While the dust has yet to settle on the horrific Boston bombings by the Tsarnaev brothers, Muslims have already felt the impact of their association with Islam.  We have witnessed a rise in Islamophobic discourse in the popular media and blogosphere.  As an activist who focuses on studying and...

When I first heard that Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose the name Pope Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, it made me hopeful for the future of Catholic-Muslim relations. A lot is made of St. Francis' legacy of weaving spirituality with universal compassion for all animals, for the...

When I tell people about the activism work I do, many people wonder if I'm a Muslim, and when I tell them I'm not, they're either confused or intrigued. Sometimes both. They wonder what it is that makes me want to be an advocate for Muslims even though I don't...

This week, Mitt Romney moved one step closer to gaining the Republican nomination with the departure of Rick Santorum from the Republican primary. While the economy will take center stage in a potential Romney-Obama showdown for the presidential race in 2012, foreign policy will offer an opportunity for what we...

You can't see it coming. A deranged man snaps and wanders into a Jewish neighborhood outside Paris, unloading rounds of ammunition that brutally kill seven. A few thousand miles east, a war weary sargent loses it and unloads on a village of innocent Afghans, leaving 17 dead. This is what...

The images we see of Islam in the media often conjure images of international terrorism, submissive women, or angry mobs in protest somewhere overseas. In this flood of stereotype-inducing images, we often lose sight of the more elegant and rich parts of Islamic civilization and culture. A new documentary film,...

Over the last month, multiple scandals have leaked that show the extent to which the NYPD has violated the civil liberties of thousands of New York Muslims under the banner of counterterrorism efforts. Protecting the homeland must remain central in all of our policing and intelligence-gathering efforts, but it...

Each year, the wealthy and powerful gather in Washington, D.C. for the National Prayer Breakfast, an invitation-only, $650-a-plate, networking opportunity started by a secretive conservative group called "The Family." The goal of the breakfast, according to The Family, is to recruit the powerful attendees into smaller, more frequent prayer...

One of the more unfortunate outcomes of the anti-mosque protests, anti-sharia legislation and the impact of the Islamophobia network is that they have left many Americans confused about the truth of Islam and Muslims in America. According to the Public Religion Research Institute's recent findings, few Americans report...

As someone who works in the field of promoting interfaith dialogue on Islam in America, I can tell you it has been a hectic couple of weeks. When Lowe's Home Improvement decided to pull its ads from TLC's new reality show "All American Muslim," they sparked a national...

The small but influential network of anti-Muslim pundits and bloggers that have been central in the creation of widely accepted myths such as "President Obama is a Muslim," that "practicing Muslims cannot be loyal Americans" and that "sharia is a threat to America" have been taking their show on the...

When Peter King held his first congressional hearing on American Muslims last March, hip-hop mogul and founder of Def Jam records Russell Simmons did an incredibly brave thing: He organized a rally in New York city that brought together concerned citizens and celebrities to show their solidarity with American Muslims....

Europe is undergoing an identity crisis and Islam has been put at the center of it. The recent terrorist attacks in Norway by a deranged man who harbored anti-Muslim sentiments and sympathized with far right wing anti-immigrant political ideologies has brought this crisis once again to the surface....

Popular film and television has relied on stereotypical portrayals of Muslims and Arabs since its existence. There is, however, a quiet revolution afoot inside television and film, and the predictable box of the Muslim-as-terrorist is slowly fading. But will this shift make a difference in ending America's growing prejudice toward...

America has always been a melting pot, but in the post-9/11 world the environment can be downright hostile. Radio talk show hosts, pundits and politicians utter statements about Islam and Muslims that if they were to say the same about other religious groups, they would face severe consequences. This hateful...

In a matter of days, Tennessee's state legislature is expected to pass a bill ostensibly designed to combat radical Islamic terrorism in Tennessee known as the "Material Support" bill or HB 1353. While the bill has removed direct references to Islam or Muslims at the pressure of civil rights groups...