Originally Published in The Huffington Post There are many similarities between the candidates vying for the District 5 seat on the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Board of Education: they are both women, both members of minority groups, both long-term residents of the county and both highly qualified. Yet there is a key difference: Age. Raaheela Ahmad is the 19-year-old maverick...
Originally Published in The Finger Lakes Times With the Taliban’s horrific attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, some insist that Islam permits women’s education. Such a position is downright offensive and wrong. Islam does not permit women’s education – it mandates it. As a board member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association USA (www.muslimyouth.org), I passionately...
Originally Published in The Oshkosh NorthWestern Every time I read to my three year old daughter, I am trying to increase her passion for education. I pray that one day she will use her education to make a real difference in the world by helping humanity achieve peace. I am pretty sure that the father of Malala Yousefzai – Pakistani teen activist – probably wanted the same for his...
Originally Published in The Santa Clarita Valley Signal On Oct. 9, a teenage girl in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, which has been under Taliban rule for years, was brutally shot in a school bus. Malala Yusufzai was an outspoken girls’ education-rights activist and had been a persistent thorn in the side of the marauding Taliban. As reviling and abominable as this act is, far greater is young Malala’s...
Originally published in The BaltimoreSun.com Originally published in The BaltimoreSun.com As a Muslim, I am appalled by the Taliban’s recent attack on the Pakistani teenager Malala Yousefzai, a blogger and female education rights activist (“Outspoken teen shot,” Oct. 10). Islam is not only opposed to such senseless violence but obligates all believers to acquire knowledge. The...
Originally Published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer Although some may find it hard to believe, education and rights for women are championed in Islam. Fourteen-year-old nominee for the 2011 Children’s Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai, is in serious condition from gunshot wounds and receiving medical treatment in the United Kingdom. Malala is known for her activism in promoting...
Originally Published in The New York Post I am pleasantly surprised that the Pakistani police have taken a step forward by arresting suspects allegedly responsible for shooting the 14-year-old girl who courageously stood up to the Taliban in defense of her right to an education. The Pakistani police’s willingness to target the Taliban today is refreshing and is a step in the right direction. Saad...
Originally Published in The Washington Post and The Huffington Post Someone is missing from this picture. Because just when I was wondering if extremists could do anymore damage to Islam’s image, they committed yet another despicable act. As if flogging the adulterers, executing the civilians, and selling the women were not enough, on Oct. 8, the Taliban attempted to assassinate a 14-year...
Originally Published in The New York Post and The Asbury Park Press Now we know what the Taliban are afraid of. Not of drone attacks or bombs, but of books. By their cowardly attack on Malala Yousufzai — a strong proponent of women education — they have indicated to us how we can defeat them. Rather than spending billions of American dollars on drone attacks, we should spend this money to build...
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of appearing as a guest on “The O’Reilly Factor” to address accusations Ms. Wafa Sultan had levied against Islam on “The Factor” one day earlier. (Video at the bottom of this post.) Ms. Sultan commented on Muammar Qaddafi’s henchmen abducting and raping a Libyan woman. In her commentary, Ms. Sultan made the mistake of conflating...