COMMENT: Punjab: the new FATA —Ali K Chishti Sectarian jihadis, who are now transformed into ‘Punjabi Taliban’ through evolution, are concentrated in the economically backward and feudally dominated agrarian areas of Punjab A recent survey puts the number of madrassas all over Pakistan around 28,982. The number was 2,861 in 1988 and 246 in 1947. However, the interior ministry estimates put the number of madrassas at 20,000, with over three million students. Of these, 11,000 madrassas belong to the Deobandi sect. Picking up the queue from my previous piece (‘Jihadi public schools?’, Daily Times, May 26, 2010), concentrating entirely on … Continue reading Punjab: the new FATA

VIEW: Two Nation Theory —Yasser Latif Hamdani For Jinnah and the Muslim League, the Two Nation Theory was not an ideological position etched in stone. It was the restatement of the arguments needed to ensure national status for Muslims in a multinational independent India One of our most persistent national myths — put forward by both the state and its detractors — is that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam. It is said that Pakistan was created with the use of the slogans “Islam in danger” and “Pakistan ka matlab kya, La illaha ilallah”, both slogans which — … Continue reading Two Nation Theory

COMMENT: A fight we must win —Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain Perhaps the secularists’ anguish is tinged by a sense of overwhelming guilt for never having come out openly against the officially tolerated discrimination that the Ahmedis have suffered for all the years that they have been viciously persecuted The recent massacre of Ahmedis in Lahore has brought forth a predictable spate of condemnation. And as time has gone by more people have come out to condemn this atrocity both in the media as well as in the ‘blogosphere’. This rising tide of sympathy and support for the Ahmedi community is … Continue reading A fight we must win

OMMENT: Channelling diplomacy —Shahzad Chaudhry We could not win Kashmir by wars and we could not realise accession of the state through other means. A territorial issue has morphed into a human issue, which essentially was an existential reality even if never stated till recently I must admit I am not too fond of the bureaucracy. I do not know who is. Do not get me wrong, I am frequently impressed with their intellect, grooming, promise and potential; it is in their very distant and deliberately cultivated perch that they exhibit on matters all important that a cold remoteness and … Continue reading Channelling diplomacy

• Birmingham system to monitor known extremists • Outrage over scheme paid for from terrorism fund Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk A surveillance camera and Birmingham Central Mosque in the city’s Balsall Heath area. Photograph: Andrew Fox for the GuardianWhen the cameras appeared above the rooftops in the Birmingham suburbs, some people realised they were mostly automatic number plate reading (ANPR) cameras, used to track drivers’ movements. Protesters sprayed the camera posts with messages such as “1984 Big Brother” and “You are now entering a police state.” Those suspicious enough to ask what the cameras were for were given the impression they … Continue reading Surveillance cameras spring up in Muslim areas – the targets? Terrorists

Surveillance cameras in Birmingham track Muslims’ every move About 150 car numberplate recognition cameras installed in two Muslim areas, paid for by government anti-terrorism fund Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk An automatic numberplate recognition camera to the right of a CCTV camera in the mainly Asian area of Sparkbrook in Birmingham. Photograph: Andrew FoxCounterterrorism police have targeted hundreds of surveillance cameras on two Muslim areas of Birmingham, enabling them to track the precise movements of people entering and leaving the neighbourhoods. The project has principally been sold to locals as an attempt to combat antisocial behaviour, vehicle crime and drug dealing in … Continue reading Birmingham Muslims – Terrorists!

Extreme-right English Defence League sets up ‘Jewish division’ to lead the fight ‘against jihad’ By Marcus Dysch, June 3, 2010 An EDL activist at a recent demo The English Defence League, the extreme right-wing anti-Islamic-fundamentalism group, has launched a “Jewish division”, encouraging members of the community to “lead the counter-Jihad fight in England”. It has signed up hundreds of followers on Facebook since the launch last week. Supporters include an ex-Community Security Trust volunteer who claims “a lot of Jewish guys want to get stuck in”. One follower wrote on Facebook “we are all Shayetet 13”, in support of the … Continue reading EDL step up their Jewish recruitment

Hamas must reshape itself Fatah is too weak to deal with Israel – Palestine needs a strong leadership that is ready to negotiate David Hearst The Guardian Military planners have taken to using the language of landscape gardeners. They talk disturbingly of shaping the environment. Would-be Capability Browns, orchestrating the arrival of thousands of US marines in Kandahar, do not speak of the battle but of the “process” to come. One wonders who, in a year’s time, is going to be processed by whom. In Israel the same misplaced confidence in military planning was evident in the operation to land … Continue reading Fatah is too weak to deal with Israel – is Hamas the only choice?

No, I don’t believe in God I’m not grandstanding, or insulting the faith I grew up in. I’ve written this to confirm to myself that I’m not alone Alom Shaha guardian.co.uk I am an atheist. I imagine that the typical Cif belief reader may not think this is a particularly big deal, but it is for me, because I’m not just an atheist – I’m an apostate from Islam. Apparently there are people who would happily kill me for making such a statement. But I’m not expecting to be killed, or even threatened; despite what the BNP and certain elements … Continue reading An Athiest Muslim?