Dilara Hafiz

Where in the world would you find Karen Armstrong in a room with 2,000 opinionated Muslims... all enjoying a lively discussion about tolerance, compassion, and religion? At the Karachi Literature Festival. Yes, Karachi. As in Karachi, Pakistan... the city where this week's headlines include "Tribal elder's house blown...

The headlines may scream "war, drone bombings, militants, kidnappings," but they fail to reveal the positive strides which the city of Karachi has experienced lately. With a population of over 15 million, Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and the world's fourth largest metropolitan city. It's a bustling hub of commercial...

I admit it. I have a bad habit that I'm desperately trying to break. Growing up in cosmopolitan Washington D.C. with its mix of embassies, proximity to Europe, and hordes of international students, I relished meeting people of different ethnicities. Color, religion and language didn't seem to matter as much...

The 9th anniversary of 9/11. Silent vigils, memorial services, and commemorative events will be held around the USA. Foreign press outlets will undoubtedly devote a few minutes to replay the horrific footage while remarking on the solemn observances across our country.

But for one-quarter of the world's population, this day...

But they can be built in the other 56 Muslim-majority countries in the world! As Americans, do we want to compare ourselves to the single exception to the rule of interfaith tolerance? After all, we pride ourselves on our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom of expression......