Originally posted in CS Monitor Regarding the Nov. 19 online article “House defies Obama on Syrian refugees, as larger threat emerges” (CSMonitor.com): I am an American Ahmadi Muslim. Born in Pakistan, I immigrated to America in 1998 and was granted asylum based on religious persecution. When I read that many US governors have refused to settle Syrian refugees in their respective states and the...
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 Cleveland Plain Dealer In the auditorium of Summa Akron City Hospital, amongst dozens of intelligent and aspiring first-year pharmacy and medical students, I pondered the words of Dr. Joseph Zarconi. I was stuck on the significance of the color white as we discussed the responsibilities of the white coat we would now finally be granted after admission into the...
Originally published in The Huffington Post As the old wisdom goes, the opposite of love isn’t hate — it’s apathy. If you don’t understand why that is, look no further than the Syrian refugee crisis. A five-year Syrian civil war rages on that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. And as the worst refugee crisis since WWII erupts onto the world stage, the...
Originally posted on Huffington Post The so-called Islamic State (IS) continues to demonstrate the most barbaric and heinous forms of torture, killing of innocent people for the world to witness in horror. The recent killings of Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto of Japan, the burning alive of Jordanian pilot Moaz Kasasbeh and the cold-blooded killing of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya highlight the new...
Originally published in Tulsa World My heartfelt sympathy is with those suffering from the great tragedy that is occurring in Syria. Recently, 90 people, many of them women and children, were killed during air raids in Aleppo, Syria. It is my sincere hope that the two sides look toward the true nature of the Islamic religion as a way of building bridges of peace. True to this spirit, the prophet...
Originally Published in the Akron Beacon Journal We should all join Pope Francis in his prayers for the nuns in Syria who were kidnapped by rebel troops. It is claimed that these nuns were taken for safety, but this is very unlikely, as minorities such as Christians throughout the two-and-a-half-year war have been caught in this huge mess, and many of their...
Originally published in the New York Daily News A recent crisis highlights the distance between so-called “Islamic” extremists and the true teachings of Muhammed. In the Charter of Privileges granted to Christians under Muhammed’s leadership, it is clearly stated, “Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.” Despite this clear injunction, 12...
Originally Published in the Chicago Tribune Pope Francis requested prayers for the 12 nuns abducted Monday by rebel fighters in the Syrian village of Maaloula. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I strongly condemn the kidnappings based on the Charter of Privileges granted to Christians by the Prophet Muhammad. This charter protects Christians’ rights to freedom of worship and...
Originally Posted in The Baltimore Sun Mr. President, you and I having a similar challenge: selling a military strike against Syria as a “moral imperative.” But we have different audiences. Your constituents come from all parts of the country; mine from different parts of the world. Yours are driven by myriad interests; mine are simply seeking justice. Yours are young and old; mine...