Originally Published in Tucson.com by Aamir Quraishy Living in America I am very thankful to all our armed men and women in the forces who work tirelessly to defend our country and freedom. As an Ahmadi Muslim, My family came here to flee the religious persecution we faced in Pakistan. My family was able to move here to America because of my great uncle who served as an anesthesiologist during...
Originally published in TIME (Nov 10, 2016) One of the high marks of Islam that Prophet Muhammad taught is that loyalty to your country is part of your faith. I can sympathize with the anger and fear that many have about a Donald Trump presidency: I’m a person of color; I’m a Muslim; I have young children. But these are the cards we’ve been dealt, and we need to find ways to continue working to...
Originally published in Time News Like hundreds of other Ahmadi Muslims, Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was murdered only for his faith. Combined, education and compassion can conquer such extremism. Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar was the type of friend every American would proudly brag about. He was a loyal U.S. citizen. He was only 50, a loving husband and father of three. He dedicated his life to medicine and to...
Originally published in The Express Tribune Ashir is just two-years-old. Yesterday, he was witness to the most horrific tragedy anyone can imagine. His father – a 50-year-old doctor – was brutally murdered in Pakistan. His crime: He belonged to the Ahmadiyya community. Dr Mehdi Ali was a US-trained cardiologist on a medical mission to Pakistan. He was visiting Tahir Heart Institute; a state-of...
Originally published in The Daily Caller Some 50 years before terrorists brutally murdered him because they believed him an infidel, Mehdi Ali Qamar was born a Muslim. But by the age of 10 Pakistan’s government declared him an infidel, an apostate, and in the opinion of many extremist clerics — worthy of death. But that didn’t deter him. By the age of 20 Pakistan’s government declared Qamar a...
Originally published in The Hartford Courant There is a dire need to stand up against religious persecution. Last Monday, after paying tribute to our men and women in uniform on Memorial Day, my religious community, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, commemorated another recent American hero, who made the ultimate sacrifice for his service. Dr. Mehdi Qamar, a cardiologist practicing near...
Originally published in Twin Cities Daily Planet On Monday, May 25, Ohio based cardiologist, Dr. Mehdi Ali was assassinated in Pakistan. According to a report in the New York Times: “An American doctor volunteering at a hospital in eastern Pakistan was shot to death on Monday in front of his wife and 3-year-old son in the latest attack on a follower of the minority Ahmadi faith at a time of...
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...
Originally Publish on The Santa Clarita Valley Signal This eleventh of November, our nation will commemorate Veterans Day in tribute to the members of the armed forces who made great sacrifices defending our liberties. This day has great context, spanning wars over a hundred years fought to defend the very ideology of freedom and conscience against mortal threats. As a Muslim, I believe all...
Originally Published on the Jsonline.com A chord has struck with every parent in America – and possibly the world – after the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Connecticut. Like all other parents, I find myself thinking, “It could have been my child.” We need to make laws that will thwart this brutal violence against our kids and society in general, but...