Originally published in The NorthWestern If you look at the headlines of any newspaper today, you will notice at least one of them being about Russia. President Putin – current Russian incumbent – has become the center of western vilification because of his approval and decision to allow for the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine into Russia without any legal recourse. But no one, neither from the...
Originally published in The Santa Barbara Independent The impetus of the United States was but a handful of pilgrims fleeing from religious persecution. Since the founding of this great nation in 1776, freedom of religion has been etched into the fabric of our Constitution and impressed by our leaders. George Washington once said, “Every man … ought to be protected in worshiping the Deity...
Originally published in The Daily Caller Imagine if you picked up your morning paper and the news story read “Judaism’s inadvertent effects on adherents.” Imagine if article’s non-Jewish author wrote, “The Torah strictly bans the consumption of pork, leading to the virtual disappearance of domesticated pigs in Jewish-majority areas, then their replacement by sheep and goats. These herds have...
Originally published in The Huffington Post March 8 is International Women’s Day. One crime against women that continues to plague humanity is FGM, i.e female genital mutilation. Experts estimate that some 3 million women suffer through FGM annually. The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book titled EXTREMIST. This excerpt specifically repudiates the barbaric myth that Islam in any...
Originally published in The Baltimore Sun I was shocked, surprised and stunned to read of Ravens running back Ray Rice‘s arrest on domestic violence charges (“Ravens’ Rice knocked fiancee unconscious, police say,” Feb. 20). Mr. Rice was the last person I expected to commit such an act, if only because he champions the Ray of Hope anti-bullying campaign. By visiting...
Originally published in Hartford Courant February is Black History Month and a time to reassess our commitment to racial equality. The subjugation of Africans to slavery in America is one of the biggest stains on our nation. Sadly, some slave owners went so far as to use an account in the Bible about Noah’s genealogy to legitimize the maltreatment of Africans. Religion should bring people...
Originally published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette February is Black History Month. This month provides us an opportunity to recognize the contribution of black Americans to American history. We should appreciate their role in making America what it is today. As a Muslim imam, I reflect on Prophet Muhammad’s teaching, “One who is not thankful to his fellow human being is not thankful to God at all.”...
Originally published in Times Dispatch In 2000, I was an ignorant 18-year-old kid. Upon a visit to South Africa 13 years ago this month, I had no idea who Nelson Mandela was. One morning my father and I visited Robben Island. That day changed my life forever. I learned of a man who spent 27 years in prison only for freedom of conscience. I learned of a man whose prison cell was so small that he...
Originally published in The Northwestern The Richard Sherman — current cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks — saga was a complete portrayal by the media through the looking glass of Twitter and other social outlets. The excoriation that he received from them labeled him as a thug, a racially biased stereotype of the persona of an angry black man. In his words he described the use of the word...
Originally Published in The Santa Barbara Independent About 85 years ago, a man was brought into the world who forever challenged racism in America. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of creating a racism-free America has since challenged racial inequality in various ways. But even before the advent of Dr. King, Prophet Muhammad of Islam challenged racism in the world 1,500 years ago...