Originally published on “Sentinel & Enterprise” By Furqan Mehmud In this age of misinformation, many Americans have misconceptions about Islam and a majority (62 percent) don’t even know a Muslim. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association aims to erase these misgivings and answer any concerns our fellow Americans may have about Islam. On Saturday, 1,000-plus Muslims from 50...
Originally published on “The Jewish Chronicle” Since Donald J. Trump has been sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, skepticism and uncertainty have enshrouded many Americans, especially American Muslims, for what to expect next. Executive orders to prevent refugees from seven Muslim majority countries have resulted in outrage from the American public and human rights...
Originally published in Patheos Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is a noted bigot whose mission is only to spread hatred of Muslims. He makes no bones about his hatred for Islam or Muslims. His stated goal is to prove that the violence committed by the likes of ISIS is inspired by the “true” Islam. The problem for him, and others like him, is that when groups like the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC)...
Originally published on Patheos.com Why didn’t we hear the term “Muslim terrorist” or “Jihadist” before the 1980s? Islam has been around for more than 1400 years but “Islamic” terrorist organizations were not to be found prior to 1980. The first Islamist terrorist attack was the bombing of the Tyre Headquarters in 1982. Was Islam different prior to the 1980s or was there some sort of fundamental...
Originally published in Patheos Over the past few years, ISIS has emerged from the shadows of a failed Arab Spring in Syria and sectarian violence in Iraq to become a dominant player in global terrorism. The brutalities, that took the form of beheadings of foreign journalists and aid workers and enslavement of women and children often concentrated in the Middle East, have recently escalated onto...
Originally published in The News and Observer People from all walks of life, irrespective of their race and political affiliations, partake in holiday activity this season through charitable giving and spending quality time with friends and family. Charitable giving and taking care of loved ones form the basis of both Christian and Islamic teachings. Despite the obvious doctrinal differences...
Originally published in The Express Tribune Mr Abbasi stated that judging someone’s faith – whether they were Muslim or not, and how ‘true’ of a Muslim they were – was a prerogative of God alone. Human beings must not judge others, or at least not punish and hurt others based on their own judgment. This is a very simple concept. But in Pakistan, where narrow-minded intolerant religious scholars...
Originally published in The Austin American Statesman The news of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed being arrested in Irving for bringing a homemade clock to school is disturbing on many levels. The fact that he showed it to his teachers as an accomplishment should have vouched for the fact that it wasn’t mischief. It is equally as disturbing that when it was clearly established to be a clock, the teen...
Originally published in The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette After suffering grueling punishment for 13 long years in Mecca, Prophet Muhammad and his small band of believers had reached their Promised Land, Medina. There, the majority chose the prophet as their ruler. Prophet Muhammad gave them a constitution that would grant freedom of religion and equal rights to all its citizens —...
Originally published in The Sacramento Bee Re “Clock clash gets student invited to White House” (Page 10A, Sept. 17): I remember ninth grade very well. I was called a terrorist practically every day. When Osama bin Laden was killed, two kids gave me their condolences by shouting, “Sorry about your grandpa!” But I cannot imagine those Islamophobic sentiments being acted upon by teachers. Ninth...