Contrary to prevalent discourse among many Muslims, the Biden administration does not deserve a gold star for repealing the Muslim ban. Amid a national round of applause by those whose political interest does not extend beyond American borders, I withhold my praise. This week, the Biden administration made clear through…
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With Joe Biden’s victory of Trump in the 2020 presidential elections, the vast majority of Muslims can breathe a sigh of relief that the most openly anti-Muslim president in US history has been defeated. It is undeniable that Trump’s embrace of Birtherism – the charge that Barack Obama, the 44th President of…
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Bernie is drawing in Muslim Americans, and University of Arkansas Law Professor, Khaled Beydoun, summed up why in one tweet: He was the first candidate to explicitly condemn Islamophobia. He visited scores of mosques and met with Muslim leadership. He appointed visible Muslim leaders to his campaign team in ’16 and…
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As a theologically conservative evangelical Christian who attends a predominantly White church, it is mind boggling to me that some in our communitywould contend that Islam is not a religion, but a political ideology undeserving of religious freedom. If there is anything that the White evangelical community should be learning during…
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I converted to Islam in the 1990s. At the time, the decision was a radical transformation. It brought my life into a relationship with a moral ideal embodied by the Prophet Muhammad that placed productive demands on my daily life. Becoming Muslim didn’t require submission to a law of violence…
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Now that she is no longer presiding over the East Wing in the White House, Michelle Obama is grateful for the little things. One of them is toast, or rather toast she makes herself. As she recounts in her mega best-selling memoir, Becoming, nothing feels more liberating than tiptoeing to the kitchen…
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Most coverage of Ilhan Omar, the thirty-five-year-old state legislator who won the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District last night, has focussed on her identity. She was born in Somalia, and she came to the United States when she was twelve, knowing only two phrases of English: “hello” and…
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If there is a silver lining to the Trump era, it is the call to arms of Americans from all walks of life to stand up and run for office, at all levels of government. Zahra Suratwala is one of the many women who have answered that call. Zahra announced…
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On Monday, May 22, the world was yet again rocked by a terrorist attack. The attack followed a script we have become all too familiar with — a terrorist set off a bomb in a crowded public place, killing and wounding dozens of people. This latest attack was at an…
Read MoreWatching President Obama give his farewell address in his hometown and a city I have been lucky enough to call home pulled at more than just my heartstrings. Like most of the Chicago audience, I supported Obama both times he ran for the office of president, and I am quite…
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