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Mr. Khalil Gets Fired

From First Thoughts

Let’s consider a hypothetical case. Imagine that a Muslim middle school—let’s call it Zaytuna Academy—hires Mr. Khalil as its Vice Principal. Mr. Khalil is an effective administrator and is very popular with teachers and students alike. Now, Mr Khalil happens to believe that the prohibition of alcohol consumption in Islam is wrong. So he doesn’t honor that teaching in his personal life. Continue Reading »

Muslims, Our Natural Allies

From First Thoughts

I am a Catholic. My Church teaches me to esteem our Muslim friends and to work with them in the cause of promoting justice and moral values. I am happy to stand with them in defense of what is right and good. And so I stand with the young woman in the above video in defense of modesty, chastity, and piety, just as I stand with Muslims like my dear friends Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Dr. Suzy Ismail against the killing of unborn children and the evil of pornography, and with my equally dear friend Asma Uddin of the Becket Fund in defense of religious freedom. In the great document Nostra Aetate, we Catholics are taught the following by the fathers of the Second Vatican Council: Continue Reading »

End the Silence

From First Thoughts

Katrina Lantos Swett and I, in our roles as Vice Chairwoman and Chairman respectively of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, have an op-ed piece in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer calling attention to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and beyond. This . . . . Continue Reading »

Impeachment Day

From First Thoughts

Fifteen years ago today the United States House of Representatives impeached William Jefferson Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice. At the time, many believed that the Republicans in the House would lack the guts to do it. Despite the President’s shameful conduct with a White House . . . . Continue Reading »