Je Suis Charlie: In Defense of Free Speech

Jan 09

Je Suis Charlie: In Defense of Free Speech

Posted on Huffington Post, January 9, 2015. I admire Charlie Hebdo for standing up against threats to free speech, but I am saddened to see them pay such a heavy price for their beliefs. Cartoons and satire, even the most provocative ones, remain vital for a healthy civil society. Only the deranged are threatened by them. Charlie Hebdo wanted to spread a little...

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A Lament for Peace

Jul 24

This was a Featured Blog on Huffington Post. Also appears in the Florida Times Union. Slated to run in the Tallahassee Democrat also. This post has been co-authored with Rabbi Jack Romberg, Temple Israel, Tallahassee, FL. We write this as two friends, a Jew and a Muslim, both with leadership roles in our respective communities. Together we have broken bread,...

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Understanding the Rise of ISIS and the Situation in Iraq

Jul 08

Nancy Soderberg and Parvez Ahmed on Melissa Ross’s First Coast Connect. http://www.wjct.org/fcc-july-07-2014/

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FRIDAY SERMON: God Consciousness and Justice In Islam

Jul 08

Delivered on the occasion of the rare convergence of Ramadan, Friday and July 4th by Parvez Ahmed Venue: Islamic Center of Northeast Florida Date: July 4, 2014 (Note – It is customary to recite verses from the Quran in Arabic. In the interest of space and formatting, this write up omits the Arabic verses and only provides their English translations) HOMILY...

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Boko Haram and Bill Maher Are Both Wrong

May 23

Huffington Post Recently a friend commented that even if the Muslim community engaged in a thousand interfaith dialogues, the headline that a Nigerian Muslim extremist group, Boko Haram, has abducted school girls threatening to sell them as slaves is enough to overshadow efforts at building bridges of understanding. Groups like Al Qaeda and Boko Haram claim to...

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Indian Democracy: Maturing But Flawed

Apr 12

Indian Democracy: Maturing But Flawed

Huffington Post Is South Asia becoming a beacon for democracy? On the heels of an inspiring voter turnout in Afghanistan, voters in India are mobilizing in one of the most impressive exercises in universal adult franchise. Just a few months earlier, Pakistan had its first peaceful democratic transition in power. Bangladesh, surprisingly, was an outlier when the...

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