Originally Published in Patheos on June 2nd, 2017 Yesterday, I attended a seminar by Professor Mahzarin Banaji of Harvard University on the topic of unconscious bias. It was an incredibly mind-opening seminar that brought many biases I hold to the surface. But it also enabled me, in a way, to see the biases that other people hold, specifically towards the Muslim community. Last week, 22 people...
Originally published in Arizona Daily Star By Aamir Quraishy The 72 mass graves ISIS has left in its path are a terrifying sight to see. Even more terrible is hearing stories of survivors. The hearts, prayers and love of all Muslims and all humans go out to them. As a Muslim that loves the sanctity of American freedom and safety, it truly tears my hearts to see so many people around the world...
Originally published in The Columbus Dispatch By Abdul-Muizz Kamal-Muili ISIS gained relevance on the international scene in the last decade. Prior to this time, Saddam Husain, though admittedly an oppressive ruler, kept relative law and order. However the situation in Iraq changed after the western world invaded the country on flawed and over-exaggerated evidences of Iraq creating a nuclear...
Originally published in The Beliefnet Roaming the streets of Istanbul during this past Thanksgiving break with my camera and tripod was a dream come true. As a photographer, I loved staring at the beautiful scenes of the cosmopolitan city and capturing every detail with my DSLR camera. As an Arabic calligrapher, I sat in a mosque entranced by the beautiful twisting of Arabic letters decorating...
Originally posted on The Detroit News The recent spate of violence conducted by the Islamic State in France, Lebanon and Sinai is a cause of deep concern for all. The extremists have committed outrageous acts that bring disrepute to Muslims over the world. There is a false perception that some media outlets have promoted that all Muslims are passively sitting and do not condemn atrocities by...
Originally published in the Huffington Post With last week’s release of Charlie Hebdo’s newest edition, marking the one-year anniversary of the infamous terrorist attack on its offices that killed 12 people, once again the debate about free speech has been ignited. In its recent publication, the editors at the magazine decided to take aim at all religion and blame God for terrorism...
Originally published in the Hufington Post You’re seven times more likely to be shot by a right wing extremist in the United States than you are to be shot by a Muslim extremist. But I guess facts don’t stop many Americans from being deathly afraid of all Muslims. I know it’s crazy to think that just because a few radical extremists do something horrifying, the faith of Islam is...
Originally published on Patheos This is a challenging time for all Muslims in America as the despicable actions of a few put Islam in a terrible light. This situation is not made any easier when there is blatant hate being spread by educated members of society. Recently Joe Walsh, a former US Congressman of Illinois, put a video on his Facebook page where he says, “I think Islam has a real...
Originally published in Patheos One of the most prominent stories of 2015 has been the circus of the Donald Trump campaign. It seems Donald Trump will say just about anything to be the center of attention and has been more than willing to cross any line when it comes to violating the American ideal of religious freedom. We have seen an escalating pattern of anti-Muslim rhetoric from Trump and...
Originally published on Patheos The year 2015 can be remembered as the year Daesh (ISIS) dominated the news media in the Western world, from beginning to the end. It began with the merciless attack on the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo that drew worldwide condemnation, enslaving of Yazidi women, burning of a Jordanian pilot and ending with a spectacular attack in France and inspiring mass murder...