Originally Published in Beliefnet on June 8th, 2017 by Nayyar Ahmad Almost all major religions and cultures around the world believe in fasting; Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism etc. Likewise, Islam also enjoins its followers to fast during the month of Ramadhan. Now a week into Ramadhan, Muslims are observing fast from sunup to sundown for 30 days. Apart from abstaining from food and water...
Originally Published on Beliefnet by Zahir Mannan A Lesson for President Trump from Prophet Muhammad & Islamic History What’s it like being Ahmadi Muslim Americans amid divisive Executive Orders in the month dedicated to Black History? Simply put, it’s a calling! Islam’s spiritual father, the immaculate Prophet Muhammad, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, “sent as the mercy unto all the...
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 Beliefnet We recently held an interfaith event at our mosque in Seattle, during which, an audience member asked, “Muhammad killed anyone who did not convert to Islam, why did he teach his followers to kill Christians?” With the atrocities committed against Christians by terrorists such as Daesh (also known as ISIS) and other terror groups claiming to commit their...
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 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...
Originally published in the the Montgomery News I am deeply saddened at the horrific shooting that occurred in San Bernardino. It is a tragedy that so many lives were lost, all in the name of Islam. Farook and Malik were said to be deeply religious. I too consider myself deeply religious. Unlike them I follow Islam. I follow Islam where it states clearly in the Quran “that you slay not the soul...
Originally published in the Express Tribune As Christmas is nearing, I am starting to see the occasional anti-Christmas messages on the internet that say that greeting on the occasion of Christmas is haram (forbidden) according to scholarly consensus. Some are claiming that saying “Merry Christmas” is tantamount to committing “shirk” or associating partners with Allah. Of the many clerics that...
Originally published in Erie The Islamic State militant group committed yet another gruesome act by burning a Jordanian pilot alive, and then publishing the horrific video online. This act is completely outside the teachings of Islam. The life history of Prophet Muhammad tells us a different story. When the Meccans attacked the Muslims in Medina, they incurred a horrible defeat and many of...
Originally published in The Baltimore Sun Black History month is an important time to commemorate the accomplishments of blacks around the world; it is also a time to remember and address the unresolved issues in our society dealing with race. Last year highlighted several issues which, despite the successes of the Civil Rights movement, still plague our society. They include the disproportionate...