Yahia Lababidi is an Egyptian immigrant and Muslim in Trump’s America. His new book – Where Epics Fail – is a work of hope, peace and healing for our wounded world. Where Epics Fail, to be published by Unbound (UK), is a collection of 800 aphorisms composed over the last ten years. Unbound is the world’s first crowd-funding…… Continue reading Words For Our Wounded World – “Where Epics Fail”
Three students in my “Muslims in American Society” course at Rice University wanted to learn more about why young Muslim women do – and do not – cover. To explore this issue of covering the students interviewed four of their peers. Here is a passage from one of the four interviews: When I come to…… Continue reading Muslim Women at Rice University Explain Why They Do – And Do Not – Cover
People often ask me, Why do you study Islam if you are a Christian? Here is my answer: I am hungry for meaning, wherever it might be found. I do not care if it is in a desert of Arabia or a small village in France. I want to bridge the perceived worlds, through meaning-making.…… Continue reading Why This Christian Studies Islam
A new Duluth News Tribune article by M. Imran Hayee cites a few passages from my blog post titled “Documents Show Prophet Muhammad and US Founding Fathers Were Kindred Spirits.” Hayee wrote the following: On April 6, an Arab Muslim student from the University of California, Berkeley, Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, was removed from a flight when he alarmed a fellow…… Continue reading Cited in “Loyalties to Islam, America Not Mutually Exclusive”
No other leader in world history has been more scrutinized and ridiculed than Prophet Muhammad. Since the founding of Islam in 632 AD, Christians and Jews have described the Prophet of Allah as a blasphemer, bigot, terrorist, and pedophile, among other slurs. However, according to a new book The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the…… Continue reading New Book Sheds Light on Prophet Muhammad’s Interfaith Views
A letter recently mailed to mosques throughout Ireland has raised alarm for its racist tone and incitement of violence against Irish Muslims. The letter suggested that Irish people were willing to kill Muslims in order to prevent the “Islamization” of Ireland. The letter also suggested that Irish Muslims have not – and are not interested in -…… Continue reading Debunking the myth that Irish Muslims do not integrate
By Craig Considine Today’s far-right parties in Europe, such as the National Front in France and the Party for Freedom in Holland, are surging in popularity and calling for legal bans on veils, mosques, minarets, sha’ria, and even the outright expulsion of Muslims from the continent. In short, the far-right perceives Muslims as “inassimilable” and…… Continue reading What Europe’s Far-Right Parties Can Learn From Islam
The Basilica of Gethsemane, also known as the Church of All Nations, has been restored back to its original splendor by a group of young Palestinians, five of which are Muslim. The Custody of the Holy Land, the Franciscan group responsible for the restoration, could have given the project to foreign experts but they chose Palestinians…… Continue reading Young Palestinians restore Basilica of Gethsemane in Jerusalem
Source: Electronic Intifada By Ali Abunimah Despite the government having fairly clear definitions of what constitutes an act of “terrorism,” the terms “terrorist” or “terrorism” are used not to describe actions but to label people. It is clear these are racialized terms, applied in a discriminatory way to people perceived as Muslim, Arab or nonwhite.…… Continue reading “Terrorist” as a Racist Term
It is with disgust that I am writing this note on the Muslims who recently attacked two churches in Peshawar, where over 70 Christians were murdered. I want to bring to attention several fundamental points in Islam that completely and utterly denounce hatred or acts of violence on Christians. I have written about this very…… Continue reading A Note to the Muslims Who Attacked Christians in Peshawar, Pakistan
Here is a collection of quotes from Pope Francis directed towards Muslims. This post will be updated as Pope Francis continues to speak about dialogue, common ground, and mutual respect between Christians and Muslims worldwide. On dialogue “Turning to mutual respect in interreligious relations, especially between Christians and Muslims, we are called to respect the…… Continue reading Comments by Pope Francis Emphasize Bridge Building with Muslims
Things are spiraling out of control in Egypt, especially for its Coptic community, which has recently been attacked for allegedly helping oust the democratically-elected Muslim Brotherhood from power. The Copts are Egypt’s largest Christian group who make up roughly 10% of the Egyptian population. Over the last several weeks they have witnessed a horrendous string…… Continue reading Persecution of Christians Shames Muhammad’s Legacy on Religious Freedom
Published on the Huffington Post One issue often discussed on news sites and blogs over the last several days is the many attacks on Egypt’s Christian communities. Several outlets have reported that violence by Mohammad Morsi supporters has left dozens of Christian churches, Coptic-owned businesses and properties burnt. Fears of widespread sectarian strife seem to…… Continue reading Egyptian Muslims Forget Muhammad’s Letter to Christian Monks
My recent Huffington Post article “A New Perspective of “Jihad” in Christianity and Islam” sparked a good amount of controversy in the interfaith and anti-Muslim blogosphere. In a follow up post, I focus solely on what I call the “Jesus Jihad,” or the Christian struggles which are noted in the New Testament. The following excerpts…… Continue reading Jesus Jihad
About two weeks ago I finished an article that compared the concept of “jihad,” which literally means “to struggle” in Arabic, through the lens of Christianity and Islam. The article, which the Huffington Post Religion published, caused uproar in the “Islamophobia industry” for its attempt to build bridges between Christians and Muslims. Unfortunately, interfaith dialogue…… Continue reading How to Respond to the “Islamophobia Industry”
Published on Huffington Post Religion (August 5th, 2013) Politicians and anti-Muslim activists frequently take to audiences and websites to criticize the term “jihad” as a form of Islamic supremacism, oppression, and violence. Muslim extremists, on the other hand, argue that “jihad” refers to a “holy war” against non-Muslims. Viewing the term “jihad” though these frameworks…… Continue reading A New Perspective of “Jihad” in Christianity and Islam
By Akbar Ahmed Published on Washington Post (7/9/13) I have always been honored when asked to speak at the Friday sermon in a mosque. It is both spiritually elevating to interact with worshippers and socially it provides insights to the community. There are always many inspiring and impressive people in these gatherings, some of them…… Continue reading In Greece, a case study on Islam in Europe
Over the years I have penned many articles to highlight the pluralist spirit of the U.S. founding fathers. Independence Day is an opportunity for Americans and people worldwide to celebrate human rights and religious tolerance. The founding fathers were by no means perfect, and neither is America, but their vision for the U.S. is something…… Continue reading Understanding the Pluralism of the Founding Fathers
There’s a heart-warming story coming out of Rome about the head of a papal agency that gives help to Christians in the Middle East. According to Monsignor John E. Kozar, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, “[t]he broad majority of Muslims are people of good-will.” Kozar claims that the…… Continue reading Top Catholic American official calls Muslims “people of good-will”
Published on The American Muslim (June 22nd, 2013) Several weeks ago, my friend and kindred spirit Qasim Rashid sent me a digital copy of his highly anticipated book The Wrong Kind of Muslim: An Untold Story of Persecution and Perseverance. I started reading it one early morning in my flat in Dublin, Ireland, thinking I…… Continue reading A Jihad of the Pen: Review of Qasim Rashid’s “The Wrong Kind of Muslim”
Akbar the Great is an extraordinary figure in history. Who is he? What did he stand for and what can we learn from his legacy? These are some of the questions which are touched upon in this short documentary. *Feel free to watch/write a review in the comments section. Thank you.* Reviews: “I have tears of…… Continue reading Finding Pluralism in Akbar the Great (A Short Documentary)
In a recent article for Yahoo Contributors Network, Maryam Khan Ansari wrote about how internet postings with anti-Muslim hate messages may soon be subject to federal criminal laws. In her article, Ansari discussed how Bill Killian, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, has plans to use federal civil rights laws to curb hate speech,…… Continue reading How George Washington and Prophet Muhammad Would React to Hate Speech
This picture was taken at the annual Muslim Day Parade in New York City in the fall of 2008. I did not take this picture in black and white. It has been doctored using some software.
By Sakina Al-Amin for Examiner Interfaith activist and contributor to Huffington Post, Craig Considine, sheds light on some of the Muslim Americans who took part in protecting Americas as patriotic citizens and lovers of this nation: Honoring Muslim American Veterans on Memorial Day. In the piece Considine mentions more than three Muslims by name and…… Continue reading Humanizing and Honoring Muslim American Veterans
Go on a journey into the heart of Islam’s mystical side – Sufism. Explore the roots of Sufi music, art, poetry, etc. Sufi music is particularly thrilling and attracted me to study more about Islam. I highly recommend this short piece from Channel 4. The presenter takes the audience to Sufi shrines of the Virgin…… Continue reading An Anecdote to Negative Stereotypes of Islam
Note: I took this picture during Mawlid in Dublin, 2013 Prayer, both obligatory and spontaneous, is an immense spiritual treasure to be tapped. It inspires peace, purity and tranquility, and instills a continuous awareness of and feeling of closeness to God. It amazingly reduces the hustle and bustle of life to tame proportions…. [P]rayers tend…… Continue reading The Function of Prayer
I pose a challenge to media outlets around the world: Will they continue to focus on sensational stories which only exacerbate tension and hatred between groups, or will they instead provide coverage to events and initiatives which work to build bridges across the divide? I use Pastor Terry Jones’ “Burn the Quran Day” and my…… Continue reading My challenge to the media: Burn the Quran Day or One Film 9/11?
The Great Mosque of Aleppo, also called the Ummayad Mosque, is crumbling because of the war in Syria. The BBC is reporting that its minaret has fallen to the ground and now lays ruined in a pile of rubble. In my opinion it doesn’t matter if Assad’s troops or the “rebel forces” destroyed it. The…… Continue reading Most beautiful mosque in “Muslim world” crumbles
By Andrew Rosenthal for The New York Times The Boston Marathon bombings are closer to the colloquial and legal definitions of terrorism than the Aurora shooting, but not the Oklahoma bombing, or the Arizona attack. The real difference is that Mr. Tsarnaev is a Muslim, and the United States has since the 9/11 terrorist attacks…… Continue reading Reality is Muslims have different rules for punishment in US
“Journey into America” is arguably the most comprehensive documentary ever done on Muslims in America. The film explores the issue of what it means to be American through the lens of Muslims. Ahmed’s documentary has been called “an essential pillar in the effort to build the interfaith bridge of understanding” by Congressman Keith Ellison, America’s…… Continue reading “Journey into America”
I felt very discouraged at Mass this morning. The priest virtually incited hatred of Islam. In paraphrasing he said something like “The Boston Marathon bombings was part of the global jihad of Islamic supremacists on Christians.” He followed these loaded statements by talking about evil, the devil and how Islam has basically “always been this…… Continue reading Politicizing the Marathon bombings in a Boston church
Note: Here’s an article by Alayna Ahmad, which was recently published on the Huffington Post Religion page. Below the article, I’ve also posted an ITV documentary on “The Muslim Jesus.” Islam is a deeply monotheistic religion and thus forbids any partners or associations with God. Although all prophets including Jesus were mortal and gifted in…… Continue reading The Muslim Jesus
Whoever sent this envelope misspelled my name. It is Considine, not Considerine. Go figure. Note the top-left hand corner says “‘Liberty’ is not found in Islam.” Sent in response to my latest article on the connection between the Prophet Muhammad and George Washington in the Huffington Post.
He could have at least invited me to meet George Washington.
George Washington’s birthday, celebrated annually on Febr. 22nd, is an opportunity to reflect upon his exemplary character and the example he set for future generations of Americans. While much is known about Washington’s military service and political career, less is known about his attitude towards religious freedom and his relationships with Muslims. Looking closely at…… Continue reading George Washington Was a Friend of Muslims
Syed Taj, who happens to be a Muslim American immigrant, is running as a Democratic candidate for Congress in Michigan. His opponent has just run a nasty add on television claiming that he wants to ‘advance Muslim power’ or something of that ridiculous nature. When asked how he felt about the commercial, Taj responds with:…… Continue reading Syed Taj Reinforces the Pluralist Vision of the Founding Fathers
The United States is not and never has been a ‘Christian nation’. America’s Founding Fathers explicitly designed the country on pluralist grounds and encouraged Americans to accept people of all religious backgrounds. This is why the actions of a junior high school teacher named Linda White of Mississippi are so anti-American. White told her students…… Continue reading Commentary: It’s anti-American to care about the President’s religion
It has been challenging for me – a young Catholic working in interfaith dialogue – to watch the escalation of conflict between Muslim communities the world over and the United States. Observing this escalation as an American citizen has been equally difficult because religious tolerance is at the heart of my definition of American identity.…… Continue reading Personal: My challenge as a Catholic American
Since the events of 9/11 the Prophet Muhammad has been in the news the world over for all the wrong reasons. Examples of this include the Prophet (PBUH) being mocked in political cartoons as a terrorist and depicted as a child killer, rapist, and adulterer in films such as The Innocence of Muslims. The Prophet…… Continue reading Prophet Muhammad Sculpture at U.S. Supreme Court Shows Respect for Islam
I started the initiative One Film 9/11 with the hope of countering the dreadful anti-Islamic film, The Innocence of Muslims, with my film, Journey into America. One Film 9/11 has the goal of screening Journey into America around the Muslim and non-Muslim world on 9/11/2013 to prove how Muslims and non-Muslims are able to work together to improve…… Continue reading Outreach: 5 reasons why you should join the One Film 9/11 interfaith initiative
Sheila Musaji, an activist in the Islamic and inter-faith communities, was kind enough (as editor) to promote One Film 9/11 in her online newspaper The American Muslim. The American Muslim has a large audience, so this is a good opportunity for One Film 9/11 to get more attention. Click here to read the article. I would…… Continue reading Work: The American Muslim picks up One Film 9/11
The arsonist attack at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo adds to the growing concern that the constitutional right to worship freely is not safeguarded when it comes American Muslims. In the summer of 2012, 8 mosques were attacked in just eleven days (Salon.com). In Joplin, Missouri, a mosque was destroyed by an arsonist; the same…… Continue reading Commentary: Time for Obama to say something about mosque attacks across U.S.
2014 The Problem With Banning the Burqa. Huffington Post Religion, March 12th. Revisiting the Connection Between Prophet Muhammad and George Washington. Huffington Post Religion, February 16th. Interview on Scholar’s Spiritual Journey Into Islam and the Life of Prophet Muhammad. Huffington Post Religion, February 11th. What Studying Muhammad Taught Me About Islam. Huffington Post Religion, January…… Continue reading Articles
To be a member of the Know Nothing Party, one had to be ‘a native born citizen, a Protestant, born of Protestant parents, reared under Protestant influence, and not united in marriage with a Roman Catholic’. In addition, members of the Know Nothing Party had to take a pledge to prevent ‘the insidious policy of…… Continue reading Déjà vu and the Tea Party
In a treaty with the Islamic nation of Tripoli initiated by George Washington, completed by John Adams, and ratified by the US Senate in 1797, the Founding Fathers declared that … the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion… So, for the love, please spread this around, especially…… Continue reading A quote for the Christian-American right
An article Reflections of a Concerned Young American for Pakistan Link when I was a senior at American University, Washington, DC. Unfortunately one sentence from the article still rings true today. Some have already begun the fight against ignorance and misunderstanding surrounding Islam, but citizens who continue to malign Islam without truly understanding the religion…… Continue reading Article from 2007: Reflections of a Concerned Young American
On Thursday, 26th July, Israeli occupation forces arrested at dawn, Imam of al-Aqsa mosque after they broke into the mosque, closed its gates and forced the worshipers to leave. Sources in Jerusalem said that worshipers were at the mosque for al-Fajer prayer and suddenly the Israeli police broke into the mosque, arrested the mosque’s Imam and…… Continue reading Al Aqsa Imam Arrested by Israeli Army During Ramadan
Saiyid Ahmad Khan was the founder of Islamic modernism, that is, the development in Islamic thought which bears comparison with the development of higher criticism and modernism in Christian thought. He was deeply concerned that Islam should make sense in the light of Western science; he was no less concerned that Muslims should be reconciled…… Continue reading Religion: A ‘modernist’ Muslim for all those who think they’ve never existed
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