Originally published in the Daily Reflector “Whosoever killed a person… it shall be as if he killed all mankind and whosoever gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind” (5:33). In the spirit of this verse, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is beginning its 4th annual Muslims for Life Campaign. All across the nation and in several universities in North...
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 Delco Times As I walk through the mall during this time of the year, I see people with numerous bags in their hands, rushing from store to store desperate to find those last minute deals. My email is overflowing with advertisements of items I will probably never buy. As an American Muslim, I wonder if the true spirit of Christmas has been drowned out by all this focus...
Originally Published in the Rochester Hills Patch A few days back, a good friend of mine and I were discussing religion like we always do. He being a Christian and I being a Muslim, you could imagine the different debates we get into. The divinity of Christ, salvation through deeds or faith, whether or not religion should play a role in politics. No topic is taboo for...
Originally published in Santa Barbara Independent As I kicked back in my humble American bungalow, pictures of modern Arabia peppered the television screen; images of immaculate mosques surrounded by dusty homes, desert planes under a beaming sun, and a sea of white robes, indistinguishable of race or gender, in pilgrimage to the holy city of Islam. While these images transported me to a distant...
Originally published in Montgomery News This letter is in response to the story “Wissahickon, Upper Dublin school districts respond to Connecticut school shooting.” As I was reading this story, I couldn’t help but remember my own joyful, carefree Stony Creek Elementary School days. This caused much sorrow for me, as I understood how these young innocent lives were cut short. This senseless...