I like to call myself a “conservative Muslim liberal” with the word “Muslim” doing double-duty as a noun and an adjective. On religious matters I tend towards orthodoxy, whereas in politics I am more of an activist. This does makes for some interesting intellectual contortions at times, which is why Whitman’s quote about contradictions and multitudes has always resonated with me. For the most part, however, reconciling these identities is intuitive and comes naturally for Muslim Americans of my native-born... Read more

After President Obama’s historic declaration of support for marriage equality, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a statement of his own. Recall that Senator Reid is a practicing Mormon – I think that this statement draws a careful line between his personal religious convictions and his liberal political principles. My personal belief is that marriage is between a man and a woman. But in a civil society, I believe that people should be able to marry whomever they want, and... Read more