The sudden and most untimely demise of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is indeed a national tragedy of great magnitude and it was most appropriate for the President to declare an official mourning for three days in her honour. Pakistan has lost in her an icon of great stature and standing and the void so c

The death of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhuttoo is being mourned by millions of Pakistanis. She had a profound public base despite staying out of her country for nearly a decade and dogged by corruption and nepotism charges.

Her death, however, should not come as a surprise at all.

Nasir Saeed finds little cheer for Pakistan’s beleaguered Christians in the electoral promises of a “moderate government”.
For anyone who likes their International affairs in black and white, Pakistan’s torturous political machinations can be a little confusing at times. T

Brazil, Ecuador, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Morocco are just a few countries where honour killings occur. Anja Wehler-Schöck has studied the phenomenon of honour killings using the example of Jordanian society. Naima El Moussaoui, a writer at Qantara.de, talked with the political

The word Diaspora is not a substitute for the word immigrant. Diaspora essentially is a bitter experience of dislocation that leads to alienation, a sense of loss and nostalgic desires. It refers to that particular class of immigrants who are unable to go back, primarily because of the hostile cli

Conflict resolution experts believe that when you have a problem, go for the simplest solution. This logistical approach to problem solving applies not only to selective areas of conflict management, but across the board in all spheres of human endeavors. This includes politics and its organization

What is this world coming to?
In a rape case that involves the very foundation of a disputed, age-old rite, the merits and certainly the clash of civilizations are ferociously and dangerously edging towards the limelight.
As described recently by nearly every outlet of the worldwide media, Islam i

President Musharraf finally took off his uniform last week, handing over command of the armed forces to General Ashfaq Kiyani, a well-respected general in Western circles. The following day, he took the Presidential oath as a civilian president for the next five years. Though the emergency rule he i

Syed Abul Ala Maududi (1903-79), founder of the Jamaat-e Islami, is regarded as one of the chief architects of modern-day Islamist revivalism. He was a profuse writer, and is credited with literally hundreds of works on a diverse range of issues. Although he not a graduate from a traditional madras

The land of milk and honey - desired by many factions, fought for by a swelling army and the heart of perhaps the world’s greatest colonial conflict.
Ownership of Palestine proper, and for the most part, the Occupied Territories in general, have aroused much debate since the secretive Sykes

Islamabad - Many Western media and policymakers appear preoccupied with the danger of Pakistan`s nuclear weapons falling into the hands of extremists â€" whether small terrorist groups or organized political parties who may try to take power in upcoming elections. Their immediate concern, therefo

Delhi, for various historical reasons, is the hub of the Muslim publishing industry in India. Most of the prominent Muslim publishing houses in the country are located in Muslim-dominated parts of the city, notably in Old Delhi, Okhla and Basti Nizamuddin. Literature produced by these houses are fou

Standing in perhaps one of the most aesthetically pleasing churches in the city and observing a small service being conducted, one would be hard pressed to pronounce this as being part of the former Soviet Union â€" its congregation extremely devoted to their belief in a higher power and in the m

December 1 is the World Aids Day to generate greater public awareness to this horrific epidemic that kills millions of children or their parents every year. Here is a poem by Stephen Gill to participate in the awareness:

MOTHER OF AN AIDS-RIDDEN SON

He developed thrush in his mouth

and a l

In the worldwide marketplace of ideas, everything has a measure of value, even a bad idea.
A bad idea can even illuminate the darkest landscape of truth with brilliant flair ¯ in a way that mere fact cannot.
Consider, for example, the idea that Islam is incompatible with democracy. It is a re