The Only Good Muslim is the Anti-Muslim

For some, Barack Obama's stature as a man of the left has fallen precipitously, like late autumn leaves shed by branches bowing to the will of winter.

A Guantanomized Age

The questions aimed at us fall into two broad categories: "Why aren't more moderate Muslims condemning terrorism?" and "What is it about Islam that produces terrorists?

Muslim Psyche After September 11, 2001

When we reflect upon the reactions of Muslims from different parts of the world we see certain tendencies emerging in the last few years.

Faith and Religion

Though I have a Muslim name I am a non practicing Indian Muslim who does not believe in any organised religion.

Dhokha and Being a Muslim in India

Mukesh Bhatt’s Muzammil Ibrahim starred ‘Dhokha’ or ‘Betrayal’ is the Bollywood’s latest offering that raises several questions about Muslims and their identity in India.

Muslim Ghettoisation

The perception among Muslims is that they are unwelcome in Britain is undermining efforts to help them integrate into wider society.

Muslims in America

I am all for Muslim identity but frankly what I don’t get is the overbearing role dogma plays in every action of the Muslim community in America.

30 Days in Afghanistan - Dinner Conversations

I'm in Kabul, Afghanistan. Actually, I'm in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - and across and beside me, people are beginning to get drunk. Muslims are getting drunk.

The Deoband Declaration on Terrorism: Why Now?

On February 25, 2008 an “All India Terrorism Conference” was attended by over 10,000 Islamic clerics, scholars, muftis and teachers.

American Muslims and Presidential Elections 2008

Disagreeing with American foreign policies doesn't really mean that you are against 'us'. That stupid train has thankfully left the station and hopefully won’t return in Nov. 2008.

Aqsa Pervez: The Casualty of Patriarchy

Why are other Aqsas being slapped, punched, kicked, abused, followed, spied on, coerced, threatened, blackmailed, kicked out and married away? Why?

Feminism Under Veil

By observing the rule of ‘Hijab’, Muslim women make a statement about their identity and their equality as human beings.

Death of Aqsa Pervez: A reflection on Canadian Muslim-Pakistanis

As parents, we need to understand and acknowledge that our children deserve even more understanding and support because they are caught between two distinct worlds.

6th December 1992

A turning point in Hindu Muslim relations in the post independence Indian history. It was a moment when all truths about religious coexistence suddenly proved false.

Nandigram Turmoil, Boiling the Nation

Left Front used a private army to recapture Nandigram in November 2007. 600 people were killed. The Muslim friendly, Kisan Friendly and Labourers friendly mask of Left is torn.

Artifice of Scholarship : CSPI on FrontPage

Where will Mr. Warner hide when faced with the ignobility of logic deserting his beloved Christianity? What will he do when the devil of duality is discovered in his own sacred texts?

Indian Exceptionalism: Colonial Stereotypes and Postcolonial Realities

Indian exceptionalism manifests itself as nationalist, chauvinist, and fundamentalist sentiment, often mingling unhealthily with other kinds of closed-minded imperatives.

Communists and the Making of Pakistan

History of the last years of Punjab under the Raj

Pakistani Twist to “Aliens in America” TV Series

Are the Pakistani and Muslim community here in America ready for raunchy American teenage humor?

The Muslim Brotherhood – A Force Not to be Underestimated

If nothing else, the fact that the various despotic regimes in the Arab world hate the Muslim Brotherhood itself is a plus point in their favour.

Rise of Hindu Right Wing Ideology

Today, when a Hindu shouts an obscenity at Pakistan the Indian Muslim has to shout two to show their patriotism towards India.

Understanding the Death Fatwa on Taslima Nasreen

It has become a time honoured tactic to incite the faithful into attacking and murdering those dare to criticise Islam and has served the spread of Islam well by terrorizing people into submission and silencing opposition.

Pataudi’s Plight : The game of religious stereo typing

If Pataudi were to grow a beard and appear for photographs wearing a skull cap at the doorstep of a mosque, would he have become a better Muslim?

Get over the Victim Syndrome

The real issues that affect our daily lives are never addressed by opposition or the government, instead we are enamored with non-issues like huddod ordinance, attire of mushy, Kashmir, women’s face on hoardings, music in public buses and other crap

A Lovers’ Quarrel with Airport Profiling

You wake up early one morning and as you are lying on your back desperately trying to re-enter that cute little dream you were thrown out of, you realize that today you have to head to Boston’s Logan airport to catch a flight to DC...

Indian Muslims

The Sachhar Committee report, to be released in end-November, states that the condition of the majority of Indian Muslims is worse than that of even the Dalits. It recommends, among other measures, an allocation of 15% of all government funds for schemes

Building Barriers in Britain

It is the extremist views of those who cover their faces that cannot be tolerated in a free liberal society. They put on the pretence of challenging our Western society but try and engage in a conversation that questions their core beliefs and they soon t

The Veil Issue, Once Again

Veils were worn by women in Europe during the Victorian era and earlier decades. Society did not institute a banning of veils, rather over a period of time society changed and the veil vanished. Similar is the case of the hijab and the burkha. Education,

Sehra

Sehra ki bheegi ret meN, maine likha aawaargi.... I was puzzled. The words made no sense to me. Sehra always meant to me a flowery veil that an Indian bridegroom wears therefore the song made no sense. When a friend told that it also means desert

Quit India: Hindutva Goons!

Bombay, the city that never sleeps, can be said to be a new barometer of the mood of the broad masses of the Indian people.

16% UK Muslims Stand by London Bombers

The headline could well have been, “64 per cent UK Muslims against London bombers”.

In the Company of Women

For I knew that across the North American landscape, in large cities and small towns, there were others.

The Fertility Debate

The role of women in determining their fertility is also a factor of politics and power established by the clerical class rather than what Islam actually specifies. Many Muslim countries assert that women do not have a right to deny pregnancy

Modi’s Men and their Mean Machines

Every illegal religious shrine ought to be demolished. Yet, I wish to know how a 200-year-old dargah of a Sufi saint qualifies as being ‘illegal’, is bulldozed and leads to mob violence. Gujarat is becoming an experimental lab for the Hindu Ra

Caste, Reservations and Indian Muslims

The despicable custom of discrimination on the basis of a person’s birth is prevalent among the Muslims of India. But demanding a separate identity as a ‘dalit Muslim’, and other benefits based on caste is no panacea for such iniquity

Taj a Mirage

I saw a group of young artisans. They looked timid and frightened, their head bent down trying to concentrate on their work, but at the same time wanting to communicate with the onlookers

Kibbutz Criminals

Can we ever imagine a Jewish Mob? Can we see any identity for them beyond the rabbi, the kibbutz, the Holocaust? Can we even think about a vengeful Jew? So, has the Jewish persecution machinery been working overtime?

Australia’s Muslim youth -- A Battle for their Hearts and Minds

Young Muslims are misunderstood by their parents and many live two lives - one inside their community and another outside

Muslims in Infidelistan: A Ready Reckoner

When you show up at the airport with your six inch beard, your plastic portable lota, and a prayer rug rolled up in your armpit, you invite quite a bit of unwanted attention. Your four wives, walking behind you, don’t help make your arrival any less

Muslim Sensibilities and Freedom of Speech

In such an atmosphere, clash between democratic freedoms and religious fervor, between criticism and tender Muslim sensibilities is a reality

AMU at the Crossroads

On January 5, the Allahabad High Court took away the minority tag from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The court upheld its judgment in October last year terming as “unconstitutional” the grant of minority status to AMU

Is This Why the Jews Are Disliked by Other Religions?

The stability of Jewish families, their success in business and in different professions, their skepticism as far as religion and dogma is concerned, all these must make them a disliked community

Looking for a New Islamic Fiqh

Today Islam needs a new Fiqh to implement its Shariat. Not many Muslims appreciate the difference between these two very important and distinct terms

An introspective comparison of various Muslim societies

Songs of Dissonance

Out of all the tragedies this earthquake has brought, the loss of an educated and inspiring Junaid Jamshed is very dehumanizing.

Terrorism and the Muslim World

Certain extremist outfits in Muslim countries, and the most violent of them so to speak, were erstwhile partners of the West for their own vested interests.

ISNA Thugs

ISNA management has been unable to relate to their American-born Muslim constituency which is the future of Islam in America.

The Dispatches on War (Part V)

Muslims and Crusades -- In the last five hundred years, the destiny of the Muslim world and the European continent seems to have undertaken diverse paths ...

Muslims and the Road to Perdition

In today’s globalized flat world, Muslims must harmonize themselves with other communities and reap the benefits of a changed world. Like the true deputies of God on earth, let’s make it a better place.

The Case for American Muslim Identity

In some cases, having a birthday party at the local community center is seen as 'haraam' simply because the concept of birthday party at the time of Prophet was unknown

Cause and Detect

Please do remember that I am ignoring the conspiracy theorists, who are a real funny bunch, blaming it on the intelligence services, the police, the Zionists, the military industrial complex, capitalism, little green men from Uranus

The Buddha is Smiling

An orphan’s curse would drag to hell

Muslim Leadership: An Oxymoron?

A good Muslim leader can be simply defined as someone who has the ability to embrace the changing world of Islam

Ayodhya Back On Top

Why did it come now?
What was the aim of the attackers?
Who benefits most if the peace process is hindered or rolled back?
How soon will calm prevail?

The Alternative Muslim Identity

We are not planning on going back home someday. We are home!

Old Neighbors And Old Memories

What was really an eye opener was the bonhomie between the Pakistani and the Indian diplomats, who had come to the reception. I drifted towards them and it turned out they were talking about the similarity of Laxshmi Mansions with a few buildings in New D

Which Road will the Pope Take?

Major inter-faith issues lie ahead of Pope Benedict XVI, he succeeded Pope John Paul II, a man who supported religious relativism and worked to enforce better relations with Jews and Muslims.

An Iranian Exile in Sambhalpur

The VHP issue had taken a more serious turn, filling Sister Miriam Morris, the Christian nun who headed St Joseph, with panic.What had happened was really macabre. One of the children attending the medical camp was given a tonic, which was past its expiry

If Godhra did not happen…

Has the possibility of the kar sevaks being a suicide squad not occurred to anyone? Could they not have been terrorists out to create trouble?

The Doll’s House

How can Hindus dare to point fingers at Muslim regressiveness when they have not been able to improve the lot of their own people?How can they talk disparagingly about Muslim ghettos when India is divided along regional, culinary, caste, status lines?

Canada’s First Muslim Woman Member of Parliament: Why did the Media Miss the Story?

The media’s search for ’authentic’ Muslims

Dev - The Anatomy of A Communal Carnage

... if Gujarat is not to be repeated, it must never be forgotten!

Dear Sisters, Meet Maria Sharapova

This is the story of a father who took a chance that his ten-year-old daughter from Siberia can be great. Thanks to the opportunities offered by the free world Maria Sharapova is what no practicing, veiled, Muslim woman can ever be.

A Song for the Lord of the Hills

But this time, the priest insisted on full disclosure of the names of the beneficiaries of the archanai! 'Abdul and Salma,' my friend said and then added their parents’ names as well, fearful that the priest might take umbrage.

Shahla Haeri: Changing Perceptions

Although thousands of educated and working women have played significant roles in Muslim societies, most literature on Muslim women has concentrated on the veiled, poor, peasant or oppressed women.

Broken Stones

I had forgotten that my mother was a Hindu. They had changed her name from Savita Damle to Salma Khan. To me it did not matter…Yet, I wondered whether that stone was for me or them.

Outsourcing Torture

I too was born in a Muslim country. Should I carefully try to recall who I came in contact with during my 35-year stay in Canada and be careful not to transit through an American airport?

Rescinding the ’Concordat’

Like Napoleon, Bhutto has a dubious legacy. While he will be remembered for his heroism, his global vision and his genuine ambition to transform Pakistan into a world power under his leadership, he will be condemned for making the deal with the devil and

Do Foes of Gay Marriages Simply Fear Joy?

As these couples embraced their future together, we couldn’t help but feel sad for Canada’s gay and lesbian couples who are being pilloried for seeking the same happiness.

Muslim League’s Politics (1937-1947)

League’s transformation from a Nationalist party to a Separatist Party. Author's note: I want this to be first in a series of articles by Pakistanis and Indians to unemotionally reconsider the events of that very important decade in our history whic

Just Another BLOW-UP?

The moment I saw that shiny steel box, I knew it spelled trouble. I had no idea of what it contained, but my gut feeling was that it would not be a fair report.

Can Muslims Become Part of Mainstream Nationalism?

Whenever any disturbances involving Muslims take place anywhere, the Hindu community is automatically blamed - though sometimes justifiably.

My Perspective on Islam

Humanists cannot endorse terrorist targeting of innocents no matter how just the cause