On April 17, 2020, as my mother calls me incessantly to come have lunch with her during work hours, I shake my head in disbelief. Just six weeks ago, I was certain I would never hear her say my name again. I have two very vivid memories of my mother’s sickness, beginning fall of 2019. … Continue reading A litany of loss and gain

A few years ago, my uncle and I spent hours at the Library of Congress looking for a book written by my late grandfather while he was a professor of Islamic history in Karachi. The book was listed in the library’s enormous archives, but we couldn’t find it that day. I forget the reason the … Continue reading A Memento

Today, we celebrated my dad’s birthday for the first time. You see, my dad has never known which day he was born on. Like many of his generation born in India, he doesn't have a birth record, and the first time his birth date was officially recorded was years later in his school register. The … Continue reading An August Birthday

Previously published on Patheos AltMuslim. On this rainy Friday afternoon, more than 200 men and women fill the banquet hall of Dunya Restaurant in Alexandria, Va. They sit cross-legged on colorful plastic prayer mats on the carpet, listening intently to a speaker at the podium. A dark-haired man in a crisp suit and tie speaks … Continue reading A New Path for American Mosques

--Published in Dawn-- Often unable to find personal and professional independence back home, more single Pakistani women are choosing to make their home in the West – alone.  For Asnia Asim, who grew up on army bases across Pakistan, moving to Washington was a no-brainer. It wasn’t the first time she would be away from home in Islamabad. … Continue reading Pakistani, Female, and Living Alone in America

In the spacious, sun-lit prayer hall of the Gurdwara Sahib of Rockville, Md., a teenager practices tabla with a bearded man in a blue turban and crisp white Kurta. In one corner, a woman sits surrounded by pre-schoolers, their heads covered with colorful scarves and little turbans. She switches between fluent English and Punjabi, asking them to repeat … Continue reading Sikh Americans’ best weapon to fight discrimination: A faith rooted in equality