Hesham Hassaballa
Hesham Hassaballa is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Hesham Hassaballa
GUEST COMMENTARY: Declaring independence during Ramadan
By Hesham Hassaballa — September 9, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Last week marked the beginning of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims the world over abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from dawn until dusk. As Muslims deprive themselves of what is normally allowed, they are reminded of the poor and hungry, and motivated to help those […]
COMMENTARY: Not that there’s anything wrong with that …
By Hesham Hassaballa — June 24, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Now it’s gotten out of hand. At a Detroit rally for Sen. Barack Obama on June 16, two Muslim women were barred from appearing in the prominent seats behind the senator because they wore the hijab, or Islamic headscarf. According to Politico.com, one campaign volunteer explained that “because of […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: The last lonely Muslim Republican
By Hesham Hassaballa — December 1, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I have been a registered Republican for as long as I have been active in political life. I even left my wife _ in labor _ at the hospital to vote for George W. Bush in 2000. Yet, in the intervening years, it has become more and more difficult […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: What’s in a Name?
By Hesham Hassaballa — August 25, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Should Christians call God by the name “Allah”? At least one Catholic bishop in the Netherlands, Tiny Muskens, thinks so. “Allah is a very beautiful word for God,” he recently told Dutch television. “Shouldn’t we all say from now on we will name God Allah? … What does God […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Suicide Bombers are Murderers, Not Martyrs
By Hesham Hassaballa — July 26, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As terrorists seem to be competing in the barbarity of their vicious attacks across the globe, the question of why people would do such a thing _ although frequently asked _ fails to lose relevance. To this day, Americans continue to ask “why do they hate us?” when it […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: During Hajj, God Opens His Arms to Welcome You Home
By Hesham Hassaballa — December 28, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The desert was hot, and the land was barren, devoid of water or vegetation. In this vast nothingness, he simply left his wife and young son and walked away. His wife was startled. “What are you doing?” she asked. He neither answered nor turned back to face her. “Where […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: The Virgin Mary Isn’t Just for Christians
By Hesham Hassaballa — December 9, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Today (Dec. 8) is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I, like I suspect many people, had always thought it was to commemorate the conception of Christ. But the Feast actually celebrates the conception _ without original sin _ of the Virgin Mary. I have happy memories of this […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: A Kinship That Transcends Party Lines
By Hesham Hassaballa — November 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) A political earthquake struck America on Nov. 7, one felt across the country and even around the world. In a clean sweep, Democrats took control of both the House and Senate, regaining the majority after more than a decade of being in the minority. One of those new Democrats […]
COMMENTARY: Education Is Key to Reversing Attitudes About Islam
By Hesham Hassaballa — September 7, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I can hardly believe it has been five years since the devastating attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. That day was doubly hurtful for me as an American Muslim. That anyone would willfully and murder almost 3,000 Americans was painful enough. To learn, however, that those responsible for the death […]
COMMENTARY: Why I’m Nervous About `United 93’
By Hesham Hassaballa — May 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Sept. 11, 2001 was one of the darkest days of my adult life. The memories of the pain and fear I felt on that day are still vivid more than four years later. As an American Muslim, the attacks of Sept. 11 hurt me twice over: first, it hurt […]
COMMENTARY: The Unholy Logic of Backlash
By Hesham Hassaballa — August 18, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Almost without fail, whenever a terrorist strikes _ especially one of the Muslim flavor _ a backlash against innocent Arab and Muslim citizens follows. It happened after the Oklahoma City bombing, and it resulted in a miscarriage by a pregnant Muslim woman whose home was attacked. It happened after […]
COMMENTARY: Quran Desecration Is Nothing New
By Hesham Hassaballa — June 28, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Although many Americans have recently come to learn about it for the first time, the desecration of the Quran is nothing new. Islam’s sacred text has been desecrated for many years now, although not a single printed page of paper and ink was harmed in the process. The Sept. […]
COMMENTARY: Abraham is a Critical Bridge Among Muslims, Christians and Jews
By Hesham Hassaballa — January 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The air was hot, the desert vast, and there was no sign of life as far as the eye could see. The old man, with wife and infant son, had been traveling for miles when he decided to stop. Then suddenly, without saying a word, he turned and left. […]
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