Civil Rights & Religious Freedom

By: Ahsan Pervez Daredia “We all know the stereotype; a Muslim on an airplane follows an explosion. I know, I know, it’s over-exaggerated, but that’s what we’ve come to know and think in the post 9/11 era. I’ve been on numerous flights in, out, and within Pakistan, but I cannot explain the genuine terror that […]

By: Samena Premjee “Being a Muslim today is a constant struggle for many. Being asked to choose between being American and being Muslim is an insult and is not fair. The very foundation that this country was built on is the very same basic principles and foundation that being Muslim has guaranteed for thousands of years. This country

By: Engy Abdelkader, Esq. “In 2000, Layla and Ahmed were married in an Islamic religious ceremony in Egypt. Layla recently filed for divorce in New Jersey and her husband moved to throw out her complaint alleging that they were never legally married. The New Jersey judge must determine whether there is merit to the husband’s claim. To do

By: Celene Ayat Lizzio “A September 2011 resolution of the Fiqh Council of North America, a body of esteemed American Muslim religious scholars, takes just this stance. In their statement entitled: “On Being Faithful Muslims and Loyal Americans,” the members of the council strongly affirm that Islamic values and modern, Western, secular, democratic values both

By: Qasim Rashid “Since Oklahoma became the first state in the nation to pass anti-Shari‘ah legislation in July 2010, at least 20 more states passed, or attempted to pass, legislation banning Shari‘ah. Those trying to ban Shari‘ah consistently lack an understanding of exactly what is being banned. This paper demonstrates that these legislations violate fundamental Muslim-American civil liberties, and

By: Sophia Rose Arjana “I begin my reflections on the rise of Islamophobia in America over the past decade by pointing out an often-neglected fact: the fear and hatred directed against Muslims we have seen since 9/11 is nothing new. Anxiety surrounding Islam in the New World dates to the conquest of the Americas by

By: Azizah al-Hibri, Esq. “Capital punishment is imposed in the United States for a limited number of reasons, such as treason and murder. Recently, all executions have been related to crimes of intentional murder, the most notable example being the approaching execution of Timothy McVeigh who caused the death of hundreds of Americans in Oklahoma

By: Azizah al-Hibri, Esq. “Recently, Reverend Franklin Graham frankly expressed his views on Islam on Fox and PBS. He said that Islam was an evil and violent religion, and that the Qur’an itself calls for violence against non-Muslims. He also asserted his belief that the God of Islam is not the God of Christianity because

By: Elizabeth Dahl “The Constitution Project’s Liberty and Security Initiative was launched in the days following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The Initiative consists of a broad-based committee of prominent Americans who have come together to develop and advance positive proposals to protect civil liberties in a time of

By: Jonathan K. Stubbs “On September 11, 2001, did American Muslims become America’s newest race? This essay offers preliminary observations regarding that question. Using the word ‘race’ in America is like waving a red flag before a bull. You are likely to get a spirited response. In the context of a national calamity like the