Originally published in The Oregonian Q. Let’s start with the book title itself: “Demystifying Islam: Tackling the Tough Questions.” What do you think are the two or three most common misunderstandings among Americans about Islamic faith and culture? Zafar: First, there seems to be a major misconception that Islam is a monolithic entity, bereft of true diversity (of both...
Originally published in The Washington Post On May 21, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York is scheduled to release “The Rise of Al Qaeda,” a seven-minute film telling the story of the attacks. Full disclosure: I have not watched the film. But last week, The New York Times reported how American Muslims were concerned that the film uses words such as “Islamist” and “jihadist,”...
Originally published in The Huffington Post In a recent piece, new atheist Ali Rizvi argues “The phobia of being called “Islamophobic” is on the rise — and it’s becoming much more rampant, powerful and dangerous than Islamophobia itself.” While thus admitting that Islamophobia exists in some form or another, Rizvi then cites Sam Harris who contrarily claims...
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...