Parvez Ahmed

That Narendra Modi was featured on the cover of Time (March, South Asia edition), around the tenth anniversary of an anti-Muslim massacre in the Indian state of Gujarat, was not surprising. Sparking outrage was the headline (Modi Means Business), which was viewed by many as an extreme image...

As it was in 2008, the campaign for the Presidency of the United States has turned ugly over the question of religion. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has attacked President Obama over his "phony theology," which he later said was in reference to President Obama's "radical...

Even though private equity funds have been around since the early twentieth century and today manage over one trillion dollars' worth of capital worldwide, most people may not have paid attention to them until Mitt Romney chose to make his experience at Bain Capital an issue for his bid to...

Guess where in the world candidates for political office are pandering to religious conservatives, using religious imagery in political advertisement and participating in political forums in houses of worship? Where some voters are unwilling to support candidates because they do not belong to the majority faith, dismissing a candidate because...

Last year, during a raging controversy over the building of an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan, Time Magazine ran a cover story titled, "Is America Islamophobic?" Shortly thereafter, a poll released by Time showed nearly six in ten Americans held an unfavorable view of Muslims. A...

Although rejoicing death is not part of the religious traditions of Muslims, Christians or Jews, I cannot help but feel a sense of joyful relief now that you are no longer capable of plotting your evil. Your elimination as a terrorist threat is a victory for peace and justice. Thousands...

It happens once every blue moon -- the convergence of Western military action with Arab and Muslim public opinion. The last time we witnessed such convergence was during the U.S.-led interventions in the Balkans, which stopped an ethnic cleansing and eventually brought peace to a troubled region of the world....

Amidst all the euphoria about Egypt's peaceful revolution, the news of CBS news reporter Lara Logan being sexually assaulted fell like a ton of bricks. The people of Egypt, especially its youth, have been such an inspiration that any hint of deviant behavior understandably elicits gasps and should provoke soul...

I am mesmerized by the peaceful popular uprisings calling for the end of three decades of dictatorial rule in Egypt. Often the news from the Muslim world is depressing. Not today. The impact of this is still unknown.

But one thing is unmistakably clear: We are all Egyptians now. The...

The Jasmine Revolution has led to the ouster of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the autocratic leader of Tunisia and has sparked similar revolutionary fervor from Algeria to Egypt. The success in Tunisia has emboldened protestors across the Middle East demanding greater freedom and dignity. The many unforgettable images of...

On the heels of a bruising election, President Barack Obama is undertaking his longest foreign trip that will take him to several Asian countries including India. Some media accounts of this trip, primarily Fox News and its affiliates, has focused on an un-sourced report that erroneously suggested the President's trip...

Let us get one thing correct -- Helen Thomas, Rick Sanchez, Octavia Nasr and Juan Williams are neither racists nor bigots. By all accounts they are good journalists. But by expressing negative stereotypes about a racial or religious group they are guilty of breaching the ethics of fairness, crucial ingredients...

I am a signatory to "A Defense of Free Speech by American and Canadian Muslims." This statement was released in response to the threats received by "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" cartoonist Molly Norris. The statement was crafted by Sheila Musaji, editor of The American...

Nearly two centuries ago, the Jewish poet Heinrich Heine wrote, "Those who begin by burning books will end by burning people." Quran burning is a tool of provocation and intimidation. Despite admonitions from General David Petraeus, Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville vowed that he...

The numbers are sobering. Nearly 1 in 8 Pakistanis are homeless as a result of an epic flood. Besides the staggering human cost of the tragedy the geo-political importance of Pakistan to US security interests cannot be overemphasized. With over 100,000 U.S. troops stationed in nearby Afghanistan and...

In the debate over the Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York, two competing arguments have emerged.

The supporters of the Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero (called the Park51 project) have argued that the First Amendment gives American Muslims the right to build...

That most Americans are fearful of Islam and distrustful of Muslims is not new. Most polls show that 1 in 2 Americans has a negative view of Islam. Thus, it is not surprising that a majority of New Yorkers acting on such perceptions oppose the construction...

A proposed mosque, two blocks from where the World Trade Center twin-towers stood, have unleashed emotions, which the New York Times described as, "vitriolic commentary, pitting Muslims against Christians, Tea Partiers against staunch liberals, and Sept. 11 families against one another." What began as a well...

In a span of just over a month two incidents rocked my city of Jacksonville garnering wall-to-wall coverage in local media. The first was my nomination to the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. The mayor's nomination, which is otherwise routinely approved by the City Council, drew an unusual and...

Throughout the current economic and financial crisis one contrarian statistic has stood out. Financial assets offered by the Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI) and generally classified as "Shariah-compliant," were less affected by the crisis. Economist Loretta Napoleoni during a lecture at the University of New Mexico...