Originally Published in The Washington Post This is the story of two Washington Iftar dinners. First, the Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren invited Muslim leaders to a diplomatic Iftardinner last week and Imam Antepli of Duke University wondered aloud if the event was meaningful. And then the Obama administration invited Muslim leaders to the White House Iftar dinner and Omid Saifi, the Islamic...
Originally Published in The Christian Science Monitor We have seen the pictures of the Tsarnaev brothers. We know their names, and we are learning facts about their lives – one a boxer, and the other a student. But we still don’t really know their identity. And neither did the brothers, as they allegedly planted those bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathonlast week. Or at least, that’s...
Originally Published in Oklahoma News “Love for one’s homeland is a part of faith.” Many of us may be surprised that this is a saying of Muhammad, a man whose words I use as personal guiding principles in life. These words have been an inspiration for me over the course of the past year while working as a physician in the Veteran’s Administration. Seeing these men and women who chose...
Originally published in The Huffington Post As this brown, bearded Muslim was getting ready to pick up his Thanksgiving turkey order from a local Boston Market, news broke of racist graffiti in New York city. Gap had recently launched a holiday ad campaign featuring diverse models. One such ad showcasing the famous designer and actor Waris Ahluwalia, a Sikh American, had been vandalized, its...
Originally published in the Indiana Gazette On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, World War I, the “war to end all wars,” ended. From then on, every Nov. 11 to come was to be dedicated as Armistice Day. President Dwight Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans Day. Now, the nation comes together, once again, in joint honor of veterans. As a young...
Originally published in Oklahoma News “Love for one’s homeland is a part of faith.” Many of us may be surprised that this is a saying of Muhammad, a man whose words I use as personal guiding principles in life. These words have been an inspiration for me over the course of the past year while working as a physician in the Veteran’s Administration. Seeing these men and women who chose...
Originally Publish on The Santa Clarita Valley Signal This eleventh of November, our nation will commemorate Veterans Day in tribute to the members of the armed forces who made great sacrifices defending our liberties. This day has great context, spanning wars over a hundred years fought to defend the very ideology of freedom and conscience against mortal threats. As a Muslim, I believe all...
Originally published in The Indiana Gazette On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, World War I, the “war to end all wars,” ended. From then on, every Nov. 11 to come was to be dedicated as Armistice Day. President Dwight Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans Day. Now, the nation comes together, once again, in joint honor of veterans. As a young American having known many...
Originally Published in The New York Times As a Muslim American and an avid comic book guy, I applaud Marvel for creating a Muslim heroine, code name Ms. Marvel. In a post-9/11 world, dealing with problems concerning Islamic and American identity is still real. Ms. Marvel shows that the two are not mutually exclusive. Her actions are not real, yet are a strong part of my reality. As a proud...
Originally published in The Santa Clarita Valley Signal This eleventh of November, our nation will commemorate Veterans Day in tribute to the members of the armed forces who made great sacrifices defending our liberties. This day has great context, spanning wars over a hundred years fought to defend the very ideology of freedom and conscience against mortal threats. As a Muslim, I believe all...