Originally published in The Columbus Dispatch As an Ahmadi Muslim, I am certainly concerned with the escalation of violence and the absence of peaceful discussions regarding the current conflict with Iran. The Holy Quran states, ”… Let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness” (5:9). Additionally, in the case of a...
As a Muslim American, I wish my neighbors and the rest of America a very warm and happy holiday season. It’s a popular belief that Muslims are anti-Christian and that Christians are anti-Muslim. This notion is as bizarre as it is false. I admit, there are extremist elements on both sides of the aisle, but they don’t speak for the majority that pivots on pluralism. Perhaps there is a connection...
As I drove to the local Ahmadiyya Muslim Community mosque in Oshkosh, Wis. the morning of Dec. 3, I was supposed to be conducting cultural sensitivity training at the mosque with police officers from across Wisconsin. Instead I watched as group after group of students, eventually numbering over a hundred, were ushered into the mosque to seek shelter and safety after a stabbing and...
The Thanksgiving holiday truly has a universal and never-ending appeal. The tradition is believed to have started by the early 17th century Pilgrims, who reaped successful harvests and thus were able to make their abode in the land that came to be known as the United States of America. The Pilgrims were also known to have migrated to America to escape religious persecution in their former...
Originally published in The Buffalo News I must admit that, until recently, I was unaware of the American celebration known as Juneteenth. I suspect the same holds true for other Americans. But given its history and meaning, it didn’t take long to get excited about this somewhat obscure celebration. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, celebrates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in...
Originally published in Moscow-Pullman Daily News My family has been in the U.S. for almost three decades now. We have celebrated the July Fourth holiday every year; however, this year is special. My younger brother took his citizenship oath a couple of weeks ago – making him the last person in my family to become a U.S. citizen. This year more than others I am grateful to be a citizen of this...
Originally published in Canton Rep on April 30th, 2019 What happened Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka was nothing short of horrific. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I strongly condemn the attacks perpetrated against peaceful worshipers whose only crime was celebrating a momentous occasion of their faith. My deepest prayers are with the victims and families of all those affected. In Islam, killing any innocent...
Originally published in Blavity: News on June 18th, 2019 On June 19, we Americans celebrate Juneteenth — the day slavery was completely abolished in America. As a Muslim, I believe this is one of the greatest moments of American history. The Qur’an, our holy book, states, “Do you know what the greatest ascent is? It is the freeing of a slave.” (Qur’an 90:12-13) This shows how blessed the complete...
Originally published in The Arizona Republic on May 20th, 2019 To all my neighbors, We have just entered the last week of Ramadan. The month of Ramadan is a fast in which Muslims take an oath of refraining from food and drink (including water) from sunup to sundown. But more than that it is a time of reflection and self-reformation. While many may know this is a time in which Muslims fast, it is...
Originally Published in The Middletown Press on March 27th, 2019 Commemorations are arising amid the aftermath of March 15’s barbaric terrorist attacks martyring 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, who gathered at mosques to observe the Islamic worship service that day. As Ahmadi Muslims, we mourned the sacred lives lost, many of whom were innocent children, to blind hatred and...