So I must admit I feel awkward as a Muslim to write about signs of good Christians. However, as a student of the Bible and an interfaith worker, and given the current national environment, I could not pass up on a post from a Christian blogger that this article is based on. The original post, titled “10 Signs of a Jesus Follower” by blogger Jesse Gardner appeared several years ago but is perhaps even more relevant in the current environment.... Read more
Last night I was at our neighborhood synagogue honoring the eleven innocent people of Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill near Pittsburgh during Shabbat service last week. One of the Rabbis said “they died only because they were Jewish”. The emotions ranged from sadness, anger, and compassion, and yes fear was expressed about our vulnerability. President Trump visited the Tree of life synagogue yesterday, but has not called this an act of terrorism yet. How is this not an... Read more
My condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the terrorist attack on the #TreeofLife Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA earlier this morning during a Shabbat service. The sad truth is that anti-Semitism is alive and well in America and around the world. At the moment, the death toll stands at 11. The culprit Robert Bowers, a white male, was apprehended after the shooting. The FBI will be the lead agency investigating this as a hate crime. The suspected... Read more
Yesterday the two former presidents received explosive devices in mail. So did the chair of the Democratic National Party, the CNN headquarter, and many other leaders of the Democratic Party. Thank God, no one was hurt. Is this a sign of our nation being deeply divided by hate, along the party lines like never before? Is this attack consistent with Christian values, assuming of course they were sent by right wing extremist/s to prominent Democrats and left leaning news channel.... Read more
Though we tend to think of him as the one who “founded” a new religion consisting of rituals and acts of worship, the fact is that he brought forth a social revolution in the span of 23 years. The issues he discussed were unheard of in all of Arabia and possibly in the entire world at the time. More than just a set of religious commandments, he emphasized social, racial and gender equality and human rights. Following is a small... Read more
Was Jesus a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim? If he was a Jew, how do you reconcile that the “founder” of Christianity was a Jew? Muslims believe he was a “Muslim”, but not in the way “Muslims” are traditionally viewed. As you strain your eyebrows over this claim, let me explain why. Whereas many Muslim scholars would agree he was a Jew ethnically and he was considered a Jew based on his religious affiliation to the temple and... Read more
Last year I published a post on 3 myths about Hijab. One myth I neglected to mention was the long-held belief even among some Muslims that Hijabi women are uneducated, backward and/or oppressed. Here is an example of one truly remarkable, myth-busting Hijabi woman astrophysicist. But let me first go over the 3 myths I covered on my prior post briefly. Myth#1 Hijab is a dress code only. Hijab is commonly thought of a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf and... Read more
The country has been sharply divided after Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation by Senate, hailed as a victim of left wing conspiracy by the Republicans and the president, and as a right wing extension of the GOP agenda by the Democrats. I had mentioned on my post last week that FBI investigation aside, the verdict for me was in after his testimony. Here are the 6 lessons learned from this whole process. 1. Accusation of sexual assault needs to meet the standards... Read more
Charitable giving is among the important religious practices we have in common. Attending Sukkah ceremony at my neighborhood synagogue last week during the festival of Sukkot was another reminder of how much we have in common- the reading of the Torah, the prayers, the mannerism during the service, circumambulating the sanctuary counter clockwise seven times and much more. I felt completely at home. What does the Sukkah service have to do with the topic here? Probably nothing directly but it... Read more
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