‘The great debate over Islam’ (Dawn.com)
Posted in Letters to Editors, Print on Oct 15th, 2010
THIS is apropos of Irfan Husain’s article ‘The great debate over Islam’ (Oct 13).
Mr Husain is spot on in his analysis of Islam in the West. As a US Muslim of Pakistani descent, I have tried to promote the peaceful teachings of Islam through media interviews, newspaper articles and giving non-credit courses in community colleges.
But our peaceful voices are drowned by Muslim leaders when they remain silent on issues like loyalty to one’s country of residence, punishment for apostasy, and separation of church and state.
Case in point: During my last course at the community college a Caucasian...
USA: Assimilation? Try “education” instead (Asbury Park Press)
Posted in Op-Eds on Oct 10th, 2010
The assimilation of my wife and I into American culture started in Long Branch in 1996. That is where we, both doctors, settled after moving from Pakistan.
As I started my medical residency at Monmouth Medical Center, she sacrificed her career for our newborn daughter and became a full-time homemaker. Our inability to afford a car left us stranded on weekends.
And even though a NJ Transit train station was right across from our home, round trips to Manhattan were expensive. This always left us one available and affordable excursion: a walk to the beach.
As practicing Muslims, you could recognize us...
Conflicted loyalties of Muslim-American youth (The Baltimore Sun)
Posted in Op-Eds, Print on Jul 4th, 2010
We need to raise a new generation for whom devotion to America and the Quran are integrated
July 04, 2010
A few years ago, on a 4th of July cookout, I met a group of youth who were feeling alienated and downright embarrassed about declaring their Muslim identity. “Am I a foreigner Muslim living in America or a Muslim American who was born oversees?” one of them asked. “Being a Muslim and an American is not easy,” remarked the other.
This conflict manifests itself when a third-grader calls in sick to celebrate Eid at the end of Ramadan and along the way turns from a...
Voices that make America great (Chicago Tribune)
Posted in Letters to Editors, Print on Jun 2nd, 2010
I write this as a Muslim, as an American, as a husband and, most important, as a father of an 11-year-old daughter who is anxious to wear a head cover when she grows up to be a NASA scientist.
Our recent vacation in France reminded us one more time of the freedoms we enjoy as Muslims and as Americans.
But voices like Tribune columnist Steve Chapman’s make America a great nation (“The folly of banning burqas; Free society requires mutual tolerance,” Commentary, May 23).
His commentary is dead-on.
His arguments are cogent.
His thoughtfulness exudes mutual respect and a deep...
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