News that the villages of Bil’in and Nil’in are to become closed military zones every Friday until August has been greeted with dismay by locals and activists alike. The decision is an alarming upping of the ante in the battle between the Israeli authorities and opponents of the expropriation of Palestinian land, but the cessation of weekly hostilities could turn out to be a silver lining in the cloud. For all that the villagers’ cause is just, the means employed in demonstrating their discontent regularly prove counterproductive. Antagonising soldiers by throwing rocks and other projectiles has proved costly both in terms … Continue reading Will Nonviolent Palestinian protests make a difference?

A historic step Thursday, March 18, 2010 Praful Bidwai Fourteen years after the legislation was first tabled, the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of India’s Parliament, has passed a bill which reserves one-third of all elected seats in legislatures for women. Unlike in Pakistan, there’s no reservation for women in India yet. Although the Congress, the Left and the Bharatiya Janata Party together supported the bill in a rare show of unity, it was doggedly opposed by Mulayalam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Laloo Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and a section of the Janata Dal (United). The passage turned out extremely … Continue reading A historic step in India

And now the ‘handshake’ issueThenews.com.pk Thursday, March 18, 2010 Farooq SulehriaThe Swedish Public Employment Centre (Arbetsfrmedlingen) has been ordered to pay 60,000 Swedish kroner to a Muslim citizen, Alen Malik Crnalic. In 2006, Crnalic applied to be a trainee welder at a company in lmhult, in southern Sweden. During the interview, Crnalic, being an “active” Muslim, refused to shake hands with the company’s woman CEO. After the interview his application was turned down. According to the CEO, the decision to reject Crnalic was not based on his way of greeting. But the CEO felt insulted by the way she was … Continue reading Where does it say a woman or man cannot shake hands with each other?

Teen sex – the Home Office gets its knickers in a knot A new Home Office report blames the sexualisation of society for violence against women. It recommends a crackdown on the media, but Eamonn Dwyer wants to know why it didn’t suggest introducing the hijab. Dr Linda Papadopoulos’ recent Home Office report into the Sexualisation of Young People spun the news cycle into overdrive. It’s got everything that pushes the public’s buttons: teenagers, sex and violence. Papadopoulos’ research apparently proved there was a ‘clear link’ between the ‘pornification’ of society, the sexualisation of children, and violence against women. The … Continue reading New Labour to introduce a SEX TAX?

(Just kidding its an Islamophobe!.. But got your attention ;-)) Rep. Sue Myrick Endorses Radical Islamophobe Brigitte Gabriel GOP Rep. Myrick Endorses Conference of Noted Islamophobe Fresh off a tense town hall with Muslim constituents last month, Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) has blasted out a letter enthusiastically endorsing the group ACT! For America, and its leader, Brigitte Gabriel, who has made a number of extreme comments against Muslims. ACT! For America’s national conference and legislative briefing is scheduled for June in Washington, D.C. The group describes itself as “a collective voice for the democratic values of Western Civilization, such as the celebration of … Continue reading Islamic Extremist working in with Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC)

Islamic scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf warns that religious teachings can be dangerously misappropriated. When he met with President George W. Bush at the White House in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf famously declared that “Islam has been hijacked” by an ideology of rage. That’s an alarm that Yusuf, an Islamic scholar whose charismatic and accessible style has earned him an international following, continues to sound nearly a decade later. He delivered the annual al-Ghazali Lecture on February 19 to an overflow audience—including many members of the local Muslim community in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel. (Attendees … Continue reading Modern Lessons from an Ancient Faith

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught his Companions the best supplication for beseeching Allah’s forgiveness. He taught them to say the following prayer every morning and evening: “O Allah! You are my Lord. There is no God besides You. You created me, and I am your servant, and I honor Your covenant and Your promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from the evil that I do. I come to You by Your grace, and I come to You with my sins. So forgive me, for no one forgives sins but You.” [Sahīh al-Bukhārī (6307)] … Continue reading The Noblest Supplication for Asking Forgiveness from Allah and not a Mullah!

There is more to Islamic Law – the Sharī`ah – than the issuing of religious verdicts (fatwā). Islamic law embraces the Qur’an in all of its subtleties, the life-example found in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the many aspects of the faith that are readily understood by everyone. Moreover, the sphere of what is permissible in Islam is too vast to quantify. The default assumption in Islamic Law is that something is permissible unless there is clear and authentic evidence indicating that it is not permissible. The issuing of fatwā should not be misconstrued as … Continue reading Subjecting All Aspects of Life to Fatwā?

 Everything in existence is subject to Allah’s will and power. For Muslims, this goes without saying. It is an essential tenet of every Muslim’s faith. Allah says: “Indeed, Allah has power over all things.” However, this is no excuse for human beings to evade responsibility for their own decisions. No one can argue that it was their fate to sin. We know this from firsthand experience. We know instinctively that we make our own decisions. We choose to do some things and refrain from doing other things. We carry out intentional actions. We intend, for instance, to travel or … Continue reading Allah’s Decree, Free Will, and Our Sins

Bo Xilai: China’s brash populist By Kent Ewing HONG KONG – Bo Xilai has personality, charm and charisma, unlike most of his plodding, lackluster bureaucratic brethren. The tall, telegenic Bo has won the support not only of the legions of dark-suited, dull apparatchiks who converged on Beijing for the recently concluded session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), but also ordinary citizens. His crusade against corruption in the sprawling southwestern municipality of Chongqing, where he is Communist Party chief, is much admired and he is a force to be reckoned with. The … Continue reading Bo Xilai! Chinas Superman?