The scholar, the sufi, and the fanatic Posted by Nadeem F. Paracha in Featured Articles on 12 31st, 2009 Roughly speaking, the political and social aspects of Islam in Pakistan can be seen as existing in and emerging from three distinct sets and clusters of thought. These clusters represent the three variations of political and social Islam that have evolved in this country: modern, popular and conservative. The modern aspect of Islamic thought in Pakistan has its roots in the ‘Aligarh Movement’ – a nineteenth century effort launched by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. His analysis convinced him that the Muslims … Continue reading Scholar, Gentleman, Mullah

The hazards of air travel Irfan Husain // <![CDATA[// // <![CDATA[// The recent terror attempt in Detroit has shaken the country.— Photo from Reuters/File During the Inquisition in the Middle Ages, papal investigators would insert a pointed stick into the rectum; this interrogation technique became known as questioning somebody in ‘the Spanish fashion’. I was reminded of this arcane bit of history by the recent arrest of a suspect who was trying to blow up the Delta Airline jetliner as it approached Detroit airport. The Nigerian passenger is supposed to have been carrying the deadly explosive PETN in a strap … Continue reading Air travel, Mullahs and exploding bottoms!

Demystifying mysteries By Ayesha Siddiqa Friday, 01 Jan, 2010 // // “Every other day there is some news of suspicious cars being stopped by the Punjab police and the passengers being interrogated and then released under pressure from unknown and unnamed people in the government.” – Photo by APP. The Pakistani media is playing its role by informing citizens about the threat posed by the American security contractor Blackwater. Every other day there is some news of suspicious cars being stopped by the Punjab police and the passengers being interrogated and then released under pressure from unknown and unnamed people … Continue reading Demystifying mysteries

India-Pakistan: military angle Capital suggestion Friday, January 01, 2010 Dr Farrukh Saleem The Himalayan ranges have shaped the culture, politics, religion, mythology, climate and military doctrines of all six countries — Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan — that the ranges stretch across. The Great Mountain covers an area of about 650,000 square-kilometres and the width varies from 180 kilometres to 350 kilometres with a total glaciation area of over 33,000 square-kilometres. The Great Mountain Arc, from the Indus River all the way to the Brahmaputra River, encircles five countries — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan — and … Continue reading India-Pakistan: military angle

The road to hell — and similar destinations Islamabad diary Friday, January 01, 2010 Ayaz Amir We have a developed talent, honed over the years, for counting the trees and missing the larger picture. We see things in one dimension and forget that there may be other sides to reality. This leads to false conclusions and the begetting of great tragedies. Let us for argument’s sake accept that Asif Ali Zardari, the luckless president of a luckless country, is the author of a thousand villainies, the darkest thing to have happened to the Islamic Republic. But let us at least … Continue reading The road to hell — and similar destinations

J Sri Raman The common Indian can send this common message to Advani, Gadkari, Sushma, Jaitley, and the two Thackerays: “I showed in 2009 that I had learnt the lesson from 2008. Will you show in 2010 that you have learnt your lesson from 2009?” “The most important lesson that the outgoing year teaches us is that India cannot afford to have a government in which the prime minister has no real authority, and the leader who has the authority has no accountability…[The events of 2008] have taught an important lesson to India: to have a strong leader.” That was … Continue reading New Year messages

by Imran Kureshi Strangely enough, today it is Ziaul Haq who is almost universally condemned and his rival, whom he had ignominiously executed (rather assassinated) as a murderer, is idealised. Who could have imagined such a turnaround 25 years later? Oh boy! It really got my adrenaline flowing in November when I heard an acknowledged TV anchorman gleefully say, “The party’s over!” at the critical juncture when TV was erroneously announcing that the MQM had asked President Zardari to resign and it seemed he’d had it. And sort of like history repeating itself, I even read the statement in an … Continue reading The party’s over?