Originally Published in The Huffington Post and The Washington Post Every December, Muslim youth, parents and converts in the Western countries face a familiar dilemma: Why (or how) should they “celebrate” Christmas? On this issue, Muslim scholars are divided. Integrators like the British Cabinet Minister, Baroness Warsiadmonish immigrant Muslims to “celebrate Christmas...
Originally Published in The Huffington Post Last week, I was taking pictures at my son’s elementary school’s winter concert. The kindergartners were dressed as elephants, monkeys and other animals; my son was wearing the zebra costume. The children were singing; the parents were clapping. It was like watching The Lion King on Broadway. Then on Friday, as I was getting those pictures...
Originally Published in The Washington Post and The Express Tribune, Pakistan. Plato may have inadvertently summed up the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 2,500 years ago when he is thought to have declared: “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” The cyclical bloodshed in the Arab-Israeli conflict is a direct...
Originally Published in The Huffington Post There are many similarities between the candidates vying for the District 5 seat on the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Board of Education: they are both women, both members of minority groups, both long-term residents of the county and both highly qualified. Yet there is a key difference: Age. Raaheela Ahmad is the 19-year-old maverick...
Originally Published in The Washington Post and The Huffington Post Someone is missing from this picture. Because just when I was wondering if extremists could do anymore damage to Islam’s image, they committed yet another despicable act. As if flogging the adulterers, executing the civilians, and selling the women were not enough, on Oct. 8, the Taliban attempted to assassinate a 14-year...
Originally Published in The Express Tribune and The Huffington Post Sir, it was 1995, North Medical Ward of Pakistan’s Mayo Hospital, where you famously said in your English-Punjabi accent, “Putter ji, batti uthay balo, jithay hanaira howay” (Son, light a candle where it’s dark). You didn’t want your students to go abroad after completing medical school. You wondered...
Originally Published in The Washington Post and The Huffington Post The straw man of the famous post-Sept. 11 slogan, “Not every Muslim is a terrorist but every terrorist is a Muslim” was debunked by a 2005 FBI report. It showed that only 6 percent of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil from 1980 to 2005 were carried out by extremists calling themselves Muslims. But one group has sustained the...
Originally Published in The Express Tribune Consider this before buying your next Umra package: Jabbarsahib can grab your shoulder, beam you to the Kaaba from anywhere in the world, where you can offer prayers and return back home in no time. The idea is laughable on many accounts. It rejects physical laws, discards scientific evidence, and makes a mockery of Islamic practices too. Add to the...
Originally Published in The Huffington Post “We’ve been waiting for you.” People say this all the time when I teach coursesabout Islam and peace at colleges, universities and places of worship. With the Muslim world erupting in chaos from the Libyan shores of Bin Ghazi to the tribal areas of Pakistan, this yearning for peace is becoming a global phenomenon. But name a Muslim...
Originally Published in The Express Tribune As a rejected son, how do you celebrate Mother’s Day? Who enjoys the breakfast tray? Who receives the flower bouquet? That’s my story. But it’s not my biological mother who rejected me. It’s my motherland – Pakistan. So on this Mother’s Day, let me have a heart to heart talk with you – my motherland. You don’t want to accept my love; that’s your choice...