Originally published in The Daily Bulletin After the death and resurrection of Jesus (peace be upon him) as believed by Christians, nothing is closer to their heart or more central to their belief than his long-awaited second coming. Biblical prophecies about the second coming have been debated by Christian scholars for centuries. When Jesus failed to reappear at the dawn of the second...
Originally published in Santa Barbara Independent He wore a red bandana. Despite seeing the blood of those dying around him, he decided to go back into the smoky building. Despite the noise of the stricken building, his soothing voice calmed the injured. Despite being just a young 24-year-old among fleeing civilians, he was found buried among firefighters, emergency personnel, and other heroes...
Originally published in Dallas News Mother’s Day is a special time to reflect what our mothers have done for us. My mother sacrificed her career so she can stay home to raise me, help me with my education, and teach me the rights and wrongs of the world. The prophet Muhammad once stated, “I know of no other deed that brings people closer to Allah than kind treatment and respect towards one’s...
Originally published in The Columbus Dispatch Boko Haram, an extremist group in Nigeria, recently kidnapped close to 300 school girls, claiming that Islam prohibits women from obtaining an education (“Britain, U.S. pump effort to rescue Nigerian girls,” Associated Press article, Saturday Dispatch). Nothing could be farther from the truth than what the leader of Boko Haram has concluded. The...
Originally published in Dallas News Yet again, a terrorist organization defaces the beautiful religion of Islam with their heinous actions. This time we are in Nigeria, where so-called “Muslims” from Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls because they claim Islam disallows the education of women. You can read that over and over again because I can’t wrap my head around the logic behind this. As a...
Originally published in Montgomery News Once again, unfortunately, there has been senseless violence against our nation’s youth in the recent stabbings at Franklin Regional High School. This time, the violence occurred in our home state of Pennsylvania. First and foremost, I would like to extend condolences to the families of those that were hurt by this tragic event. With God’s mercy, there were...
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 OnFaith Earlier this month I asked a Muslim friend to help resolve an important question: Does Islam teach that hell is eternal? It started as a simple conversation: “Is God merciful, compassionate, and just?” “Yes, absolutely,” he replied. “Is hell eternal?” “Yes, absolutely,” he replied again. “So, a merciful, compassionate, and just God would send a finite creature with...
Originally published in CantonRep Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev are the alleged perpetrators behind the Boston Marathon tragedy that took place last year, causing the deaths of three people and injuring 264 others. Dzhokhar claimed his brother said that these bombings were done to protect Islam from attack. I disagree. These attacks are completely opposite the teachings of Islam and are what...
Originally published in OnFaith Earlier this week, the NYPD disbanded its Muslim surveillance program. Good riddance. Through all the pain, suffering, and headlines this operation caused over the course of a decade, it generated zero leads. A decade of surveillance should have crushed anyone’s hope for a hopeful future. So how did New York Muslims cope in the past few years? In 2008, civic-minded...