In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring Racial hatred is a fire, and we saw the results of such hatred this past weekend, when 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr rammed his car into a crowd of protesters, killing one and injuring dozens of others. It was a heinous terrorist attack…

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring The religious hatred I have been seeing in our country has made me very concerned. Almost by the day, there are threats to Jewish Community Centers, Synagogues, and even Jewish children’s museums. Muslims have not been spared, either, as hate crimes against Muslims…

At long last, Jews and Muslims are standing together...as they should have been doing all along.

In the Name of God: The Eternally and Extremely Loving and Caring I WAS BLESSED to finally see Hamilton this last weekend in Chicago. It was a birthday gift for my eldest daughter who is gaga over everything Hamilton. I must admit, I wasn’t too much into it at first, but as the show went…

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring I tweeted out my happiness at an interesting happenstance that occurred this year: Kinda cool that the #IslamicNewYear and #RoshHashana are at the same time. May God bring our two communities together in peace. https://twitter.com/godfaithpen/status/782603965129109504 By the grace of our Lord, it was…

In the Name of God: The Eternally and Extremely Loving and Caring “You know they hate you, right?” That’s what was repeatedly told to me as I cheered the French national team in their doomed bid to win the 2016 Euro Cup final against Portugal on July 10, 2016. They were referring to the generalized…

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring Every time there is a spectacular act of violence that garners media attention – whether domestically or internationally – there is widespread anxiety within the American Muslim community. After each incident, I am confident that – in American Muslim households all across the…

In the Name of God: The Infinitely Merciful and Compassionate Beloved Pamella Geller has put up bus ads in Washington, D.C. that say: Islamic Jew-hatred: It’s in the Quran. Two-thirds of all US aid goes to Islamic countries. Stop racism. End all aid to Islamic countries. Her contention is flat-out wrong. The Quran is full…

In the Name of God, the Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful This Sunday, billions of Christians around the world will celebrate what is the most important holiday of the Christian spiritual calendar: Easter. It commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the central theological tenet of the Christian faith. As a Muslim, I…

In the Name of the GOD, the Compassionate, the Merciful It seems hard to believe that ten years – a full decade – have passed since that horrific day in September when the country endured a trauma unlike any she has ever suffered. I still remember the unimaginable scenes of terror, horror, dread, and destruction.…

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.

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