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 Pakistan Daily Times I was living in New Jersey in the summer of 2011 when Governor Chris Christie appointed Sohail Muhammed to the bench of the Superior Court of New Jersey. Almost immediately, the governor faced a serious backlash from the conservative right, which attacked his move to appoint a US Muslim judge to high office. Governor Christie was unmoved. With the...
Originally published in the Huffington Post Religious clerics in Pakistan celebrate September 7th as a day of victory for Islam and Pakistan. Officially dubbed the “Khatme Nubuwwat Day” or “Finality of Prophethood Day,” many mosques come alive with celebrations this day, sweets are distributed andintense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this...
Originally published in the Huffington Post My name is Kashif Chaudhry. I am a Pakistani immigrant to the United States. Currently, I am completing a Cardiology fellowship in Boston. While speaking at Yale a few days back, Ayaan Hirsi Ali declared war on me. But why? To provide some perspective, I am a Muslim who belongs to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the single...
Originally published in the Express Tribune Religious clerics in Pakistan celebrate September 7th as a day of victory for Islam and Pakistan. Officially dubbed the “Khatme Nubuwwat Day” or “Finality of Prophethood Day,” many mosques come alive with celebrations this day, sweets are distributed and intense speeches are made in large religious gatherings. Forty years ago this day, Pakistan passed...
Originally published in the Daily Times Israel emerged on the world map as an independent nation in the late 1940s. Over the last 65 years of its existence, the nation has faced significant challenges. One thing that has remained constant, however, is the state’s treatment of its Muslim citizens. There are over a million Muslims in Israel. The orthodox rabbis have been intimidating them...
Originally published in Daily Times One of Pakistan’s organisations of the clergy, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), held a national conference titled, ‘Why dialogue between various sects and religions is essential.’ The PUC’s central chairman, Maulana Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, presided over this well-attended conference in Islamabad. The conference was reported widely in the media. And why wouldn’t...
Originally published in the Huffington Post There was a rumor that recently made rounds on the Internet about the State of Angola banning the religion of Islam, demoting it to the status of a “cult” and making plans to demolish mosques across the country. This later proved to be a hoax. CAIR USA was one of the Muslim groups that circulated this news widely on social media –...