GI Bill benefits, offered to...
As a child my mother used to narrate incidents from the life of the Prophet Muhammad. One of these was that of the Arab chief who was walking by the Prophet Muhammad while he affectionately played with his grandsons. The man told the Prophet that it was not customary for them to show affection to their children and boasted that in his own life he had never kissed any of his 10 children...