Originally published in the Duluth News Tribune While American lawmakers are assessing whether the initial stages of bombings in Syria helped contain the Islamic State, a fresh wave of homeland terrorist attacks has aggravated the fear of a growing influence of Islamic State over America. On Oct. 24, a New York man attacked a group of police officers by wielding a hatchet, critically injuring one...
Originally published in the Canton Repository Despite what you might think about three of the world’s major religions — Judaism, Islam and Christianity — you might be to surprised to know that they all have much in common. They all find a common ancestor in the prophet Abraham. All the prophets linked to Judaism and also Jesus in Christianity are greatly revered and respected as prophets in...
Originally published in OnFaith A horrifying tragedy in Oklahoma has been hijacked to become a tool of partisan politics, and lost is the practice of an intelligent discourse. Last Thursday, 30-year-old Alton Nolen brutally attacked co-workers at a food processing plant, killing and decapitating 54-year-old Colleen Hufford and attempting to kill 43-year-old Traci Johnson. Let’s get some facts...
Originally published in the Daily Herald ISIS self-proclaims to be “The Islamic state of Iraq and al-Sham.” However, the reality is there is nothing Islamic about ISIS. Innocent civilians are dying and minorities such as Christians, Yazidi, Kurdish and Shiites have been targeted by ISIS. Muslims follow Islam by the Holy Quran and the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The true...
Originally published in StarTribune The leader of the extremist group ISIL recently declared himself to be a caliph and called on Muslims to pledge their loyalty to him. However, within the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, the system of caliphate was established in the year 1908. The current fifth caliph, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, in his keynote speeches addressing the British House of Commons, the...
Originally Published in Courier-Post While the Quran (5:33) promotes the sanctity of human life, “whosoever killed a person, it shall be if he had killed the entire mankind,” Boko Haram, a terrorist group in Nigeria, has taken thousands of innocent lives. While the Prophet Muhammad stated that, “It is incumbent on every Muslim man and woman to seek knowledge,” by kidnapping young girls from...
Originally published in OnFaith The Muslim world is falling apart. In Nigeria, a radical group claims Allah commands them to kidnap hundreds of girls and sell them into slavery. Egypt sentences over 500 people to death through speedy trials. A horrific civil war has killed over 140,000 in Syria, and displaced millions more. Iraq and Afghanistan sit in shambles — and let’s not even get into what’s...
Originally published in New York Daily A recent crisis highlights the distance between so-called “Islamic” extremists and the true teachings of Muhammed. In the Charter of Privileges granted to Christians under Muhammed’s leadership, it is clearly stated, “Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.” Despite this clear injunction, 12 Orthodox...
Originally Published in the Duluth News Tribune Over Thanksgiving dinner a friend asked me a usual question: “What are you thankful for today?” My answer was rather unusual: “I am thankful to live in the most Islamic country of the world.” With a stunned face, my friend instantly reacted, “America, the most Islamic country!?” To alleviate his astonishment I tried to...
More than 30 years ago, when my parents enrolled me in St. Anthony’s, a Catholic school in Pakistan, our neighbors expressed a concern: Will my faith be at risk because of attending a Catholic school? But I experienced no conflict. I noted how the nuns wore a black head cover with a long dress — just like my mother. I observed how the priests were kind — just like my father. I...