On 26th May 2007, during a Seminar in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, highly derogatory remarks were made against the Pakistan Army, by the Lawyers, in support of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. This Seminar was said to be a usual “Bar Council Meeting or Seminar” that was held in the Confe

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida - In the ongoing tension between the United States and the Arab world, religious fanaticism plays a major role: religious zealots are on the militant frontline in Arab countries and on policy boards in America.
Cultural context plays a role in the development of fanatic

[Paper presented at a conference on the Sachar Committee Report, 19 May, 2007, Trivandrum, organised by the Forum for Social Action]

This presentation is not a rigorously-argued academic paper. Instead, it seeks to offer stray thoughts on the very complex issue of the sociology of Indian Muslim d

Two collections of poems of Stephen Gill have been released lately by two different publishers. One collection is called Flashes; another, Songs Before Shrine.
As the title of the book suggests, Flashes are trilliums in haiku spirit. Haiku is a form of poetry that was originated and matured in Jap

Last year, I was invited to a casual dinner party while in Chicago visiting an old college friend. It was a small and informal affair of professional feminist women. The evening progressed peaceably until another guest asked me how it felt to be submissive: a reference to my marriage to a Muslim Tur

Boston, Massachusetts - Islam is often perceived as a potential threat to democratisation, and justifications for this view tend to repeat ad nauseam the idea that for Islam, there is no separation between politics and religion.
In the West, politics based on individual rights (as opposed to the c

In February 2004, it was reported in the newspaper from Islmabad that “A 60-year-old man shot and killed himself on Wednesday after a court sentenced him to eight years in prison for raping his daughter.” This is a horrible case of incest. These kinds of cases occur frequently in Pakist

The future looks bleak for Christians and other representatives of religious minorities in Pakistan. In fact, the rapid increase in registrations of blasphemy cases against Christians in Pakistan should ring alarm bells to anyone who believes that religious freedom and justice should be available to

The future looks bleak for Christians and other representatives of religious minorities in Pakistan. In fact, the rapid increase in registrations of blasphemy cases against Christians in Pakistan should ring alarm bells to anyone who believes that religious freedom and justice should be available to

In the Lahore city of Pakistan, a man name Chapa works hard labor every day. Sometimes he carries the carriage he accounts as nylon, ruff papers peaces of Iron Plastic. Sometime he sleeps on Church roof and sometime in the corner of street. Dogs bark all night but he sleeps deeply. Long time ago he

Same sex marriages are not something very new. We find references in the history of the written record of the world dated four thousand years back homosexuality existing in the world. But media has given it new dimension and spark.

To make the hottest news media needs something new and different

One wonders what Karl Marx would have made of it all. Buried in Highgate cemetery in London, Marx had lived in the city for many years and it was in the august reading rooms of the British Library that he had once declared that religion was the opium of the people.
The ambitions of the organisers o

Mumbai - On July 11, 2006, terrorists blasted bombs on several suburban trains in Mumbai, the industrial and commercial capital of India. Over 200 commuters were killed while many more were maimed.
Within 48 hours, over two dozen Mumbai-based maulanas, or religious leaders, representing the most p

I remember a church pool party with lots of little kids swimming, screaming and laughing. The aroma of hot dogs and hamburgers filled the air and tables of delicious food assured me of some good eating but playing in the pool was all I could think about.

Holding on to the side of the pool, I foun

The context (2 Samuel chapters 15 and 16)

After Amnon’s murder, his half-brother Absalom spent three years in exile, in the region of Geshur. Back in Jerusalem, David did not want to see him for two years. So, there were five years in which the bitterness in Absalom’s heart took roo