My unwavering belief in humanity’s ultimate accountability before God is the driving force of my everyday existence. The importance of believing in an afterlife, for me, is not about assuming – rather foolishly – that one group of people have some exclusive monopoly over heaven because of the religion to which they belonged, regardless of their inner faith or works. Nor is it about naively thinking that I am “saved” because of a certain proclamation I’ve made at some point in my life regardless of my behavior.

The importance of believing in an afterlife, for me, is about understanding that God is going to hold me accountable for every single action I’ve ever committed in this transient thing called life. It is about realizing that God will ask me why I threw away my leftovers when I know for a fact that there are hungry, homeless people on the corner of 9th & F St. where I work. It is about realizing that God will ask me why I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my time or money to help someone who really needed the help. It is about realizing that God will ask me why I raised my voice at my mother, even though He commanded that we show utmost respect and reverence to our mothers.

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1. WHAT IS JIHAD? UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS DOES ISLAM SANCTION THE USE OF VIOLENCE? WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SUICIDE BOMBERS WHO INVOKE ISLAM TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS?

I must admit that there are times before getting on an international flight to Washington Dulles Airport that I've been gripped by fear of the possibility that my flight could be hijacked by terrorists. I doubt I'm the only person who's experienced that kind of paralyzing fear when flying – especially post 9/11. However, the scenario in my mind often progresses a little further as I begin to imagine what my conversation with a Muslim who's hijacked my plane would sound like.

I've had my share of heated debates with Muslims who espouse extremist views in various parts of the Muslim world ( Jordan, Pakistan , India, Uganda , etc.) and am all too familiar with the reasoning they use to justify indiscriminate violence or terrorism against innocent Americans or Israelis.

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