Originally published in the Huffington Post Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an extreme anti-Islam critic, well known for her bigoted views and dishonest generalizations of the Muslim faith. When she was invited to speak at Yale’s Buckley program recently, some student groups — including the Yale Humanist Community — issued a statement criticizing the invitation. In their statement, thegroup...
Originally published in the Express Tribune I read a fellow blogger’s post on why she agrees with Sam Harris and Bill Maher. I am sure the writer has her heart in the right place and I completely agree with her principal argument – that the Muslim world needs serious introspection and reform. Except this is not the argument Maher and Harris put forth. They believe that the Islamic faith, not...
Originally published in the Huffington Post I was born in Pakistan, completed my medical school there and then moved to the United States for higher medical training. I also moved to escape the horrid persecution my Islamic sect — the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community — faces back home. In America, I could enjoy all the freedoms I was denied under Pakistan’s law, most importantly the...
Originally published in Patheos Despite the divisions and sectarianism in the Muslim world today, certain beliefs are still universal. For example, all Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is Khaatam un Nabiyyin. All Muslims believe the Quran is the perfect and final book, revealed by Allah to Prophet Muhammad. And all Muslims believe that the Quran was first revealed in the blessed month of...
By Qasim Rashid*
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Originally published in Journal Sentinel Two terms used in the media today in conjunction with each other are ISIS and “Caliphate.” The former is the acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an extremist militant group waging a territorial war in that region; the latter is a divinely guided spiritual leadership from the perspective of Islam. These two things cannot possibly...
Originally published in OnFaith Since the militant group known as ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) declared that the “caliphate has been re-established” in an area straddling the two countries, I’ve been inundated with emails, tweets, and texts asking for my opinion and explanation. I expected this, as in the past few months I’ve written and been interviewed numerous times on His...
Originally published in Time News Like hundreds of other Ahmadi Muslims, Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was murdered only for his faith. Combined, education and compassion can conquer such extremism. Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was the type of friend every American would proudly brag about. He was a loyal U.S. citizen. He was only 50, a loving husband and father of three. He dedicated his life to medicine and to...
Originally published in The Huffington Post The Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram recently kidnapped young girls, allegedly to sell into sexual slavery. Extremist Muslim clerics and extreme critics of Islam have long shared the conviction – amongst some others – that Islam allows keeping slaves, at least in certain circumstances, and permits their rape. This myth is completely...
Originally published in The Northwestern What makes me furious today is that whenever a Muslim extremist group wants to push a personal political agenda anywhere in the world, it is at the cost of human suffering and the unjustifiable use of the name of Islam. This time, it is 276 Nigerian school girls who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram (a banned terrorist group). As a father of a daughter, I...