By Mansura Minhas Richard Dawkins recently called upon Muslim women to shun their Hijabs as a show of solidarity with the victims of Paris attacks. Dawkins is an anti-theist, wholly ignorant to Islam. Thus, his case against the Hijab fits perfectly well in his anti-Islam narrative. However, when Muslim women — who take pride in their ‘feminist’ credentials — cite half-baked and fabricated definitions of ‘Hijab’ and join the club to make a case against a guidance clearly rooted in... Read more
By Ayesha Noor Merely days before Christmas, Professor Layrcia Hawkins received disciplinary action for her very Christ-like actions that others deemed Islamic. She is disciplined for her appearance as a Muslim woman and her statement regarding God. Professor Hawkins is an associate professor at Wheaton College, an Evangelical Christian Institute that claims to follow “biblical doctrine,” and reaffirms “salient features of the historic Christian Creeds,” and identifies itself with the Scriptures. Yet, the very Christian admin suspended Dr. Hawkins, a... Read more
By Saima Sheikh I read with disappointment the Washington Post article by Asra Nomani and Hala Arafa. I couldn’t believe that these so called Muslim activists were discouraging non-Muslim women from showing their support for Muslim women. To me their article sounded more like an angry rant. Their rhetoric was no different than those Imams and other clerics in Saudi Arabia or Iran that they cited in their article. At this day and age where there is so much anger and... Read more
By Ayesha Noor I went shopping on a hot June afternoon. I wore a cool beige outer garment over my Jeans and top and complimented it with a blue cotton headscarf. As I left one store a sales woman offered me her product. I respectfully refused, but her next question forced me to stop and listen. “Why would you wear so many things and cover your head,on such a hot day?” I replied, “because I revere Mary mother of Jesus,... Read more
by Ijaz Ahmed It has been twenty years since I last visited Pakistan, the country of my ancestry. I can still recall fond memories of riding on a rickshaw, walking down alleyways of Gujranwala, or grabbing some grub from a street vendor. But most of what I know of Pakistan, I have heard from my parents’ stories about their childhood and upbringing. There are numerous beautiful qualities about Pakistan that I would very much enjoy the opportunity to experience. The reason I have not been... Read more
By Saima Sheikh I watched with horror the coverage of the San Bernardino massacre. I couldn’t believe it. I used to live in greater Los Angeles area! That was my first home when my family and I migrated to America in 1984 from Pakistan. I went to elementary school and middle school there. I attended the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino which is the largest Mosque in San Bernardino County. We still have family and friends who live in that... Read more
By Ayesha Noor To understand why the San Bernardino shooting happened in 2015 America, I have to take you to back to 1920s India. Back in 1920s India appeared a derogatory book shamelessly ridiculing Prophet Muhammad. As a result the Indian Muslim Community responded in two very different ways: Muslim clerics—lacking in vision and unity—considered it to be a deplorable sin and resorted to violence. They instigated young Muslims against the publisher, so much so that one person murdered him.... Read more
by Amer Aziz The recent slaughter in San Bernardino by a couple who had apparently pledged allegiance to ISIS was a terrible tragedy. In the aftermath, the American Muslim community has condemned the violence whereas voices on the right target the Islamic faith itself, while most Americans grapple to come to terms with the reality behind this ordeal. For us to do real justice to our fallen brothers and sisters, to avoid further tragedies, and to have any likelihood of... Read more
by Zahid Mian Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is a noted bigot whose mission is only to spread hatred of Muslims. He makes no bones about his hatred for Islam or Muslims. His stated goal is to prove that the violence committed by the likes of ISIS is inspired by the “true” Islam. The problem for him, and others like him, is that when groups like the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC) show, by their example, the beauty of Islam, he has... Read more
by Sheheryar Ahmad Why didn’t we hear the term “Muslim terrorist” or “Jihadist” before the 1980s? Islam has been around for more than 1400 years but “Islamic” terrorist organizations were not to be found prior to 1980. The first Islamist terrorist attack was the bombing of the Tyre Headquarters in 1982. Was Islam different prior to the 1980s or was there some sort of fundamental change among Muslims during the 1980s? Even though the Quran permits defensive war, it was... Read more
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