Persecution of Minorities in Pakistan is Un-Islamic

Last updated on: December 20, 2015 at 11:50 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

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

Response to San Bernardino Tragedy

Last updated on: December 18, 2015 at 11:39 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

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

How to Prevent another San Bernardino Shooting

Last updated on: December 18, 2015 at 11:48 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

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

San Bernardino: Unless We See Past the Rhetoric, We Do No Justice to the Fallen

Last updated on: December 12, 2015 at 10:33 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

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

Does the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Speak for Islam? A Response to Dr. Stephen Kirby’s Implication

Last updated on: December 6, 2015 at 7:34 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

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

The Origins of Terrorism are Geopolitical, Not Religious

Last updated on: December 2, 2015 at 9:27 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

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

Four Simple Ways to Stop ISIS

Last updated on: November 6, 2017 at 9:50 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

By Seidu Malik Over the past few years, ISIS has emerged from the shadows of a failed Arab Spring in Syria and sectarian violence in Iraq to become a dominant player in global terrorism. The brutalities, that took the form of beheadings of foreign journalists and aid workers and enslavement of women and children often concentrated in the Middle East, have recently escalated onto a global scale. The coordinated attacks in Paris that left about 130 people dead, and the... Read more

Response to Anti-Muslim Stereotypes

Last updated on: November 19, 2015 at 3:06 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

By Saima Sheikh I read Monday, November 16 letter, “Woman Watched the Males eat” in Dallas Morning News with first laughter and then anger which lead to sadness. I laughed because of Adele Ford’s over generalization of the situation that the poor wife has no right to speak up and ask for food. I became angry and sad because of the stereotype which resonated from her letter. Why does she assume that the woman has no rights? What if this... Read more

Syrian Refugees are not terrorists, ISIS is

Last updated on: November 19, 2015 at 2:43 pm By Muslims Writers Guild of America

By Haris Raja There are millions of Syrian refugees who are longing for a glimmer of hope to breathe freely, to live a respectable life and to be able to give their children a better future than the dismal situation they find themselves in. A single act of insanity like the French attack may jeopardize the chances of millions of legitimate refugees who are searching for a better life. Initial reports from the French attack, which have now been dismissed,... Read more

Standing United Against Evil – Don’t Let ISIS Divide Our Humanity

Last updated on: November 17, 2015 at 3:44 pm By Dilshad Ali

By Qasim Rashid As I left my mosque in Philadelphia Friday afternoon my phone lit up with texts and tweets about attacks in Paris. Muslims have been conditioned on how to respond to these attacks. First, we feel pain for the loss of life. And most certainly my heart sank as I saw the horrific aftermath of the Paris attacks. Then, almost as quickly we hope the attackers aren’t Muslim. We know that if the attackers are Muslim, we’ll soon... Read more