Originally published in The Post Black History Month is a very special month for a multitude of reasons. It serves not only as a time of celebration of accomplishments, but also as an important reminder to reflect on our current disparities in racial equality. This includes many of the recent claims to police brutality, multiple police shootings and protests, disproportionate incarceration of...
Originally Published in The Austin Chronicle Dear Editor, The shooting outside an event in Garland where people were asked to draw cartoons of Prophet Muhammad should be condemned by all. Islam does not condone any punishment for blasphemy. In fact, during the Prophet Muhammad’s life, people hurled all kinds of abuse at him yet he bore it with patience and forgave them all. Those who act against...
Originally published in the Las Vegas Sun he Islamic State has been making headlines since last year. The group is known for coercion, kidnapping and ruthless public beheadings of innocent civilians, all in the name of creating a caliphate across Iraq and Syria. Furthermore, the Islamic State generates revenue to achieve its vicious goals through extortion and robbery. As a practicing Muslim, I...
Originally published in The Washington Times A young man was fatally shot in front of his shop a few days ago in Nawabshah, Pakistan. Imtiaz Ahmad was an Ahmadi Muslim and the youth leader of his local chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He leaves behind his wife, three sons and father. It was only a month-and-a-half ago that another Ahmadi Muslim, Dr. Mehdi Ali, who was there from the...
Originally published in Star Telegram As we find ourselves in the Islamic month of Ramadan, I do not lament the hours of thirst or hunger but rather, look forward to the ability to purify myself spiritually, mentally and physically. Ramadan serves as reminder to Muslims of the plight of the less fortunate sections of our society and helps us empathize with their daily struggles. This is...
Originally published in Time Islam places immense emphasis on privacy in ways that Western governments today have only begun to match with privacy laws. Whether it’s a legal scholar or a 7-year-old child that’s bullied on the playground, it’s hard to argue with this Harvard Law Review definition of privacy from 1890: “The right to be left alone.” Add to this simple concept a detailed U.S...
Originally published in On Faith To Abubakar Shekau and all members of Jama’at Ahl-e-Sunnah Lidda’awa wal-Jihad: I begin with the Islamic greeting of peace – Asalaamo Alaikum (may peace be on you). I have watched for nearly a month as your group (most commonly known as Boko Haram) has been gaining more international attention. Of course, this is not the first I have heard about you — while...
Originally published in The Washington Times April 15 usually reminds me as an accountant of taxes, but this year I remembered the horrific events of the Boston Marathon tragedy, where Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, claiming to be Muslims, mercilessly harmed more than 260 people. As a Muslim, I cannot understand how any Muslim could be so vicious. In his lifetime, the Prophet Muhammad showed...
Originally published in Tulsa World My heartfelt sympathy is with those suffering from the great tragedy that is occurring in Syria. Recently, 90 people, many of them women and children, were killed during air raids in Aleppo, Syria. It is my sincere hope that the two sides look toward the true nature of the Islamic religion as a way of building bridges of peace. True to this spirit, the prophet...
Originally published in The Northwestern The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is holding a ‘Messenger of Peace’ conference to discuss Prophet Muhammad, the most sacred figure in Islam. The goal of this conference is to explain the life and achievements of Prophet Muhammad and how they are relevant in a contemporary context. In a media-saturated environment, it is sometimes difficult to tell fact from...