June 15, 2018

The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (PCID) released a message on Friday greeting the world’s Muslims on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr to mark the end of month of Ramadan. It also provides guiding principles for meaningful Christian-Muslim dialogue to improve relations between the world’s two largest religious groups. Eid Al Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims rejoice in a gesture of giving thanks to the Almighty for all the blessings. The... Read more

June 14, 2018

As Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan and it’s blessings, am I the only one who feels sad to see Ramadan go? Sure Eid is the happiest occasion on the Islamic calendar but why do I feel sad at the same time? Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that Eid is the most joyful day in the Islamic calendar.  It is a time to rejoice and give thanks to the almighty... Read more

June 9, 2018

Contrary to the popular belief, the purpose of Interfaith Iftars and any other form of Interfaith dialogue is not to convert each other. Muslims in the United States are increasingly opening their mosques and Islamic centers to people of other faiths during the month of Ramadan to break their fast (Iftar) together at sunset. The underlying theme is to promote Interfaith understanding and harmony, ultimately leading to peace between people of various faiths. Breaking bread together is an age-old tradition... Read more

June 5, 2018

Muslims do not have the “Ten Commandments” per se (even though they believe in all of them). In the era of social media, fake news and ridiculing and defamation of the “other”, one short chapter of the Qur’an provides simple, and yet powerful life lessons and a guide for conduct behavior towards each other. Chapter 49, Surah Al Hujjarat (The Rooms) starts by teaching basic mannerism to the early Muslims as to how they should behave in front of Prophet... Read more

June 2, 2018

Contrary to the popular belief, the Qur’an holds the Torah and Gospel in high esteem.  Muslims are well aware that the Qur’an calls itself ‘guidance’ and ‘light’ (Nur) and Al-Furqan (the criterion between right and wrong). But did you know the Qur’an refers to Torah and Gospel in the same way? It should really not be surprising because the same God sent down all of them. The Qur’an has a clear view of the prior Abrahamic Scriptures: The Scriptures, as... Read more

May 30, 2018

Islam means submission (to the will of God) and Muslim means submitter. The Qur’an considers Jews and Christians (as well as Pre-Muhammad Prophets) as Muslims, though not in the traditional sense Muslims are viewed today.  Yes I have heard “how is it possible for them to be Muslims if they lived before Muhammad”. It depends on how we define “Muslims”. And do not dispute with the people of the Book [typically a reference to Jews and Christians] except by the... Read more

May 28, 2018

If God is Most Kind and Most compassionate, why should we fear Him? How does a ‘pious’ person becomes ‘God-fearing’? ‘Fear of God’ seems to be a rather complex and misunderstood concept. This is an attempt to reconcile the two seemingly opposite teachings. A not uncommon misgiving that abounds is that the “God of the Qur’an” and the “God of the Torah” is always angry, full of vengeance, and that these scriptures have used fear to subjugate followers. “Fear of God”... Read more

May 25, 2018

This is an inspirational story about how a young Muslim boy, named Omar, changed an Evangelical minister’s life in a brief interaction that lasted only a few minutes. Jeff Burns, an Evangelical minister, admittedly hated Muslims until that memorable, soul-changing day when his encounter with Omar took place at a Starbucks in Raleigh, North Carolina. This should serve as an inspiration for anyone interested in promoting peace and dialogue between Christians and Muslims (and for that matter between any groups).... Read more

May 22, 2018

By Guest Contributor: After publishing my post 7 Reasons You Should Be Happy You Are Not An American Muslim, a Jewish friend on social media wrote a similar version for Jews, titled Anti-Semitism: 7 Reasons You Should Be Happy Not To Be a Jew, and now an African American minister friend in my community writes about the the prejudice and racism African Americans face.  Like I stated on my original piece,  this is not meant to be an anti-white rant and... Read more

May 14, 2018

The celebration of the move of the USA embassy to Jerusalem was in stark contrast to the mood on the Palestinian side, where the demonstrations against the move resulted in killing of over 50 Palestinians today in Gaza and the West bank by the Israeli soldiers. This effectively may have put an end to the dream of having Israeli-Palestinian peace in our lifetime. This AP video shows the contrast in the mood. https://nyti.ms/2GhTU78.  The video can also be found in NY... Read more


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