Originally published in The Daily Times Extremist clerics and their ignorant followers — and Islamophobes alike — allege that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the early caliphs of Islam killed people for mere difference in belief. Such clerics have long taught masses in Pakistan that Islam ordered Muslims to take up the sword against anyone who claimed to be a prophet or decided to follow one...
Originally published in The Daily Times Sir: Once again, a minority community in Pakistan is under siege. Be it Shia, Christian, Hindu or Ahmedi, the jahils (illiterates) keep doing what they do best: exert violence for no reason. We are fighting a war against terrorism and the Pakistan army is making every attempt to defeat extremism but the mindset of the common people in Pakistan is not...
Originally published on the Statesman As a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, I emigrated to the United States fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan. I am blessed and thankful for the freedom and liberties which the U.S. provides to me. Therefore, I find Gov. Abbott’s refusal to accept any Syrian refugees morally wrong and against the American values of fairness, justice and compassion...
Originally published in The Pak Tea House In Part 1 of this article published here on Pak Tea House on the 15th of September, 2015, I wrote about how the 1974 Second Amendment to Pakistan’s constitution declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslim reveals a miscarriage of due process in the proceedings. I closed Part 1 by quoting Dr. Mubashir Hassan who said the 1974 event was politically motivated and...
Originally published in Huffington Post “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship. That has nothing to do with business of state.” Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, spoke these words on the eve of the end of British rule over India. Despite these words, his country has fell to painful depths at the...
Originally published in Taylor & Francis Online
Originally posted on The Tribune NEW JERSEY: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack on two churches in Lahore. In 2013, a similar church attack in Peshawar claimed more than 80 innocent lives. These extremists defy the teachings of the Holy Quran which instructs Muslims to protect all places of worship, explicitly mentioning churches. The perpetrators of...
Originally published in The Express Tribune Dear Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, I hope this letter finds you well. I am sure you are busy; so let me cut to the chase. You know well that Pakistan’s Ahmadi community has long faced the wrath of extremist religious clerics. Despite succeeding in hijacking Jinnah’s vision, and pressurising the state into incorporating anti-Ahmadi bigotry into the...
Originally published in Lansing State Journal When I heard about the horrific attack on a military school in Peshawar, I was deeply saddened at the progression of Taliban terrorism in Pakistan. But when I heard that they targeted and killed over 130 innocent children, I was speechless. How could anyone who claims membership of my own faith commit such an act of inhumanity? Especially with...
Originally published in Houston Chronicles Regarding “Pakistan vows to step up fight after school massacre” (Page A1, Wednesday), as an alumnus of the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, it grieves me greatly to see the tragedy that took the lives of over 130 children. I was dumbfounded when I saw the hallways of my school that made up my childhood in pictures across the...