Originally published in the Oshkosh Northwestern As Thanksgiving comes around, many of us will become pre-occupied with food, family, shopping and football – this is Packer nation after all. It would be nice if we were also thankful for all the blessings we enjoy. Thanksgiving should be about tradition and food but it should also include thinking and caring for the less...
Originally Published in the Santa Barbara Independant This Thanksgiving, we all will have many reasons to be thankful. I, for one, am thankful for all the women in my life, which at the moment include my mother and sister-in-law. It goes without saying that women are superheroes. It is then rather fitting that Marvel’s newest character, Ms. Marvel, is portrayed as a teenage female Muslim. While...
Originally Published in The Huffington Post As this brown, bearded Muslim was getting ready to pick up his Thanksgiving turkey order from a local Boston Market, news broke of racist graffiti in New York city. Gap had recently launched a holiday ad campaign featuring diverse models. One such ad showcasing the famous designer and actor Waris Ahluwalia, a Sikh American, had been vandalized, its...
Originally Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer At Thanksgiving, I reflect on being a Muslim American and that for which I am thankful. I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and food to fill my stomach, thankful to my parents for raising me up with love, thankful to practice my religion freely, inasmuch as my forefathers were persecuted in Pakistan for their beliefs, thankful for living...
Originally published in The Sun Opinion and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Can Muslims celebrate Thanksgiving? Of course they can! Muslims should celebrate Thanksgiving because it’s all about being thankful to God and that is what Islam is all about. As Muslims, we are taught that God blesses us all the time — indeed, every breath we take is a gift from God — and so we should be grateful to God...
Originally published in The Huffington Post As this brown, bearded Muslim was getting ready to pick up his Thanksgiving turkey order from a local Boston Market, news broke of racist graffiti in New York city. Gap had recently launched a holiday ad campaign featuring diverse models. One such ad showcasing the famous designer and actor Waris Ahluwalia, a Sikh American, had been vandalized, its...
Originally published in Orange County Register As we relish our turkeys and cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving, let us also pledge to help the Typhoon Haiyan victims, Syrian refugees who are braving the upcoming harsh weather and millions of our poverty-stricken brethren. Thanking God for all His blessings can be done through words and through actions, by living up to the potential that He has...
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 Cincinnati.com As a Muslim American, I believe that if we set all our differences aside and come together for a good cause, we can make Thanksgiving a true day of thanks. This weekend I had the opportunity to travel to New York and work with Humanity First to offer my services to those suffering from Hurricane Sandy. It was a life changing moment that not...