TagMuslim

Ramadan brings spirit of charity

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Originally published in the Daily Reflector The month of Ramadan is celebrated by more than a billion Muslims across the globe and millions within the United States. Believers abstain from food and water from sun up to sundown. This practice ordained by the Holy Qu’ran instills in Muslims the empathy for the many poor that don’t have the luxury of three square meals a day. Having felt the pangs...

Still not ready to give fasting a try?

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Originally published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer In response to the Boston Tea Party, King George III ordered a blockade of Boston Harbor. Concerned by the anticipated economic strain, our Founding Fathers turned, not to arms or protest, but to God. In the summer of 1774, Thomas Jefferson drafted a “Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer” resolution. And so, on June 1, 1774, among...

A Ramadan Message to ISIS: You Don’t Speak For Islam

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Originally published in A Hotchpotch Hijabi in Italy The terrorist organization ISIS has set a new low standard of barbarity and inhumanity. Their most recent act of terrorism is a demand that Christians either convert, pay the jizya, leave their homes, or be killed.      Nothing in Islam or Prophet Muhammad’s example supports ISIS’s barbarity. The below modified excerpt from my...

4 reasons why Ramadan is a great time to talk to a Muslim

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Originally published in the New Haven Register   Have you ever passed by a Muslim woman with a headscarf and wanted to ask her what motivates her to live out her faith?     Have you ever thought to strike up a conversation with a Muslim colleague over his views on Muslim extremists in the news?     But were you too afraid to ask? Or maybe the moment wasn’t right.  ...

‘Sharia’ Doesn’t Mean What You Probably Think It Does, America

Originally published in the Good Men Project Sharia, like many Arabic words in a post-9/11 world, is a touchy subject. Enraged thoughts are common from the mere utterance of these words.  This leads to unsubstantiated opinions mixing in with facts. This is evident in Dom’s piece “If Liberals knew these 5 Sharia laws, they’d be ‘Islamophobic’ too”. A writer can, with a few strokes of her pen...

Muslim youth leader: Americans must fight against ISIS ideology of fear

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Originally published in the Oklahoman Americans need to get in the battlefield against the “Islamic” State in Iraq and Syria, better known as ISIS. By no means is this a call to arms, however. Rather, it’s a call to fight against the ideology of fear and hatred that this so-called “Islamic” group promotes. This is a fight that can’t be won by simple denunciation of this terrorist organization...

End targeting of Ahmadis in Pakistan

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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...

Condemning ISIS

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Originally published in The News Journal “Swords can win territories but not hearts.” This was stated by the 4th Caliph (or Khalifa) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is a great description of ISIS, which has taken arms to establish an Islamic Caliphate (or Khilafat) in Iraq and Syria. Their actions obviously go contrary to the true teachings of Islam, which prohibits the use of compulsion in...

Meet The Global Muslim Peace Movement

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Originally published in the Huffington Post Some 15 hours into my fast in the blistering Virginia heat my head hurt–but it wasn’t a symptom of Ramadan. Rather, I found myself digesting The Times columnist David Aaronovitch’s latest piece, “Moderate Muslims — it’s time to be outraged.” Aaronovitch argues that, “there is no Islamic peace movement...