Eating in the dark by Amber Rahim Shamsi dawn.com Paper crinkles in the dark. One, two, three … a pile of sad, empty wrappers grows like something alive. Here’s a secret: I consume soft, chewy, buttery toffees by the dozen. Not everyday, but often enough. Late at night, when the children are asleep and the day is done, I throw caution and dental health to the wind. It is my secret shame, my loss of control. I realise that it is an uncivilised act, and yet it is oddly comforting. After all, we are told to eat our greens and … Continue reading Making Mullahs Happy – With Food 🙂

Israel’s gay propaganda war In portraying itself as the only gay-friendly country in a homophobic region the Israeli state reveals its own desperation Jasbir Puar guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 July 2010 13.00 BST Article history Israel’s recent attack on a flotilla delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, killing at least nine people, suggests a growing indifference of the Israeli government to global condemnation of its Palestine policies. Yet at the same time Israel appears to be actively concerned to shape itself as a benign and even progressive democracy. Israel is invested in a large-scale, massively funded Brand Israel campaign, produced by the … Continue reading A Jew, an Arab, and a Homosexual walk into a bar…

Europe can’t afford to alienate Turkey European policy driving the geopolitically sensitive Turkey into the arms of Russia and Iran is ironic, absurd and shortsighted Joschka Fischer guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 July 2010 17.00 BST Article history The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stands with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Photograph: Umit Bektas/ReutersTurkey’s “no” last month (a vote cast together with Brazil) to the new sanctions against Iran approved in the United Nations security council dramatically reveals the full extent of the country’s estrangement from the west. Are we, as many commentators have argued, witnessing the consequences of the so-called “neo-Ottoman” … Continue reading Turkey – Time to ditch The EU and Join Russia and Iran?

HUM HINDUSTANI: Flavour of a film —J Sri Raman In the north, Raavan is evil incarnate, and his effigy is burnt during a festival every year. In Tamil Nadu, Raavanan is the anti-hero. Even worshippers of Ram have long seen him as a worthy adversary of the Lord The other day, half-jokingly, a friend asked, “Why don’t you write on the World Classical Tamil Conference? Your column lacks the southern flavour totally!” He had a point. But the subject he suggested still left me cold. A film I saw a couple of days back, however, helps me to put in … Continue reading Raavan

Spiritual malaria? by Nadeem F. Paracha A recent fatwa from a ‘Saudi Council of Muftis’ has this advice for fellow Muslims: Do not say [or write] ‘mosque.’ Always say ‘masjid’ because mosque may mean mosquito. Another myopic case of Saudi malaria perhaps? Certainly.  But that’s not all. The grand fatwa goes on to suggest that Muslims should not write ‘Mecca’ but Makkah, because Mecca may mean ‘house of wines.’  I am serious. But then so are the Muftis. They certainly need to get a life. But I’m not all that surprised by such fatwas that usually emanate from Saudi Arabia. … Continue reading Mullahquitos! Giving Spiritual malaria….

COMMENT: Religious authority and the nation state —Ahmad Ali Khalid It seems in Pakistan the religious hierarchy is dominated by conservatives and more alarmingly radicals, hence the crucial question is, do these clerics represent the wider religiosity of the Pakistani public? The nation state marks a paradigm shift for Muslim societies who have traditionally been ruled by sultanates, self-proclaimed caliphs and monarchs. The concept of the nation state, itself arguably born out of the experiences of the French and American Revolutions, which gave rise to the phenomenon of constitutionalism, codification of a positivist law and separation of powers, has presented … Continue reading Religious authority and the nation state

Vengeful new militant group emerges in Pakistan dawn.com The Ghazi Force was behind most of the deadliest attacks in Islamabad during the last three years. — Photo by AP ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities now believe a dangerous new militant group, out to avenge a deadly army assault on a mosque in Islamabad three years ago, has carried out several major bombings in the capital previously blamed on the Taliban. The emergence of the Ghazi Force was part of the outrage among many deeply religious Pakistani Muslims over the July 2007 attack by security forces against the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, … Continue reading Ghazi Force – Vengeful new militant group!

COMMENT: Baptism of blood and seawater —Amjad Ayub Mirza The roots of Turkey’s non-admittance to the European Union seem to lie in the bias that Christian-dominated Europe has against Muslim-dominated countries entering the European elite business club. By ignoring Turkey’s application to join the EU, the former has been forced to look elsewhere for economic and strategic alliances All the hard work of the 19th century British secret service agent T. E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, regarding the break-up of the Ottoman Empire and pitching the Arab tribes against the Turks, seems doomed by the acts of Israeli state … Continue reading Turkey via Baptism of blood and seawater!

IslamToday / Agencies 30 June 2010 The International Union of Muslim Scholars General Assembly is being held at the Grand Cevahir Congress Center in Istanbul Turkey. Its inaugural address, which took place on Tuesday, 29 June, was attended by more than 600 scholars, scientists and intellectuals from all over the world. Today’s session opened under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah. One of the major tasks of the General Assembly is to elect the president and vice-president of the Union for the next for years, as well as develop its mission and vision for the future. The current president … Continue reading General Assembly of International Union of Muslim Scholars Convenes in Istanbul

Sheikh Salman al-Oadah We find the name al-Mutakabbir (the Supreme) in the verse: “He is Allah, besides whom there is no God, the King, the Holy One, Peace, the Giver of Security, the Guardian, the Compeller, the Supreme.” [Sūrah al-Hashr: 23] This name is also found in the following sermon of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): The Prophet, standing at the pulpit, recited the verse: “No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him. The whole Earth shall be in His grip on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens rolled up in His … Continue reading Allah is al-Mutakabbir – (the Supreme)