PENSIEVE: Fatima Bhutto’s pain —Farrukh Khan Pitafi The gift of our establishment at discord and divisiveness is eerie. Zulfikar Bhutto’s family was ripped apart and, one by one, all but one were killed. And see the sad part. For every death, one of the family members was blamed Let us face it. I had bought Fatima Bhutto’s recent book with special vengeance. I wanted to ditch as much dirt on her as possible. After we had a bit of respectful interaction through emails, she had one day left a note on my website calling me a sycophant of the current … Continue reading Fatima Bhutto’s pain

A tale of two calls Posted by Nadeem F. Paracha A month before Benazir Bhutto decided to return from exile in 1986 to challenge the Ziaul Haq dictatorship, I was an 18-year-old student at a local college in Karachi. Studying economics and commerce, I had also joined the Pakistan Peoples Party’s student-wing, the Peoples Students Federation (PSF). A group of PSF activists from my college were planning to travel by train to Lahore, where Benazir’s first public rally after her return was to be held. I journeyed to Lahore with this group and stayed at a rundown apartment of a … Continue reading The call of the Mullah to Jihad!

dawn.com Indian Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan attend the unveiling ceremony for Hindi movie “Raavan” directed and produced by Mani Ratnam in Mumbai.–AFP Photo Culture Landmark India gay film fest eyes homosexuality debate Landmark India gay film fest eyes homosexuality debate MUMBAI: Bollywood’s leading couple, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, is teaming up for their first film together in two years, hoping to harness the power of the Internet to make it a box office hit. “Raavan,” with music by Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” composer A.R. Rahman, is a modern-day take on The Ramayana epic of Hindu mythology, … Continue reading Bollywood power couple back together on screen

By Francesco Sisci BEIJING – Let’s be fair. The issue is so real that it is puzzling to us even now: how can one be both Christian and Confucian? In the 16th and 17th centuries, at the time when the West was torn by cruel wars between Catholics and Protestants, Jesuits – the Catholic soldiers of Christ – fought blasphemy, and Protestants were arguing from the farthest East that a man could be both Catholic and Confucian. They were suggesting a path of communion with the Protestants, but were also brooding on something that was exotically different from the European … Continue reading Deeper meaning in Confucian embrace

Thursday, April 29, 2010 <!– –> // // Share this story!   VIEW: Changing the Muslim conversation —Mahjabeen Islam In the pre-modern era, religious scholars controlled the discussion; now anyone even vaguely familiar with the Quran and prophetic tradition can write a book and gain credibility. Specifically, authorship does not connote authority So is Abu-Talha Al-Amreeki going to be speaking for me now? A 20-year old, formerly known as Zachary Adam Chesser, is now media-commissioned to be the loudest responder to the South Park incident satirising Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). On cursory examination, why should he not be? If you posted bloodied … Continue reading So is Abu-Talha Al-Amreeki going to represent us all now?

As an Arab-American, my first British hustings revealed a communal self-determination I have not seen in the US Abdulrahman El-Sayed guardian.co.uk Rushanara Ali, Labour’s candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow Photograph: Martin Godwin Candidates shuffled through the packed gym of the Ensign youth centre in east London. Enlivened by the colourful embroidered scarves of many of the women in attendance, the highly Bengali constituency (nearly 36%) of Bethnal Green and Bow had come out for the event, a “hustings” or political debate between candidates for parliament in the 2010 general election, organised by YouElect, a grassroots initiative aimed at encouraging … Continue reading UK democracy is superior to US

In this undated handout photo, Madhuri Gupta, 53, an Indian diplomat who worked as second secretary in the Indian high commission in Islamabad is seen. – AP THIMPHU: India’s foreign minister said on Wednesday a thorough investigation would reveal why and how a diplomat posted in Islamabad had spied for Pakistan. Junior diplomat Madhuri Gupta, who worked in the information service of the Indian embassy, was arrested by police last week after coming under suspicion. In Thimphu, Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters Gupta was facing a joint probe by the police and home ministry detectives. “The investigations are … Continue reading India promises thorough ‘spy’ investigation