“Why are you an Untouchable?” I asked Sujatha Gidla, panelist and author at the Brooklyn Book Festival. Petite, deep brown skin, jet-black hair pulled back in a pony tail with a stray curl adorning her sweet face, Sujatha of Indian descent (as in India), shared the panel with Pulitzer Prize winner, Hisham Matar.
Read moreOn This Day - 9/11/01
Once it was, ‘Where were you when you heard that JFK had been shot?’ It is now, ‘Where were you when the towers fell?’ I was in Saudi Arabia.
Read moreDid The Moon Split?
A bitterly divided America came together last week under the darkening sun. As the crowds gathered in parks, on sidewalks, and on rooftops, watching the moon hide the sun, the woes were forgotten. For two brief darkening moments, America was one again.
Read moreThe Deeper Meaning of Hajj - My Son's Reflects on his Journey
"Look – what I really need is a bag of saline solution with a tube and a needle.” From his expression, I could tell that Dr. Fareed knew that it was a hopeless request.
Read moreMy Mother Got Arrested Giving Birth to Pakistan
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Founder of Pakistan
Once upon a time, I was born in a newborn land, far, far away from my home today, in the ‘Land of the Pure’. Pakistan was just 4 years old.
Read moreA 20-Year Sentence '...A Life of Honor'
ISLAMBERG, NY
On June 14, 2017, a Christian Minister, Robert Doggart, was sentenced to 20 years for a plot to burn down a mosque, a school, and a cafeteria in Islamberg, NY. Have you heard of Islamberg?
Read moreA VERY HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Wouldn’t you agree that there is something special about a first anniversary? Today is my special day. A year ago today, I had my book launch, for my very first book. Did I know then, how this book was going to change my life? I was nervous.
Read moreWill Fireworks Light the Spark?
Today a video flashed on my screen. I didn’t like it. Not because it was in poor taste, which it was in my judgemental opinion, but because it dramatized the sad future of our children. The video was of a parade,
Read moreCan Eid Be Bittersweet?
Ramadan is over and yesterday we all celebrated Eid ul Fitr. But for many, Eid was bittersweet.
Read moreAround The World In Ramadan. Part 3: Ramadan in USA
Iftar dinner at the White House
At first, I stopped fasting. I had come to the US in 1971, a newly wed bride. In Pakistan I would fast regularly, but here in NY, the communal sense that goes with fasting was missing. No iftar gatherings, no one around you fasting, no Muslim community, no sounds of adhan
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