At long last, the criminal behind many of the worst atrocities of the Bosnian War – Ratko Mladic - was arrested today in Serbia. At long last, man behind the massacre of Muslims in Srebrenica; the man behind the brutal siege of Sarajevo; the man who commanded systematic rape of women, will… Read full post »

Last time, I posed the question that – if we believe that there will be a Last Day, that the world must end so that all the injustice we see will be accounted for and judged, should we just live our lives and not do anything about the wrong we see… Read full post »

This was published on my new Beliefnet blog, “Common Word, Common Lord”

Now that the world has not ended, and we have survived the coming of the Rapture, and Mr. Camping has once again been discredited, a question arose in my mind: must there be an end to the… Read full post »

I must have missed the memo, because I reserved a tee time on early Sunday morning. But, apparently, the world is about to end on Saturday May 21, according to a group called Family Radio and a man called Harold Camping. Never mind that both Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad/… Read full post »

Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen the Disney movie “Tangled,” then know that I reveal a few parts of the film.

The moment was one of the most powerful of the film “Tangled.” The King and Queen, as they do every year, release lanterns in memory of their daughter who… Read full post »

My article about the “Sharia Within” was published in a Virginia newspaper. Yet, I am always mystified by the response of some – but no doubt on the minds of many – who object to what I write about Sharia and Islam in general. This response is typical:

Shariah law

… Read full post »

The death of Osama bin Laden is indeed a notable event: the symbol of Al Qaeda and the most prominent proponent of modern “jihadist” philosophy and thought, was killed by American Special Forces in Pakistan on May 1. His killing has been met with jubilation all across… Read full post »

Good riddance. At long last, the criminal murderer Osama bin Laden has been killed by American Special Forces. As the news percolated throughout the world, the myriad of emotions made it difficult to say just one thing about the killing of this man.

Then I started to think about all… Read full post »

I must admit…I did watch the Royal Wedding ceremony this morning. I was already working overnight, and thus, it was not difficult to open up a browser window and watch the ceremony live. Apart from the pomp and ceremony, as well as the history behind the venue and… Read full post »

The Passover time is also quite special for me as an American Muslim. This is not because the story of the Exodus of the Jews out of Egypt is a happy one for me, as well, despite the fact that I am of Egyptian ancestry. It is not because my absolute… Read full post »

Every year, I look forward to the Passover holiday. As a devout Muslim, I do not celebrate the holiday, but, I know that it is the time for the annual broadcast of my absolute favorite film of all time, "The Ten Commandments," directed by Cecil DeMille and starring Charlton Heston. First… Read full post »

This was published in The Seeker.

This was published in the Chicago Tribune’s blog, The Seeker.

Whether religion is rising or falling, a study set to be published in the Journal of Christianity and Psychology concludes that religious experiences affect the way individuals consume news about religion. I found this… Read full post »

It was an act of shocking courage: a young Libyan woman, a lawyer by training, burst into a hotel in Tripoli and yelled out that she had been gang-raped by Qaddafi forces. The hotel was full of Western reporters having breakfast, and almost immediately, she was carried away to an unknown… Read full post »

How did you do it, My Beloved King?
How did you manage to hear the birds sing?
When the pain of their loss would always ring,
In the evening, and in the morning, first thing?

How did you do it, my Knighted Captain?
How did you hide the grief you were in?
How did you manage… Read full post »

There are more than a dozen states that are currently trying to enact laws seeking to ban Sharia law, the amorphous corpus of Islamic law that has been developed – and is still being developed – over the last 15 centuries. These lawmakers are trying to protect the American… Read full post »

The insanely famous Egyptian singer Amr Diab sings so many wonderful songs, and among my favorites are his ballads. One in particular, "Osad Ainy," or "In Front of My Eyes," strikes a particular nerve in me. The lyrics are exceptionally beautiful, and the narrator speaks about his love, and how she… Read full post »

The song has a doubly special significance for me. It is called Ah Ya Alby, which is colloquial Egyptian Arabic for "Ow, my broken heart," by popular Egyptian singer Hakim. It is conveying the pain that the song narrator feels in his heart after being spurned by his love interest. No, thanks… Read full post »

Thanks be to the Precious Beloved, this was published today on the Washington Post’s Faith Divide blog, courtesy of my friend Eboo Patel.

The safety and security of the United States and her people is of the utmost importance to every single American, not just to Rep. Peter… Read full post »

Thanks be to the Precious Beloved, this was published today on Middle East Online.

The entrance of Saudi troops into Bahrain in support of the government there was a disturbing escalation for me. The protests in Bahrain are an internal, local issue, and what Saudi… Read full post »

This was published on the Chicago Tribune's religion blog, The Seeker.  

As I watched the utter devastation of the Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami, and the enormity of its power, I was humbled to the core. When a natural disaster can move the entire Japanese mainland by 8 feet… Read full post »

During the Peter King “Muslim Radicalization” hearing, one of the members – once again – raised the issue of the danger of Sharia law and how it threatens the American system and way of life. Indeed, in twelve states, laws are currently being drafted to ban Sharia law.… Read full post »

This was published today in the Middle East Online.

On Feb 10, NY Rep. Peter King, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, held his first in a series of hearings over the “Radicalization of American Muslims” and what to do about it. Despite numerous voices urging… Read full post »

On March 10, NY Rep. Peter King held the first in a series of hearings about the radicalization of the American Muslim community and what can be done about it. In his opening remarks, Mr. King said, "Congressional investigation of Muslim American radicalization is the logical response to the repeated… Read full post »

Thanks be to the Precious Beloved, I was asked (and accepted) to contribute to the blog at the Interfaith Youth Core, the organization run by my great friend Eboo Patel. Here is my first post:

Undeterred by the myriad of protests, editorials, press conferences, letters from his colleagues,… Read full post »