The opinions expressed in this section are solely those of the author.
We champion Baba-e-Bum Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a fraud and a quack scientist, as the father of the nuclear bomb. Can he really be called the “father of the Islamic Bomb” as some wish to call him? In order to be the metaphorical father or mother of some idea or achievement, one should be deemed to play a central role in it so much so that if the said “father” or “mother” was removed from the scene, the achievement of …
I am proud that Muslims: Sunni/Shia, Sufi/Salafi, deobandi and Barelvi, have all come together in @MuslimCouncil to seek the common good — Dr Shuja Shafi (@drshujashafi) July 9, 2014 The billing is “British Muslims Sign Historic Intra-Faith Unity Statement: Intra-Faith Unity Statement Aims to Provide Common Ground Between Muslims of All Traditions.” Tonight at an event, special guests of the Muslim Council of Britain were invited to sign the statement that calls for
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is 125 years old this year and in commemoration of this anniversary, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community took out a two-page advertisement in a number of local British newspapers. Luton on Sunday agreed to publish this double page advertisement (pp4-5). This was greeted with complaints by some local Muslims headed by the Preservation of Finality of Prophethood Forum (PFPF) which lead to a groveling response by the newspaper, assuring its readers that they ‘completely disassociate’ from the advertisement and apologize for offending …
Pakistan was created on a beautiful vision; a vision of freedom, a vision of a secular society, applying the Islamic principles of peace, justice and equality for all. Muhammad Ali Jinnah stated in his speech on 11th August 1947 that, ‘You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or …
As I casually scrolled through my Facebook newsfeed one morning, I stumbled across an Al Jazeera English post linking to an article on a “Muslim-friendly alternative” to Web searching that filters haram content. Intrigued, I clicked and read on: functions much like Google or Bing, but with a built-in “advanced special filtering system” that blocks content deemed haram or forbidden in Islam. According to its web site Halalgoogling aims to be the number one search engine in the Muslim community: “Everyone has the right to enjoy the possibilities that the internet offers, …
Last Saturday, on June 29, I was honored to speak in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to the Ahmadiyya Muslim American Community’s 65th Annual Convention. For the past several years, the Ahmadiyya have chosen Harrisburg for their convention, just days before America’s July 4 celebration. Two hours east of Harrisburg is Philadelphia, where our Declaration of Independence was signed on that date. Less than an hour south is Gettysburg, where 150 years ago, in the days leading up to July 4, a crucial …
My New Year’s resolution is to not die for my faith. I’d hoped that 2012 would bring a revolution among Muslims and Muslim-majority nations to free oppressed minds. Yet I find myself still waiting to not die. That’s the “curse” of being an Ahmadi Muslim in too much of the Muslim world. Ahmadi Muslims believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) is the long awaited messiah and Mahdi the Prophet Mohammed foretold, sent to unite mankind and establish peace. But this isn’t …
As we prepare to lay 26 souls to rest in Newtown, Conn., countless are left behind, alone. As long as good people have existed, bad things have happened to them. And as long as religion has existed, believers and non-believers alike rightfully ask, “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” Islam’s answer to the question of suffering does not serve to “justify” or mitigate the pain associated with the horror of losing a child. Nor does it …
1400 years ago in the city of Medina, the political ruler of the time whose name was Muhammad ordered a census. My guess is that it was because he wanted to figure out the total number of the residents living in that area and the demographic makeup of the society. This would then help him to lead that polity in the best and most just way possible (because administering justice is what he was famous for). Therefore, He gave the …
Though I was born in Pakistan, I was still a baby when my dad had to move to The Gambia in West Africa. The Gambia is a small peaceful country. Here, I remember my mother teaching me the Urdu Qaida and telling me interesting stories about Pakistan. I could see she missed Pakistan a great deal. She would sometimes break down in tears, relating stories of the persecution she had witnessed growing up in her hometown in Sindh. My father …
May 28, 2012 was the 2-year anniversary of the Taliban’s attack on two mosques in Lahore, Pakistan. That day, the Taliban murdered 86 Ahmadi Muslims and 1 Christian
The accounts of the torture meted out to Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, an Ahmadi school teacher, are gory and mind numbing. The fact that police were complicit in this heinous act exacerbates the woes of his bereaved family. Their plight is unimaginable; the guardians of justice – who are expected to provide recourse, are the culprits here. This is not the first time that humanity has been shamed in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Ahmadis have been rendered outcasts in their …