Originally Published in The Daily Herald In recent months, we have witnessed an upsurge of anger that has swept throughout the Muslim world — in response to extremely crude acts by anti-Islam elements. It is now incumbent upon the world at large to respond, especially politicians who have failed to place regulation around the exploitation of “freedom of speech” and those who dictate international...
Originally Published in The Huffington Post My 10-year-old sister published her first Letter to the Editor in the Columbus Dispatch — with the help of her big brother, of course. She had innocently expressed her dismay at the unbecoming conduct of some Disney Channel stars who were supposed to be her role models. She gazed in awe as I pulled up the letter online and began reading the...
Originally Published in The Oshkosh Northwestern. Freedom of speech is understood to be a fundamental right and mutual respect of religious beliefs and figures is also a trait of civilized societies. One should not come at the expense of the other. A French newspaper’s crass attempt to highlight their freedom of speech seriously undermines interfaith relations. While violent protests in Islamic...
Originally Published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer Muslims around the world continue to protest violently in response to an anti-Islamic movie on YouTube. The movie sparked a series of protests, including the one that led to the killing of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. As a Muslim, I am appalled by the crude ways that my brothers have chosen to respond. Islam...
Originally Published in The Washington Post As an American Muslim activist, I receive this question all too often: “America is about freedom, free speech, and democracy—why do Muslims hate us?” The question is not at all why they hate us, but why don’t we get it. Many of age Americans remember Sept. 11, 2001—a day we justly cried out for freedom, free speech, and democracy. Fewer, however...
Originally Published in The Washington Post It’s not about a clash of ideologies or a clash of civilizations; it is a clash between two groups of idiots. An Israeli spokesman characterized the alleged filmmaker as “an unspeakable idiot.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) described the video as “stupid,” “inaccurate” and “provocative.” It only provided a lame excuse to the other group of...