​“The poll is a clear indication that fear can sadly be more influential than fact.”​ by ​Christopher Mathias, Huffington Post​ Americans and Europeans drastically overestimate their Muslim populations, a new international survey shows, a misperception many say is driven by Islamophobia and growing anti-Muslim sentiment. Americans think 17 out of every 100 people in the U.S. are Muslim, according to the survey from Ipsos Mori, a U.K. research company. But, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, Muslims account for only 1 out of every 100 people in the U.S. That works out to Americans thinking there are about 54 million Muslims in the U.S., when in fact the Muslim population is about 3 million. This wide disparity betwe...

by Rhonda Roumani, Los Angeles Times ​Rhonda Roumani is a contributing fellow at USC’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture.​ In mid-September, my 6-year-old daughter ran into our living room and literally started jumping for joy. “Baba, it’s a miracle!” she told her father with delight. “‘Peg + Cat’ has an ‘Eid Mubarak’ show. They’re talking about ‘Eid Mubarak’ on TV!” My husband texted my daughter’s reaction to family members and Muslim friends. When I got the message at work, I felt a moment of happiness and just as quickly a moment of sadness that such a simple event was a novelty for her, and that, at 6, she understood its rarity. That evening our friends came over and we all watched “Peg + Cat” together — thirty- and...

by Saleem Ahmed, Ph.D.1 Fifty percent of Muslim marriages are reportedly among first cousins, rising to about 70% in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Cousin_Marriage_in_Islam). The unfortunate effect of such consanguineous marriages is probably manifested most strikingly in a Pakistani village where descendants of two tribes have been inbreeding since over 40 years. A report in Karachi’s newspaper Dawn (October 15, 2015) highlighted that every third home in this village of 350 households has children suffering from blindness, physical deformities, and/or learning problems. And while individuals from this village interviewed acknowledged cousin marriage was a major problem, they lamented they were tradition-bound to honor that practice. Wikislam:...

by Craig Considine Although they are typically seen to represent overwhelming opposites, the Prophet Muhammad and America’s founding fathers shared many common characteristics and beliefs, which can be seen in historical documents. By comparing the speeches and texts that they left behind, we can learn of the similar viewpoints that Muhammad and the founding fathers held on issues pertaining to equal rights and religious liberty. Prophet Muhammad and the American founding fathers shared an interest in protecting people regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or sexuality. Muhammad, for example, received revelations from God, who directed him to celebrate diversity and cherish it as a staple of Muslim society. Muhammad’s encounter with God would later be recorded...

by Inas Younis, About Islam “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails,” John Maxwell `Eid Parties have become a regular feature at the White House. Muslims have attended Iftars and given invocations at both political party conventions. We now also have an `Eid Stamp issued by the United States post office. And while this might have had a great deal of impact on public relations, it does not necessarily translate into a change in public policy. For many American Muslims, politics is a kind of uncharted territory that begins and ends at the polls. The Muslim community is still in the embryonic stages of the political system. We have yet to internalize the notion that politics and re...

by Dr. Arif Ahmad, The Moderate Voice I can keep my eyes closed and report that all is hunky-dory, that all is well just because nothing untoward has happened to me yet. Or I can be honest. The war has come home and in a bad way, for such is the nature of this beast and the price is being asked of and paid by those having nothing to do with it. As it happens in such scenarios, the scale of the problem gets exaggerated several times over as in the number of deaths in America from terrorism is still a tiny fraction of those from gun violence. With all due respect, would the dead have known or cared for the difference? Victims remain victims and why are we choosing between them? Whichever way I slice it, this is not just a rhetoric anymore. The American Muslims a...

by Ayman Refaat Islam is a religion, but Muslims are the people who follow this religion. And we need to follow the religion, not the followers of the religion. So why do we need to follow Islam not Muslims? There are three reasons for that. The first reason is that Islam, as God and his prophet transmitted it to us, is perfect. That is why the last verse that the prophet Muhammad received from God in the Quran was this verse: الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. (5:3) And t...

by Dr Fawad Ahmed (Editorial Note: Dr Fawad is a physician by profession, a singer by hobby, a volunteer in Health Clinic and Board Member Of MCA, Orlando, and above all, an astute student of Quran) A Facebook group called Global Rally for Humanity put out a call for anti-Muslim demonstrations "in every country at every mosque." Some plan to use “open carry laws” in some American states to bring weapons. Granted, the average participant IQ at such rallies is about 89, and these proceedings could readily be dismissed as gatherings of village idiots. However, recently anti-Muslim views have been expressed by otherwise intelligent public figures (with much fanfare) such as Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, who recently stated he would not want a “Muslim in the Whi...

by James Ragland, Dallas Morning News Something remarkable is happening in Irving, a city that, for the better part of a year, clumsily became a tinderbox for anti-Muslim madness. Time flies when you’re facing cultural bias and religious persecution. This is the town where Ahmed Mohamed, the “clock boy,” gained notoriety last fall for bringing a homemade project to school. Over the past 15 months, since Mayor Beth Van Duyne began stoking fears that Muslims were setting up a Shariah law court at an Irving mosque, the Muslim community hasn’t just turned the other cheek — it has rolled up its sleeves and gone to work. We noted last year that Muslims, who have generally refrained from city politics, had begun organizing get-out-the-vote drives and showing...

By Lauren Markoe, Religion News Service The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Lansing is getting a new church this spring — but not quite soon enough. Hearing of construction lags and its neighbor’s need for a temporary home, a mosque in East Lansing offered up its worship space – for free. “No charge whatsoever,” said the Rev. Kathryn Bert. “It’s been a lovely story to live. It has been a beautiful relationship.” Since April 3, the church has been gathering at the mosque. The offer from the Islamic Society of Greater Lansing came with no strings attached, but in thanks the church decided to dedicate its plate offering one Sunday this month to the mosque. The mosque, in turn, plans to donate all or part of the offering to Islamic R...