Wouldn’t you agree that there is something special about a first anniversary? Today is my special day. A year ago today, I had my book launch, for my very first book. Did I know then, how this book was going to change my life? I was nervous.
Read moreCan Eid Be Bittersweet?
Ramadan is over and yesterday we all celebrated Eid ul Fitr. But for many, Eid was bittersweet.
Read moreAround The World In Ramadan. Part 3: Ramadan in USA
At first, I stopped fasting. I had come to the US in 1971, a newly wed bride. In Pakistan I would fast regularly, but here in NY, the communal sense that goes with fasting was missing. No iftar gatherings, no one around you fasting, no Muslim community, no sounds of adhan
Read moreAround The World In Ramadan. Part 2: Saudi Arabia
No one celebrates Ramadan with as much festivity as do the Saudis. I lived there for six years. Ramadan is the highlight of the year. The entire focus of the nation shifts and you live it and breathe it. For one thing, day turns into night, and night into day.
Read moreAround The World In Ramadan. Part 1: Pakistan
My earliest memories of Ramadan are in Pakistan. A child of seven, I would plead with my parents, ‘please, please, can I fast?’ It seemed exciting, such a grown-up thing to do. Mummy let me fast for half a day when I turned 10, but just for a day.
Read moreShe Takes The Shahada
I don’t know her.
I had never met her.
I don’t even remember her name. But yesterday, I sat with her, as she uttered the words, and entered the fold of Islam.
Remembering The Holocaust
Last evening, a group of people congregated on the 7th floor community room of an apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. They had assembled to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. So why am I writing about it? Gatherings were being held all over New York, all over the world for that matter. I am writing about it because this group was exceptional. A Muslim family had hosted it
Read moreToday I Am A Jew
Sadly, now it’s our turn. Only three days ago, on a bright sunny Sunday, I had stood in Times Square among thousands, waving posters, “Today I Am A Muslim Too.” Except, that they were not Muslim. That day, they were proclaiming their solidarity with Muslims.
Read more'Make A Muslim Friend' Start-Up
“What can we do to help Muslims?”
This is the one question I am asked every time I do a book reading or give a talk on Islam.
I was in a church talking to a group of, oh, maybe 70+ people.
My Life On The Streets
Its not what it sounds like. By street life I mean: protests, marches, and rallies. And I have only just begun. First they came for the Mexicans. ‘Put up a wall, keep ‘em out.’ I wasn’t a Mexican,
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