Umarkot, the birthplace of Moghul Emperor Akbar and a city of large Hindu population, is one of the few towns in Pakistan where religious festivals such as Holi and Diwali are celebrated by both Hindus and Muslims. Holi and Diwali are considered to be a particularly Hindi festival. However both Hind

It sees itself as one of the Middle East's most liberal countries, but Lebanon's lack of female politicians sticks out like a sore thumb. While Lebanese women today enjoy senior positions in the private sector, political appointments have all but eluded them.
Lebanese women were granted suffrage i

At my mosque, like almost all mosques across the country, women pray upstairs or at the back of the prayer hall. Watching elderly and pregnant women, often with young children attached at the hip, painstakingly traverse the back entrance and hike up concrete stairs evokes a cognitive dissonance with

France currently has the largest Muslim community in Europe with approximately five million people (i.e., about eight percent of the total population), most of whom hold French nationality. This sociological and demographic fact has raised many questions regarding the level of integration or exclusi

Shakespeare said, ‘as butterflies to the wanton boys are we to gods, they kill us for their sport.’ The plight of the economy and its remnants speak volumes about economic drone attack albeit executed inadvertently as far as consequences are concerned. The gods, the wanton boys are vainglorious with

Aha! To be in the land of the Pharaohs and of Cleopatras; to breathe deep the air of ancient civilization ; to marvel at the pristine blue of the Red Sea; to let the senses reel under the inexplicable experience of a cruise on the Mother of All Rivers.
My stay in Egypt was a mixture of discovery a

Mark 4: 26-34
Theologian Sallie McFaque, in her work Speaking in Parables summed up the essence and expertise of Jesus as a parable-teller when she said: “We are not told about the graciousness of God in a parable, but are shown a situation from ordinary life which has been revolutionized by grace.

The men in the forces sporting blues, greens and whites certainly have an enviable lifestyle. The respect comes with the job as does the adventure peppered with an aura of safeguarding the country’s frontiers. To top it all there’s always the glamour of donning a uniform as well.
Sounds good? Sure

According to a repot contained in the books of Hadith, once, during a battle, a Muslim received a grievous injury on his head. The next morning, the man needed to have a bath, but for him to do so was dangerous, for it could make his wound ever more severe. He turned to some of his fellow Muslims an

Dystopian predictions of Ray Bradbury in the science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 not withstanding, it turns out that enhancing communication technologies can empower rather than enslave the masses. Indeed, the past century of Iranian history, complete with its revolutions and democracy-building, ha

The debate over the integration of the Muslim community into Swiss society is not new and has long been the subject of considerable political tension. The most recent controversy is no different and has already fuelled a heated discussion on whether the construction of minarets in Switzerland should

Can religion comprise a country's all-encompassing identity? How does connecting religion to a particular place affect our perception of that place?
Outsiders' views about a religion can be shaped by the way it is linked to a certain nation or geographical area, and in a world where religion is at

The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) pose a serious threat to the economic and social sovereignty of Pakistan. Ironically speaking, neither of the two sovereignties is predominantly existent; for, by and large the economic sovereignty has long been usurped by donors through the instruments of Pak

US President Barack Obama is being criticised for choosing Cairo as the venue for his speech to the Muslim world. According to some human rights and pro-democracy activists, this validates autocratic governance in general and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime in particular.
Yet, where woul

Since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005, US policy toward Lebanon has evolved into a robust one whose mantra – a sovereign and independent Lebanon – is now the cornerstone of the US-Lebanon relationship.
This policy has translated into tangible levels of support for st