Assalamu Alaikum,

It’s been quite a few months since I last posted on here.  But some sad recent events about Muzzammil Hassan, and his wife Aasiya Hassan of Orchard Park, NY, near Buffalo have forced me to put up something here considering this is the first link on the search engines.

Recently, a gruesome act was perpetrated in a nearby community.  The perpetrator was a Muslim so the media had a field day in their indictment of Islam.  They just can’t seem to get over the fact that Muslims are normal human beings and if a Muslim does something wrong; it does not necessarily mean that the person’s actions were motivated by his faith.  It’s interesting how Muslims are expected to do no wrong and as soon as a Muslim does anything wrong, the blame is pinned on Islam.  We know that we Muslims are a minority in the west and it gives the majority a good feeling when Muslims are portrayed negatively in the media.  It’s the quickest way to sell their paper and the best way to get a huge number of clicks on their websites.  But, it’s so deplorable when people can make general comments about other faiths when the same acts are being done by people of other faiths and their religion is never mentioned.

A quick rudimentary search on Yahoo came up with the following links which show that a person beheads someone and their religion is never questioned.  But as soon as a Muslim does the same action, it has to be because of Islam!  Some links:

American soldier beheads wife’s lover and no mention of religion: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/headless.asp 

American husband beheads wife and no religion is mentioned:

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29023667_ITM 

Man decapitates a passenger on Greyhound and no mention of his religion:

Kills wife and nearly beheads her and no religion is mentioned:

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2003/03/13/news/man.who.nearly.beheaded.wife.was.a.loving.husband..html 

Man who was motivated by words of the Bible and kills more than 20 women…no blame on religion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Pickton

Another story and no mention of religion:

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/02/15/loc_man_who_beheaded.html

Beheading and no mention of religion: http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/05/stories/2008070558990300.htm

Man holds woman captive for three days and reads Bible to her (!)and religion is not blamed: http://www.buffalonews.com/260/story/581853.html

Man beheads wife and no religion is mentioned: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/223245,jealous-husband-beheads-wife-injures-five-on-santorini.html

Wife kills husband by running him over and no mention of religion as usual: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334130,00.html

The internet is replete with examples like the above.  

Every single day, you pick up any newspaper and you will come across countless number of people committing crimes, but as soon as a Muslim commits a gruesome crime and it can be exploited to push their paper, Islam will be blamed for it.  In the US, every single day, three women are killed in cases of domestic violence but religion is never mentioned.  But as soon as a Muslim does the same thing, the media tries their best to connect it with Islam one way or another.  

I write the above because today, my comments were printed in the local newspaper right here:

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/582625.html

Kathryn Jean Lopez is disingenuously trying to prove from the above article that my comments are a denial of honor killings!  I was speaking on behalf of Muslims around the world and mentioning that stop blaming Islam because of the actions of a few Muslims! How did the point of denial come up?  Here’s what Keith Olbermann had to say about her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umo8WaZvtuA ‘nuff said.  : ) 

That’s it for now.  It’s been a while since I last posted on here and I’m usually swamped with things since I took up the Imamat position at www.isnf.org and I started doing the Mufti course at a local seminary. Please do pray for me and the deceased.  I don't like to pit one religion with another religion but circumstances have forced me to write this post. 

A good article on this incident and domestic violence: http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/583773.html

25 YEARS/ A QUARTER OF A CENTURY

Wow…I can’t believe it.  Sigh…. It’s been exactly 25 years….a quarter of a century…ok that sounds waaay too long.  I’ll keep it as…. it’s been 25 years.  It has been a long journey- a journey which started way back in 1983 and which has come to an end in 2008.

It was way back in the summer of 1983 that my oldest brother traveled from Toronto, Canada to Dewsbury, England to memorize the Quran and to complete the Islamic scholar course.  Since then, his four younger brothers traversed the same path of sacred Islamic knowledge and all five have become Huffaz of the Quran and scholars of Islam.  His two sisters also completed the female Islamic scholar course Alhamdulillah.

(1)  The oldest brother (Muhammed) is at the following Masjid: www.planomasjid.org

(2)  Yours truly is at …..well…I just started at a new place and the website isn’t really great but a link to a picture of the Masjid: http://www.isnf.org/S7300085.JPG

(3)  The third one (Hamzah) is at http://www.islamnovascotia.ca/nsmasjids.php

(4)  The fourth one (Mufti Abdullah) is at: http://www.madinamasjid.ca/

(5)  The fifth one (Huzaifa) who just returned from completing his studies last month will be starting at: http://www.salatomatic.com/ds.php?id=4006 (The name of the Masjid is the same as the Imam’s name… how cool is that J ) 

(6)  My older sister (Fatima) teaches at www.islamicfoundation.ca

(7)  My younger sister (Aisha) teaches at www.madinamasjid.ca

Here’s a Google map of the four places where we’re all at.

So there you go…Five brothers and two sisters….The last time we are all together for dinner was waaay back in 1983.  25 years ago.  Since then…one sibling or another has been away from home.  But soon, In Sha Allah we will all be together this summer at my place.  If not, In Sha Allah, in paradise.  My parents are so lucky and I just can't imagine all the reward they will be getting on Yawmul Qiyamah. 

Rayhan in his soccer gear:

Kids at Niagara Falls…we live twenty minutes away from the Falls: