Al Jazeera (Arabic) hosted Dr. Craig Considine for a discussion on his March 2020 Newsweek article related to Prophet Muhammad’s recommendations on dealing with a pandemic like COVID-19. The discussion also examines Islamophobia, religiosity, and bridge building between people of different faiths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaJOLk3P1es&t=1s
The following video shows an interfaith peace symposium sharing messages of peace with various communities including an address by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth Khalifa (Caliph) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. I am honored that His Holiness mentioned my research paper Religious Pluralism and Civic Rights in a “Muslim Nation”: An Analysis of Prophet Muhammad’s…… Continue reading Video: Research Paper Mentioned By His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad
By this time you have likely heard of the atrocity that recently took place in which over 1,000 Syrian civilians reportedly died at the hands of a chemical weapon attack. Seeing the video and images of dead or helpless Syrian civilians struggling for life reminds me of another terrible weapon of war – depleted uranium.…… Continue reading U.S. Depleted Uranium as Malicious as Syrian Chemical Weapons
I lived in the Liberties, a working class part of Dublin, for over two years and used to see the man pictured above on a daily basis. I remember how he would walk up and down the isles of John’s Lane Church on Thomas Street while grunting something under his breath. In the middle of mass,…… Continue reading Remembering the man I used to see on Thomas Street
Mass shootings such as those in Newtown, Connecticut, and Aurora, Colorado, by far exceed the number of those killed in Muslim-related terrorism in the U.S., new research says. “Terrorist” attacks in 2012 are down from 21 in 2011, 26 in 2010 and 49 in 2009, according to the fourth annual report by North Carolina’s Triangle…… Continue reading “Islamophobia” Crimes Up Despite “Terrorist” Attacks Being Down in U.S.
I am happy to hear that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, rescinded an invitation to Robert Spencer, a writer whose views on Muslims and Islam are eerily similar to those of Nazis towards Jews and Judaism. After a further review of Spencer’s background, a spokesman for the diocese, Raymond Delisle, said in a…… Continue reading Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester Rejects Bigotry, Stands by Muslim Friends
Many Americans around the United States are making a fuss about Al Jazeera’s purchase of Current TV, which will allow the Arab based channel to air its content in the United States. Some Americans have called Al Jazeera a threat to national security, while others have even suggested that Al Jazeera spreads anti-Semitic propaganda. The Fox News commentator,…… Continue reading The similarities between Al Jazeera and Fox News
I want to take a quick moment to express how happy I am that the Murfreesboro, Tennessee Muslim community emerged victorious in their tireless battle against anti-American forces. Here is the background to their story for those who are unfamiliar with their struggle: The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro has been part of the Murfreesboro community…… Continue reading Outreach: America wins in the Murfreesboro mosque
Thanks to Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign for organizing this demonstration.
Alhurra is a United States-based Arabic language outlet funded by the United States Congress which broadcasts news to the Middle East and North Africa. Its stated mission is to provide ‘objective, accurate and relevant news and information’ to its audience while seeking to ‘support democratic values’ and ‘expand the spectrum of ideas, opinions, and perspectives’…… Continue reading Work: Writing in Alhurra
Ahead of tonight’s third and final presidential debate, which happens to focus on foreign policy, I turn to journalist Ari Berman’s article ‘Mitt Romney’s Neocon War Cabinet’ to show how Romney may go about positioning the U.S. on the world stage. ‘If we take the candidate at his word, a Romney presidency would move toward…… Continue reading Politics: Romney’s dangerous ‘More enemies, less friends’ foreign policy
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
You don’t have to tell the truth to win a debate, but you do have to have fine talking points, clear and simple policies, effective communication, good body language, sound composure, a sense of humour, and a competitive edge. I woke up this morning and read on Twitter that media outlets the world over are…… Continue reading Politics: Impression on first debate is Romney winner
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.
Journey into America should be required viewing for all Americans and Muslims worldwide. For this reason I have started the initiative One Film 9/11. The purpose of this initiative is to screen Journey into America in as many places of religious worship around the world on September 11th, 2013 in the hope of improving relations…… Continue reading Work: Some links launching new initiative One Film 9/11
A short piece I wrote about how 9/11 changed the way I looked at religion, specifically Islam, was published today (September 11th) in the Huffington Post’s article (slide 12) How 9/11 Changed Religion in America. I’m honoured to be featured alongside a Hindu Monk, a Sikh activist, an Ahmadi writer, a Jewish scholar, a Dean at USC,…… Continue reading Work: Huffington Post piece, ‘The “other” Islam’ and reflecting on religion and 9/11
Here’s a brilliant idea… let’s go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan even though we don’t have the money to pay for it. We can just put the tab on our credit cards. $3,000,000,000,000 isn’t that much money anyways. No worries. Here’s another good idea. While we’re at war, let’s give tax breaks to the…… Continue reading Politics: The deficit as another example of the ‘alternative universe’ of the Republican Party
The Republicans must be aggravated that a short black man can be so politically destructive. It must shatter the constructs that many have in their head. Patrick’s speech had very little rhetoric, which I like. He was strong and feisty and attacked. He called on Democrats to stop being such wimps. He told his party…… Continue reading Politics: Deval Patrick’s feisty ‘backbone’ speech calls on Democrats to stop being whimps
From Desmond Tutu’s Why I had no choice but to spurn Tony Blair: ‘On what grounds do we decide that Robert Mugabe should go the International Criminal Court, Tony Blair should join the international speakers’ circuit, bin Laden should be assassinated, but Iraq should be invaded, not because it possesses weapons of mass destruction, as…… Continue reading Politics: Double standard in war crimes
Many people who are from or have lived in Massachusetts know that Romney, while Governor, led a state which was near the bottom of the national list for JOB GROWTH. During his administration, he also piled up more DEBT per person than any other state and CUT taxes for millionaires. Romney’s track record in no…… Continue reading Politics: What Massachusetts knows about Romney’s ‘business experience’
I won’t be tuning into the Republican National Convention, though last night, while eating dinner, I overheard that the theme for the first night of the Convention was ‘We Built That’. So who and/or what is the Grand Old Party (GOP) referring to with ‘We’? Who exactly is ‘We’? Is it a reference to Americans generally or…… Continue reading Politics: Who is ‘We’ and what have they ‘Built’?
Ibn Percy just blogged about Muslim Graves Defaced With Words of Hate. Whoever was behind this crime should visit Arlington National Cemetery so they can see that Muslim Americans have died in some of the US’s wars. Would these criminals deface those tombstones or are they off-limits? I have blogged about my visit to Arlington…… Continue reading Attacks on Muslim gravestones
The picture you see above is what remains of a mosque in Joplin, Missouri that was burned to the ground on the day after the Sikh Temple shooting. The Joplin community has just launched a website and Facebook page to help realize their dream of replacing their mosque and moving forward with their lives. You can…… Continue reading How you can help the Muslims of Joplin, Missouri rebuild their mosque
Check out the piece I just had published in the Arizona Capitol Times (the most read newspapers in Arizona for political affairs). I wrote in response to what a Tea Party leader had said about the loyalty of Muslim Americans. Read it here
Chris Fields, a disgruntled, if not delusional veteran of the Iraq War, is running against Congressman Keith Ellison for a spot on Capitol Hill. Fields had the following to say in a letter to the City Pages that was directed towards Ellison: Dear Patriot, While I was fighting on a battlefield in Iraq, my opponent…… Continue reading Politics: Help our veterans with their mental issues
In a nut-shell, Mitt Romney insinuated on his recent visit to Jerusalem that Israel’s economy performs well because Israeli society has a superior culture. Inevitably, Romney also hinted that the Palestinian economy does not perform well because Palestinian society lacks ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’, thus making Palestinian culture ‘inferior’. Romney’s ‘logic’, therefore, suggests that a strong…… Continue reading Weak Economy Means an Inferior Culture?
NOTE: Not sharing Twitter handles to protect identities. British Pride yayy Imperialism, Destroying 3rd World Lands This would be accurate if the black boy was to be stopped & searched by the police. Then shot & killed by the police #olympicceremony Aww, they are getting nostalgic. The good ol’ coloniasist days This is what the opening…… Continue reading Reactions to the Opening Ceremony
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
Professor Akbar Ahmed speaks about the difficult quandary in present day Pakistan, especially in the Tribal Areas. Be on the lookout for his forthcoming book The Thistle and the Drone (to be published by Brookings Institution Press in the spring of 2013).
I am trying to be more creative. Rather than writing something, I have decided to speak something.
By now you may have heard that Michele Bachmann has accused Huma Abedin of being a mole that has successfully infiltrated the US State Department on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Hmm, I wonder what MB leaders think of their mole… One Ahmed Al Nahhas, a long-time MB activist and leader in Alexandria, Egypt, has said, I haven’t…… Continue reading A ‘radical Islamist’ group responds to Bachmann’s remarks with… SANITY!?
I have an issue with the Vatican stripping Pontifical Catholic University of Peru of its right to call itself Catholic or Pontifical. This stripping is bothersome for several reasons. The first reason is that it only further amplifies the reputation of the Catholic Church as an archaic, authoritative, and out-of-touch institution which tries to conform…… Continue reading My spat with the Vatican
Nothing like some guns to celebrate the birth of Christ! This is how guns become ‘normal’ in the USA. Buy a kid a gun and he or she will love you forever.
Akbar Ahmed’s Islam Under Siege is an attempt to make sense of a rapidly transforming and dangerous world where ‘Westerners’ and ‘Muslims’ (as if the to are not inclusive!) are often pitted against each other as mortal enemies. In his analysis, Ahmed explains what is going wrong in the Muslim world; why it is going…… Continue reading Recommended reading: ‘Islam Under Siege’
In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Muslims are hoping to celebrate Ramadan in the much-anticipated opening of their Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM). While it seems they will be able to do so, a most unfortunate story is lurking in the shadow. A group of non-Muslims who filed suit seeking a restraining order to end the Centre’s construction has…… Continue reading The “free” in Murfreesboro bugs me
Texas Representative Louie Gohmert is one of several members of Congress who decided (stupidly) to sign the now infamous ‘Bachmann letter’, which accused Huma Abedin’s PARENTS for being the reason the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ has ‘infiltrated’ the US State Department. Yes, you read that correctly. Abdein’s PARENTS have successfully infiltrated the US State Department.
Perhaps I never gave him a chance (I do not really give politicians too many), but THIS… now THIS truly fantastic passage says a lot about John McCain and, I think, represents all that is holy about the US of A (if anything can be holy about it). McCain is speaking in reference to (the…… Continue reading Politics: Speech on what makes America exceptional
The relationship between church and state in Ireland is again in question as Alan Shatter, Ireland’s Jewish Defense Minister, has been accused of being ‘ant-Catholic’ because he refused to allow the Irish army to offer a guard of honour for a religious procession during the recent International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. This ‘unprecedented move’, writes…… Continue reading Shattering ‘Catholic Ireland’: Some thoughts on the recent controversy over church and state
I have actually never voted in an American election, whether it be local, state, or national. I am not even registered to vote, but this is not stopping me from commenting on the state of American democracy and the 2012 elections. Democrats and Republicans: Two ‘different’ parties with essentially the same fundamental principles and entities…… Continue reading Time to Go Green in American elections
Most of you have probably heard by now of the recent news on the groundbreaking Higgs boson or ‘God particle’. Most of you, however, probably have no idea that the physicist who helped develop the God particle’s theoretical framework is Adbus Salam. Salam, who died in 1996, of Pakistani origin and Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate.…… Continue reading The Pakistani scientist behind the ‘God particle’
Who are the Sanusi and why do they remain so influential to so many? Only by understanding the Sanusi order, the Cyrenaica tribes and the historic role of both in the development of Libya will we be able to make sense of both the recent moves towards autonomy and prospects for the future of Libyan…… Continue reading The health of Libyan democracy lies with recognizing Cyrenaica tribes
The head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida is, amazingly, telling the people of Galway to not erect a Che Guevara Memorial statue. Florida, I should note, is roughly 4,000 miles away from Galway. And Che, if you aren’t aware, has Irish roots with the Lynch family (of Galway). Now,…… Continue reading My point on the Che Guevara statue in Galway
’manufactured monsters for mutual murder, hideous hobgoblins produced by a horde of capitalistic lusts upon our prostituted labour. The poor man starves while they are grassing their royal mountain stags or shooting peasants and phartridges in their purblind pomp of pelf and power. But their reign is rover for rever and ever and ev .…… Continue reading Why Joyce’s Leopold Bloom still matters
One thing that I find puzzling is the notion that Obama ‘isn’t as bad as Bush’ when it comes to death, destruction, and the illegality of US foreign policy. For me, when I indulge in such conversations to prove why Obama is actually quite similar to Bush in these regards, I tend to use the not so…… Continue reading Who’s the Master of the Drone?
When Afghan or Pakistani civilians are murdered by drone strikes, US bangs on about ‘collateral damage’, but when Syrian civilians are murdered by Assad regime/militias, US cries about ‘war crimes’. Let’s not forget that a war crime is a war crime is a war crime, regardless of the context in which war crimes are committed.…… Continue reading A gross double-standard
One of my favourite journalists, Eric Margolis, recently published a piece titled ‘Facing the Writing on the Wall in Kabul’. Here is an excerpt. Link to article below. The objective of war is to achieve political goals, not kill people. The US goal was to turn Afghanistan into a protectorate providing bases close to Caspian…… Continue reading Margolis on the clear defeat in Afghanistan
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