Originally published in Patheos Experience has shown that many natural phenomenon or processes are initially discovered with limited understanding or benefit to society. However, with pain staking effort and unbiased approach to the phenomenon, many of the unknown qualities that were initially observed as bad turn out to be good upon further examination. A case in point is the annotation of human...
Muslims allowed jihad only in defense of religious freedom
Originally published in The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette After suffering grueling punishment for 13 long years in Mecca, Prophet Muhammad and his small band of believers had reached their Promised Land, Medina. There, the majority chose the prophet as their ruler. Prophet Muhammad gave them a constitution that would grant freedom of religion and equal rights to all its citizens —...
Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan in 1974: The Fundamental Problem of Religious Extremists-Part 2
Originally published in The Pak Tea House In Part 1 of this article published here on Pak Tea House on the 15th of September, 2015, I wrote about how the 1974 Second Amendment to Pakistan’s constitution declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslim reveals a miscarriage of due process in the proceedings. I closed Part 1 by quoting Dr. Mubashir Hassan who said the 1974 event was politically motivated and...
The 5 Ways American Muslims Can Respond to Anti-Muslim Protests
Originally published in The Huffington Post This October, anti-Islam extremists are planning roughly twenty anti-Muslim protests in front of mosques in America. Some of those protests will be armed with loaded and deadly weapons. Those supporting these armed protests claim they do so in the name of “free speech” to maintain justice and the Constitution. I’ve seen this excuse...
School’s reaction does not add up
Originally published in The Sacramento Bee Re “Clock clash gets student invited to White House” (Page 10A, Sept. 17): I remember ninth grade very well. I was called a terrorist practically every day. When Osama bin Laden was killed, two kids gave me their condolences by shouting, “Sorry about your grandpa!” But I cannot imagine those Islamophobic sentiments being acted upon by teachers. Ninth...
Whether a candidate is Muslim shouldn’t matter: #tellusatoday
Originally published in USA Today Over the past few days, we have seen a barrage of insensitive comments come from Republican Party candidates in regard to Islam. The most recent came from Ben Carson who said: “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.” He fails to realize the irony of his statement. His views seem to be...
Letters on Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.
Originally published in The Longview News Journal Welcome, Francis Catholics in the United States have awaited the arrival of Pope Francis for his first visit. As a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, I welcome the pontiff. We applaud his efforts to bridge gaps between faiths and ethnicities and this is in line with the true teaching of Islam, which the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community...
Oppose point of view? Use pens, not guns
Originally Published in San Jose Mercury News As a Muslim, I condemn the horrific attack that occurred in Paris as inhumane and un-Islamic. I express my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of the victims. It is very troubling that there has been a rise of such horrific acts being carried out in the name of God and Islam. There is no room in Islamic teaching for such violence. The...
Grief for humanity
Originally published in The San Antonio Express As a moderate American Muslim, it is painful to watch my faith be hijacked on a daily basis and see the damage that groups like ISIS are doing. As Japan weeps for Haruna Yukawaand Kenji Goto, and Jordan grieves for Muath al-Kaseasbeh, so do I. I condemn any and every action of ISIS in the strongest possible words. ISIS is an enemy of humanity...
Offering Prayers
Originally published in San Antonio Express The violence continues and more blood has been shed; ISIS has beheaded two Japanese hostages, Huruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, and released a video of the Jordanian pilot, Muath Kaseasbeh, being burned alive. This self-proclaimed “Islamic State” continues to show the world its cruel and violent ways through these continuous villainous acts. As a member of...