Omar Suleiman
The Imam Dr. Omar Suleiman is a world renowned scholar and theologically driven activist for human rights. He is the Founder and President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, and an adjunct professor of Islamic Studies in the Graduate Liberal Studies program at Southern Methodist University. He's also the resident scholar of the Valley Ranch Islamic Center and Co-Chair Emeritus of Faith Forward Dallas at Thanks-Giving Square, a multi-faith coalition of clergy for peace and justice. In addition to being recognized by CNN as one of 25 Muslim American changemakers, Suleiman is included in The Muslim 500 - an annual ranking of the world's most influential Muslims compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. In 2019, the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University and Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives recognized Suleiman among 200 honorees who embody the legacy of the abolitionist’s commitment to social change. He is a native of New Orleans, and currently resides in Dallas with his wife and 3 children.
NBA star Stephen Jackson on converting to Islam: ‘I needed to listen to my heart’
(RNS) — ‘Allah has blessed me with so much already, and now he has blessed me with Islam,’ said Jackson.
What Jesus means to me as a Muslim
(RNS) — As the Christmas season ushers forth the memory of Jesus, it’s worth asking: How much do Muslims think about the person the Quran recognizes as a prophet and the Messiah?
Moving past inshallah: What Muslims want to see in a Biden presidency
(RNS) — For the last 20 years, American Muslims have been on a cruel roller coaster ride with presidential candidates and the two major political parties in general.
On Ashura, Muslims recall how faith in God overcomes tyrants
(RNS) — On Ashura, the promise of Paradise is divine assurance even when the world shows its vilest cruelty. No pharaoh, tyrant or terrorist can take any of those things away.
In the Fatiha, Jacob Blake’s father cried for justice and healing for his son
(RNS) — As he recited the Fatiha, a prayer that opens the Quran, Jacob Blake’s father cried for mercy, healing, justice and an end to violence — like countless Black parents before him.
As an isolated hajj begins, Abraham’s trust in God is ours
(RNS) — This year’s disappointments may mean that Muslims will connect in a unique way this year to Abraham’s story as we celebrate Eid al-Adha.
How to pray, talk and act across faiths without betraying your own
(RNS) — Interfaith work means saying ‘Amen’ to other people’s invocations and reading others’ Scripture. At what point is accommodating other faiths’ beliefs still fruitful?
An imam and a rabbi see the State of the Union address as less than reassuring
(RNS) — Does the president believe in protecting the religious liberty of all citizens of the United States?
Texas’ misguided decision on refugees is state-sponsored Islamophobia
(RNS) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision rests in part on the lie that Muslims from war-torn countries are dangerous, which is itself the most dangerous view out there.
At Christmas, Christians and Muslims take time to talk about loving Jesus, and each other
(RNS) — If our two faiths could start from a place of understanding that the two largest faiths in the world share a love for Jesus, maybe we could learn to love one another a little bit more.
We honor the victims of mass killings equally. Why can’t politicians and the press?
(RNS) — Researchers recently found that terror attacks by Muslims receive an average of 357% more coverage than those by other groups.
An American Muslim imam’s letter to the American Sikh community
(RNS) — Despite the real harm Islamophobia has caused Sikhs, they have consistently refused to throw the Muslim community under the bus by simply distancing themselves from Islam.
After a week, distress over a black life returns to North Texas
DALLAS (RNS) — Barely a week after Botham Jean’s parents went home, another black victim’s name has been rendered into a hashtag.