By Zohaib Zafar This past week, another terrorist attack happened, this time in London. When an innocent person is killed, this is an attack on all of humanity. Terrorist attacks should never be taken lightly. As a Muslim, this terrorist attack is especially horrific because it seems likely that the perpetrator of the Westminster attack was motivated by his interpretation of Islam. Every Muslim...
Originally Published in “The Middletown Press” By Miyan Zahir Muhammad Mannan As an Ahmadiyya Muslim American, I wholeheartedly extend my prayers, condolences, solidarity and support to my Jewish brothers and sisters amid rising anti-Semitism and another condemnable attack. The despicable onslaught on the Jewish community has this time come in the heartbreaking form of destruction and...
Originally Published in Patheos In 2016, we witnessed an unprecedented level of violence against citizens. Men and women who have sworn to defend the community during day and night as well as adverse weather conditions tragically lost their lives in the line of duty. At unprecedented rates, civilians with no training or possession of firearms lost their lives at the hands of some law enforcement...
Originally published in The Beliefnet Roaming the streets of Istanbul during this past Thanksgiving break with my camera and tripod was a dream come true. As a photographer, I loved staring at the beautiful scenes of the cosmopolitan city and capturing every detail with my DSLR camera. As an Arabic calligrapher, I sat in a mosque entranced by the beautiful twisting of Arabic letters decorating...
Originally published in The Daily Times Barely over a year ago, the Taliban attacked a school in Peshawar and took 144 innocent lives, mostly children. And now, they have struck again. Once again, the target of their terror was harmless students. As peace activist and Pashtun hero Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s death anniversary was being commemorated at Bacha Khan University earlier this week...
Originally posted on the Longview News-Journal Another mass shooting in San Bernardino and far too many this year alone. Our sincere condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones and we wish the injured a speedy recovery. Although the perpetrators of mass shootings are of varied background, the actions of those with Muslim names are easily attributed to Islam, which condemns...
Originally posted on The Detroit News The recent spate of violence conducted by the Islamic State in France, Lebanon and Sinai is a cause of deep concern for all. The extremists have committed outrageous acts that bring disrepute to Muslims over the world. There is a false perception that some media outlets have promoted that all Muslims are passively sitting and do not condemn atrocities by...
Originally posted on the Daily Times The attack on the Philadelphia police officer by a so-called Muslim was a heinous act in the name of Islam. The perpetrator was clearly mentally disturbed with a warped view of Islam. Prophet Muhammad has clearly said “love of one’s country of residence is part of faith.” The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community fully supports our Philadelphia police and thanks you for...
Originally published in the Huffington Post With last week’s release of Charlie Hebdo’s newest edition, marking the one-year anniversary of the infamous terrorist attack on its offices that killed 12 people, once again the debate about free speech has been ignited. In its recent publication, the editors at the magazine decided to take aim at all religion and blame God for terrorism...
Originally published in the Hufington Post You’re seven times more likely to be shot by a right wing extremist in the United States than you are to be shot by a Muslim extremist. But I guess facts don’t stop many Americans from being deathly afraid of all Muslims. I know it’s crazy to think that just because a few radical extremists do something horrifying, the faith of Islam is...