There is nothing “usual” about the attack on a mosque in Egypt.

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring I first learned of this news while reading a tweet from writer and activist Mona Eltahawy. A private hospital in Egypt has been shut down after a 17-year-old girl died from complications of female genital mutilation: Suez governor Ahmed Al-Hitamy shut down a…

In the Name of God, the Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful After voraciously taking in Reza Aslan’s book, Zealot, about the life and times of Jesus Christ, I decided to read his bestselling book about Islam, No god but God. Towards the end of his excellent, I must say, book Aslan wrote: Just as the Christian…

In the Name of the Infinitely Good and Merciful Lord Our God I am an American, whose ancestry hails from Egypt. I have quite a bit of family that still lives there. Both my and my wife’s parents frequently go back and visit, and my mother – in fact – is vacationing in Egypt right…

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful The sectarian violence that has gripped the land of my ancestors, Egypt, has been truly sickening to watch. The attacks on Christians and Christian churches in the past weeks are horrific, and they must be condemned. Not that my condemnation necessarily means much, but at least…

Hesham A. Hassaballa
about

Hesham A. Hassaballa

Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio.

Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, “Why I Love the Ten Commandments,” was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition.

In 2007, his blog "God, Faith, and a Pen" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is “the most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.” "God, Faith, and a Pen" has also received an award for being one of the "Top Muslim Blogs for 2010" by Awarding The Web.

In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. Hassaballa Charitable Foundation and now serves as its Treasurer.

read full bio
More from Beliefnet and our partners
More from Beliefnet and our partners
Close Ad