COMMENT: Should Islamic banking broaden its base? —Muhammad Aftab In order to really contribute to the economy, Islamic banks will have to expand their commercial and investment banking services, and various streams of deposits should finance these ventures. They will have to diversify their product mix, making use of their comparative advantage, and not just using the conventional modes Should Islamic banking broaden its base? All un-serviced sectors say that it should, in case it wishes to finance small enterprises, farmers and the homeless, rather than concentrating on big business. The growing Islamic banking system in Pakistan has finally been … Continue reading Should Islamic banking broaden its base?

<!– –> // // Share this story!   VIEW: Direct Action Day: the tragedy — I —Yasser Latif Hamdani Contrary to what the Indians hold, all historians now agree that the massacre in Calcutta was primarily of Muslims and not Hindus Today is August 16th. Sixty-four years ago, the All India Muslim League bid farewell to its traditionally constitutional methods and resorted to civil disobedience all over India. The Direct Action Day, though peaceful in most of India, took an ugly turn in Calcutta. There are two reasons why we must revisit this painful period in our history. The first is … Continue reading Direct Action Day: the tragedy

COMMENT: Tomorrow is another day —Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain Both Pakistanis as well as the world will be watching how appropriately the government and its functionaries use donations and aid. And the ordinary people of Pakistan will surely remember how the political leadership performs come election time Many in the western media as well as among Pakistani ‘progressives are most distressed at the fact that religious organisations are filling in for an incompetent civil administration to help the flood victims in Pakistan. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing wrong with that. Frankly speaking, in a calamity like … Continue reading Tomorrow is another day

COMMENT: Where lies hope? —Shahzad Chaudhry The current floods have been the most destructive natural disaster to visit the hapless people as nature shows its wrath on earth, which we men have pillaged with an alacrity that even the gods find difficult to digest Around twenty million Pakistanis have been devastated by the unprecedented fury of floods in the past two weeks, and the deluge continues. Twenty million is the population of Sri Lanka, and the combined populations of many European nations. The figure of the affectees exceeds the combined numbers that were devastated in the 2004 tsunami, 2005 earthquake … Continue reading Where lies hope?

‘Bogus boy’ asylum seeker who claimed he was a child despite being 20 makes Facebook getaway By Andrew Chapman Last updated at 1:30 AM on 15th August 2010 Escaped: Iraqi Rabar Hamad is in hiding An asylum seeker who claimed he was a child but was actually 20 has tried to avoid deportation by going on the run with the help of friends from a 2,500-strong Facebook group. Rabar Hamad disappeared days before officials were to set a date to remove him from the UK. Members of the Facebook page ‘Don’t Deport 16 Year Old Rabar Hamad to Iraq’ say … Continue reading Rabar Hamad

Patriarch Bartholomew I, center left, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, conducts a service at the Sumela Monastery in Trabzon, northeastern Turkey, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010. Orthodox Christians held a rare Mass at an ancient monastery in Turkey after the government allowed worship there once a year in a gradual loosening of restrictions on religious expression. – AP Photo SUMELA MONASTERY: Europe Papadopolous’s grandparents were children when they fled their village in northeast Turkey and settled in Greece almost 90 years ago, yet she still felt she was in exile. Papadopolous, 45, was one of thousands of Orthodox … Continue reading Orthodox flock to once-banned holy site in Turkey

Obama Redefines His Previous Support for Mosque at Ground Zero by: Margaret Talev  |  McClatchy Newspapers | Report President Barack Obama. (Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls) Washington – President Barack Obama sought Saturday to draw a distinction between supporting a Muslim group’s right to build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in New York – a right he championed in a speech the night before – and thinking the project is a good idea. “I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there,” he told reporters in Panama City, Fla. He, … Continue reading Obama Redefines His Previous Support for Mosque