religious freedom

The following speech was given by Jawad Khaki, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Corp, President and a Founding Director of the Ithna-asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest, at the annual dinner of the organization Muslim Advocates in December 2010 in Milbrae, California.

Imam Khalid Fattah Griggs accepted Islam in 1972. He is the Imam of The Community Mosque of Winston-Salem in North Carolina. This is a position he has held since 1984. He is also co-chairman of the North Carolina-based Black Leadership Roundtable of Winston-Salem-Forsyth County.

I used to be asked this question in Pakistan as well: are you Pakistani first or Muslim first? Yet, it has always made me uncomfortable, it forces you to feel that the two: religious and national identity, are somehow mutually exclusive.

Whatever Islamic obligation you want accommodated at your child's school, it must be done in a methodical, clear, and proper manner. Shabbir Mansuri, founder of the Council on Islamic Education in California, offers tips.