Originally published in The Courant Jazz legend Yusef Lateef, who passed away this week, truly lived up to his title of the “Gentle Giant.” He was tall and yet soft-spoken. Although a grand musician and a composer — having received a Grammy and named an American Jazz Master — he was unassuming. He had no special pose or signature rap, other than a soft smile when he met...
Originally Published in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette As we prepare to re-inaugurate President Barack Obama, let us remember that the majority voted back into office a Nobel Peace laureate who worked in the last four years to bring together members of all faiths on common grounds. For example, as a Muslim-American, I was heartened to see that in 2009 the president, a devout Christian, spoke to the...
Originally Published on Goerie.com and The Hartford Courant. On Thanksgiving, this Muslim American gave thanks for enjoying religious freedom in America. The first pilgrims to the New World, the Puritans, wearing their traditional bonnets and trousers, fled an intolerant Europe. Today, in places like France, Muslim women are banned from wearing headscarves in public places. What’s worse...
Originally Published in The New Haven Register Violent reactions are bad moves for Muslims HAVE you ever played chess with a novice? You could not only predict his next move, you could force it to happen. Or, are you the novice, who feels like your every move is in response to the control of your experienced opponent? Most of us can relate to being on one side or the other. On a figurative level...
Originally Published in The New Haven Register A crime against one religious group is an attack upon all of us in America. It doesn’t matter if your background or birthplace is different. Every house of worship on American soil is sacred. So said our Founding Fathers. John Adams, for instance, wrote: “No subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for...
Originally Published in The Middletown Press Last month, there was uproar over a comment made by Indiana Congressman André Carson that U.S. public schools could learn from U.S. “madrassas,” an Arabic term for Islamic schools. I, too, doubt whether you can get any useful information from a Taliban-style school system. But I do think there are Muslim-American groups we should take a closer look at...
Originally Published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer One year after Osama bin Laden’s death, terrorism even within our country has not ceased to operate. Just this Tuesday, five young men were arrested in an FBI sting for attempting to bomb a busy commercial bridge outside Cleveland. If successful, the act could have led to death, destruction and fear. Sounds like terror to me. The irony...