Dr. Abdullah's Blog

The global Shia Muslim community, comprising roughly 10 to 13 percent of the world's Muslim population, represents a complex tapestry of religious devotion, political mobilization, and geopolitical significance . Often viewed through the monolithic lens of Iranian state policy, the reality of the global Shia population is far more diverse. Their loyalties are divided among competing centers of religious authority, their political views are shaped by local contexts as much as

Across centuries, human misinterpretation of sacred words has deepened wounds rather than healed them. What was meant as moral illumination became tribal possession. Subtle, destructive whispers—born of pride, fear, and power—distorted promise into exclusion. And so the suffering continues, not from revelation itself, but from its corrupted reading. There is a sentence that has echoed for millennia across deserts and empires, across prayer halls and parliaments: In the Book o

Every year, near the close of Shaʿbān, a familiar scene unfolds across the Muslim world. On rooftops and desert ridges, along coastlines and minarets, men and women lift their eyes toward the western horizon. The sky glows faintly after sunset. The air holds anticipation. Somewhere in that fading light, the thinnest arc of silver may appear—the crescent that marks the beginning of Ramadan. Yet in observatories and research centers, another scene unfolds. Astronomers, heirs to

Ramadan calls us to reflect not only on what we eat, but on what our choices support. Will we buy dates from large corporations and supply chains that help finance injustice, violence, or the silencing of people seeking freedom? Or will we choose family-owned farms that believe in human dignity, ethical labor, and justice? Food carries values. Every purchase tells a story. In a month devoted to compassion, restraint, and moral awareness, choosing dates grown by responsible f

At the heart of Islam stands the Kaaba, the first House devoted to the worship of the One God and the direction of Muslim prayer across the world. Draped over it is the Kiswah—a black silk mantle embroidered with Qur’anic verses in gold and silver—an object whose meaning lies not in luxury, but in reverence. To touch it is to remember humility; to preserve it is to honor a trust shared by generations. Long before Islam, Arab tribes covered the Kaaba to signal sanctity. With t

In recent months, rumors have circulated on social media suggesting that the United States is moving toward banning halal food and products. These claims have generated understandable concern among Muslim communities. A careful review of U.S. law, however, reveals a very different reality. There is no federal or state ban on halal products in the United States. What does exist in several states are halal labeling and consumer-protection laws—designed not to prohibit halal foo

Bangladesh is preparing for a watershed moment in its democratic history. On 12 February 2026, the South Asian nation will hold elections for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament). This vote comes after years of political turmoil, including the dramatic 2024 popular uprising that led to the ouster of long-time prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the formation of an interim government led by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. Accompanying the parliamentary election

Humility was his dress. Love was his breathing. Politeness was his language. Simplicity was his style. Dr. Atiq Alam Siddiqi did not announce his service. He lived it. He moved through communities quietly, stitching together what history, fear, and neglect had pulled apart. When he arrived in America, Muslims were few, fragmented, and often invisible. When he returned to Allah ﷻ on January 11, 2026, more than 300 Muslim centers stood across the landscape—organized, respected

In Islam, heroism is not extraordinary power—it is extraordinary conscience. Every act of service, truth, mercy, and responsibility is a step toward a better world. True heroes walk among us, choosing goodness daily. 1. The Hero Who Serves Nearby (Chore Champion) Heroism often begins close to home. Helping an elderly neighbor with chores—shoveling snow, raking leaves, or walking a dog—is an act of mercy. Islam honors such service. The Qur’an commands: “Worship Allah… and do g

He is the new Superior Court Commissioner in Los Angeles County, but titles alone do little to explain the meaning of Haaris M. Syed’s journey. In an age when public life often rewards spectacle over substance, his quiet perseverance stands as a reminder that integrity still matters—and that the most enduring forms of leadership are forged not in ambition, but in service. Those who know Syed speak less of rank and more of temperament. He is not given to grandstanding or rheto

Modern media systems do not operate in a vacuum. They are embedded in political economies shaped by ownership, capital concentration, advertising dependency, and strategic state interests. In much of the global North, major media outlets are structurally intertwined with corporations that benefit from defense contracts, sanctions regimes, energy markets, and geopolitical alignments. This reality does not require a conspiracy theory to explain bias; it requires only an underst

Rajab comes quietly. It does not arrive with celebration, nor does it announce itself with festivals or commands. Yet for centuries, Rajab has carried a special weight in human memory—as if time itself slows down to breathe. It is the seventh month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and it is one of the four sacred months in Islam. Long before Islam, even in the harsh deserts of Arabia, people knew that Rajab was different. In a world shaped by tribal wars and endless revenge, Ra

“You misuse your country’s resources. I will not allow you to do that.”“You cannot take care of what you own, so I am taking it over.”“Your watch is beautiful, but you do not know how to maintain it.”“Your wife is beautiful, but you do not respect her. I will take her.”“Your children are not your property. If you do not raise them as I instruct, the state will take them away.” When spoken inside a home, these words would be recognized instantly for what they are: the language

Across civilizations, long before clocks, satellites, or equations, human beings learned to read the sky the way a farmer reads soil or a sailor reads waves. The Sun was not merely a celestial body; it was a promise. Its weakening brought fear, its return brought relief, and its turning marked the rhythm of survival. Makar Sankranti, when seen in this wider human story, is not an isolated Indian festival but part of a global, ancient conversation between humanity and the heav

Inspired by Imran Khan and Habib Jalib I am not from Pakistan, but people like mr, in the neighboring country, where I was born have been punished for it. Yet, I admire not its army, not its nuclear, not its tanks, not its power elites, but those who resist tyranny. It is a tribue to them. Every age invents its own lamps—lamps that shine brightly, but only inside mansions. They illuminate marble halls while leaving entire streets in darkness. They are celebrated as symbols of

This is a rendering of Habib Jalib's poem, I will not concede, I will not surrender. That lamp which burns only in mansions, That dawn which rises for the joy of a chosen few, That order which shelters itself in the long shadow of private gain— That tradition, that darkened morning— I will not venerate. I will not bow to greet it. I am not afraid of the thrones that glare from above. I am not afraid of the hands that sign decrees in ink and blood. I, too, am Mansoor— Go, carr

At the end of a long walk across the rough terrain of my conscience—a journey measured not in miles but in questions—I arrived at the edge of the Pacific. The waves that once rose in restless assertion now stood subdued, ancient and indifferent, as if they had witnessed generations arrive in search of answers and depart carrying only deeper silences. The sun hovered there, both born and buried in the same breath. It was there that I heard a voice. It was calm, unburdened by t

There are moments in life when the body is forced into stillness and the mind begins to travel. In such moments, memory sharpens its voice, and questions long postponed return with insistence. What shaped us? What taught us to listen, to speak, to write with care? Often, the answer is not found in grand institutions or official milestones, but in quiet spaces where thought was allowed to grow without haste. The library has always been one such space—fragile, modest, and yet p

Every age draws its own maps—not only of borders and rivers, but of fear. If one were to chart the modern world by the number of people imprisoned for their beliefs, a different atlas would emerge: a geography of silence, where nations are measured not by mountains or markets, but by how many voices they have chosen to lock away. These are not always countries at war, nor always dictatorships in uniform. Some hold elections, issue constitutions, speak the language of sovereig

Even today, the heat of thought has not cooled within me. Time has not dulled the intensity of reflection, nor has silence erased the long-cultivated discipline of speech that refuses to flatter power. Beneath the surface of ordinary days, something remains awake—an old restlessness, a living conscience. Against the unclean customs of oppression, a persistent ache of rebellion still beats in the chest, reminding the heart that submission to injustice is not peace, and obedien