Here we come, O Allah, here we come!
Here we come. No partner have You.
Here we come! Praise indeed, and blessings, are Yours -- the Kingdom too!
No partner have you.
This Talbiyah, recited by more than a million Muslim pilgrims in December 1973, marked the...
Posted May 4, 2011 | 05/04/11 10:13 AM ET
9/11 created a wound that aggravated the divide between the Muslim World and the West. The demise of Osama bin Laden, coinciding with the wave of revolutions in the Arab world, is a hopeful milestone. We hope it will bring to a close the chapter of terrorism, whether committed by...
Posted October 29, 2010 | 10/29/10 12:31 PM ET
Remarks from the Huffington Post Game Changers celebration.
Thank you, Arianna. And thanks also to everyone at The Huffington Post.
It is indeed an honor to be part of the extraordinary group being recognized this evening.
I would like to take to take this opportunity to thank all...
Posted February 24, 2010 | 02/24/10 06:00 PM ET
A report issued Tuesday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs urges the U.S. government to take religious issues into consideration and to engage religious organizations in forming foreign policy.
Such a report is long overdue. Its recommendations go to the heart of what we at the Cordoba Initiative have...
Posted December 29, 2009 | 12/29/09 04:13 PM ET
For decades U.S. administrations have scrupulously separated church and state. As a result, the power of religion as a partner in shaping domestic and foreign policy was lost. Yet religious organizations and the government can cooperate to achieve shared domestic and foreign policy goals without impinging on America's fundamental belief...
Posted December 1, 2009 | 12/01/09 04:38 PM ET
On the surface, the outcome of the Swiss vote banning minarets is an issue of architecture, not religion. Minarets can be beautiful. Islam is known for inspiring outstanding architecture. The Taj Mahal in India, considered the world's most beautiful building, has four minarets. They are part of mosques built around...
Posted November 6, 2009 | 11/06/09 03:38 PM ET
I was so deeply saddened by the events at Ft. Hood, Texas, yesterday. My prayers and sympathy are with the families of those brave American soldiers who were killed and wounded in this senseless act.
What this unfortunate Army major did was against the laws of Islam, even though news...
Posted October 13, 2009 | 10/13/09 12:03 AM ET
Why now? Only a few months into office, President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Even the White House was stunned by the announcement.
Two other sitting presidents have won the prize. But Theodore Roosevelt had to broker a peace agreement to end a war between Russia and Japan...
Posted October 8, 2009 | 10/08/09 05:23 PM ET
The United States has a moral responsibility to the people of Afghanistan. It is a responsibility to help them use the basic moral underpinnings of Islam to promote a free and democratic society.
In his assessment of the war, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal makes clear that simply winning battles and...
Posted July 8, 2009 | 07/08/09 04:42 PM ET
In New York City, Islam is the fastest growing religion as immigrants from Muslim countries combine with growing numbers of African-American Muslims.
Out of a population of 8 million, New York now has at least 600,000 Muslims, and they represent about 10 percent of the city's public school students.
Once...
Posted June 25, 2009 | 06/25/09 06:03 PM ET
Chalk it up to the influence of his fashion model wife, perhaps, but French President Nicolas Sarkozy seems determined to put his stamp on Muslim clothing styles.
Sarkozy apparently is responding to an unease among the French about the impact of a growing Muslim population on what had once been...
Posted June 19, 2009 | 06/19/09 07:45 PM ET
President Obama said many of the right things as the turmoil surrounding the outcome of the Iranian election unfolded. After Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke Friday, Obama has an opportunity to make an additional crucial point.
In his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo this month, Obama...
Posted June 5, 2009 | 06/05/09 02:40 PM ET
The historic significance of President Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo cannot be overstated.
Never before has an American president spoken to the global Muslim community. His speech marked a major shift in American foreign policy. Obama directly enlisted a religion to build global peace and to...
Posted April 24, 2009 | 04/24/09 01:53 PM ET
We hear a lot about "firebrand" Muslim clerics calling for the installation of Shariah law. It conjures images of women being stoned and forced into hiding behind burkas and denied educations. We think of beheadings and amputations as a form of justice. And we cringe.
But it is important...
Posted April 20, 2009 | 04/20/09 06:22 PM ET
(This article first appeared on the Washington Post/Newsweek On Faith Web site.)
President Obama reached his Muslim audience in Turkey in a way unlike any previous American president. Maybe it was his childhood in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country. Maybe it was the legacy of his Muslim father. Maybe...

Posted November 1, 2011 | 11/01/11 02:50 PM ET