Late last month, the Islamic New Year, 1430 Hijra, was observed immediately following Christmas and Hanukkah. In a world where conflicts often have a religious spin, these consecutive events should be interpreted as a positive sign, even an opportunity, for Jews, Christians and Muslims to embrace on

The United States and Pakistan have to work together in various areas to improve their chances of success in the campaign against extremism.
There is one issue specifically which, if addressed by the United States, could positively impact all these areas: the missing persons of Pakistan — people p

Can minorities enjoy equal opportunities so long these laws remain?
Campaign against unjust laws
Although Pakistan was founded as an Islamic state when it came into being in 1947, its constitution did not distinguish between Muslims and non-Muslims. Sadly, non-Muslims who once enjoyed a safe and p

International attention has focused on Pakistan like never before in the weeks following the Mumbai attacks. To quote Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and adviser to President-elect Barack Obama, “All of the world’s nightmares come together in Pakistan.”
Assuming the world does not have the optio

As she prepares for her role as Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Obama foreign policy team should consider how a new American-Iranian relationship might advance American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan, and conceivably even the Arab-Israeli peace process.
This will

"I am the first woman farmer in my block who started cultivation 15 years back," said 45 years old Aisha Begum Khatoon of Hridaypur village in Ambedkarnagar district. When she picked up the hoe for the first time, all the villagers rebuked her for treading on a man's domain. However, she decided to

Soon after the cartoons about Muhammad hit the head lines in early 2006 another controversy captured the world's attention. In Afghanistan, Abdul Rahman was charged with the 'capital offense' of apostasy for converting to Christianity. The controversy surrounding the trial seemed as if it might trig

Besides aiming to provide information, one of the main purposes of an educational system and the textbooks used therein is to mould students' worldviews in a particular fashion. This is what educationists refer to as the 'hidden curriculum' of education. Through it, the educational authorities of a

A few years back, at an interactive session on economy in Missouri, United States President George W Bush argued that, 'prosperity in countries like India is good but it triggers increased demand for better nutrition, which in turn leads to higher food prices and food crises.' However it is not true

"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those nearest to God.'"
Before searching for this quote in the New Testament, you might first a

Turkish foreign minister and chief negotiator for the EU Ali Babacan, speaking at a NATO foreign ministers meeting recently, mentioned that the Turkish Constitution as it stands now will not help Turkey move forward with its reform agenda.
This resonates with a statement in September by the EU Com

Negotiating with our adversaries is a tricky business, and with President-elect Barack Obama on the way in, most observers of US foreign policy are confident that negotiating is about to become the predominant foreign policy approach — for better or worse. They are mistaken, however, if they think t

Having discovered the wonders of Google Earth, it didn’t take me long to type in the name of what many Lebanese consider the “Forbidden City” – Tel Aviv: a city that we as Lebanese are not able to travel to, or even phone, though many of us will point out that we have no desire to.
The web page zoo

Uttar Pradesh is one of the most important states of the country in terms of agricultural production. More than 85% of its population is rural based and depends on agriculture for its livelihood. Small and marginal farmers, having less than 2 acres of land are in a majority in the state.
Uttar Pra

In recent years, the Pakistani government appears to have made strides in protecting women’s rights. Through Article 25 of the Constitution, as well as the 1996 adoption of the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Pakistani government has promi