One of the two Muslim women in the US Congress, Rashida Tlaib cursed President Donald Trump when she ended her desire to impeach Trump with an expletive. “We’re going to go in and impeach the motherf****er.” As much as I love and support her, she crossed the line and is rightfully getting flak from the Republicans and some Democrats as well. She later apologized- for the ‘distraction’ but not for the curse words. She had taken pride to be the... Read more
As we approach 2019, we are busy wishing each other happy new year. But what does “happy” really mean? Better job, prosperity, good health, good education for our children are certainly among them. But do we also think beyond our own selves, friends and families when wishing a happy new year? In addition to wishing you all a happy new year in the traditional sense, following are my additional wishes for 2019 (and beyond). Hope you will pardon me for... Read more
One of my life-long dreams came true at the Sunni-Shia Unity Conference to launch efforts to promote Intra-Faith dialogue on December 15, when a group of dedicated local Muslims came together at a local Islamic center in San Jose, CA under the auspices of the Intra-Faith Committee of Northern California Islamic Council. The conference was a result of months of background work by the committee I was fortunate to lead. We have one goal- to bring Muslims from all sects... Read more
As we approach Christmas, Muslims are often asked if they celebrate Christmas. Some Muslims even question themselves whether they are allowed to wish “Merry Christmas” to their Christian friends and colleagues. Some equate the secular celebrations with Christianity. Several years ago, as I was hanging Christmas lights over my garage, one of my relatives baffled me when she asked, “Are you a Christian now?” To start off, Muslims believe Jesus did exist! This may be somewhat reassuring to the Christians... Read more
This post is an updated reproduction of a post from last year’s flu season. This article is more about your health than faith. However, from my recent experience at Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), I know very well that your spirituality takes a hit if you are physically ill. Physical, mental and spiritual health cannot be separated, and are part of the whole you. We need to do what we can to educate ourselves and pass that education to others. Who... Read more
Last month I wrote an article on What Would Jesus Do- 7 Things From A Muslim’s Perspective. Have Muslims pondered on ‘what would Muhammad PBUH do’, even though Muslims don’t believe in his return? We often use his example and the way he lived, and rightly so, when trying to figure how to act in today’s world. However we tend to get stuck on how he acted in the 6th and 7th century Arabia, rather than how he would have... Read more
As the believers continue to throw mud at each other and argue about who is right and wrong, many polls show that the religiosity is on the decline and atheism and the “Nones” are on the rise. Not saying there is a cause and effect but one wonders if the behavior of the believers is contributing to the rising atheism and the Nones effect. To be sure, the rate of atheism and the Nones (those who do not identify with... Read more
When faced with certain situations, Christians often use the phrase ‘What Would Jesus Do’ as a reminder to them to behave in a manner that reflects their love for Jesus Christ. The phrase’ What Would Jesus Do’, or WWJD, can be traced as far back as the 19th century, when the evangelical Charles Spurgeon used it in his sermon, and in turn borrowed the concept from the early church’s Imitatio Christi (imitation of Christ). In its simplest form, it simply... Read more
Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, racism and other hate incidents are on the rise-Tree of Life synagogue and multiple church shootings to name just a couple. These incidents are often politicized but there is actually a lot of research on the neuroscience of bias, hate and stereotyping with some remarkable findings. Recently I took the Implicit Bias Test and urge you to do the same. I was introduced to this subject by Kimberly Papillon, a consultant on Neuroscience and Law, when she... Read more
On Tuesday, Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American and Ilhan Omar, a Somali American Muslim made history with their election to the U.S. congress. They are the first Muslim women to do so. It adds to the diversity of America and is a moment that we as Americans should be proud of, except for Islamophobes who are spitting even more venom as some of the excerpts from the alt right outlet Breitbart below would show. Rashida is a proud Palestinian American... Read more
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