Originally published in Duluth News Tribune We interrupt this transmission for breaking news. America has been struck by another terrorist attack, this time in Chapel Hill, N.C. A Muslim gunman shot dead three innocent students near the University of North Carolina campus. FBI and local law enforcement authorities are looking into this terrorist activity. The FBI is conducting a door-to-door...
Originally posted in Duluth News Tribune On April 2, a Somali-based terrorist group called Al-Shabab attacked a Kenyan school, killing nearly 150 students, mostly Christians. Al-Shabab’s spokesperson told BBC it attacked the school because “it’s on Muslim land colonized by non-Muslims.” The baseless rationale behind Al-Shabab’s despicable act reminded me of an old Christian lady I met a few years...
Originally posted in The Baltimore Sun Recently, a Sun poll asked readers whether “avoiding the phrase ‘Islamic extremism’ when referring to certain terrorist groups take[s] away their power as religious leaders, as the president contends?” (Feb. 19). There are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world and a majority of them disagree strongly with the actions and ideologies...
Originally published in Providence Journal We have just witnessed a horrific and inexcusable act of terror take place in Paris. Having close friends and family living in Paris, I am shaken to the core by the heinous attack by gunmen at the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. As a Muslim, I unequivocally condemn this barbaric act that has nothing to do with the Islam I know and love. These terrorists...
Originally published in Onfaith Wednesday’s brazen attack in the offices of French magazine Charlie Hebdo has left many people the world over shocked, saddened, and even infuriated. As the smoke cleared and we learned that 12 people were killed at the hands of three individuals wearing commando uniforms who brandished automatic weapons that were fired indiscriminately at the office, we...
Originally published in Canton Repository As a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, I am concerned about the number of young Muslims who are being attracted to radical ideologies. News stories continue to circulate about many being inspired by terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, as we now hear about the hostage situation that took place at a cafe in Sydney, Australia...
Originally published in Lancaster Eagle-Gazette n 1943, Nazi forces in Poland rounded up roughly 300,000 Jews and packed them into an area of 3.3-square kilometers in central Warsaw. Prisoners endured horrendous conditions and, load-by-load, were taken to Treblinka extermination camp to meet their end. One group among them, however, refused to be defeated. And so ensued the Warsaw Ghetto...
Originally published in the Baltimore Sun I am appalled by the disclosures of the CIA’s torture report on the treatment of suspected terrorist detainees (“Report condemns CIA over torture,” Dec. 10). Not only does the treatment defy the Geneva Conventions to which we subscribe, they undermine our moral standing as a nation. I thought that such actions were beneath our dignity...
Originally publish in the New Haven Register Halloween was over a month ago — a day to revel over ghoulish characters and hideous images. And now we are supposed to be in a season of merry. These days, though, it seems like scenes reminiscent of Halloween continue to haunt us. The latest dread is the report released last Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee about the CIA’s use of torture...
Originally published in Citizen Times As an American Muslim, I find it increasingly necessary for me to practice and advocate the true teachings of Islam. In the wake of several isolated incidences of “lone wolf” terrorism inspired by ISIS, there is a greater need to bring to the forefront Islamic solutions to the problem of radicalization of youth. To this effect, the Ahmadiyya...