Rounded Analysis On Contested Issues; Spotlighting Blind Spots; Politics, Religion, Travel, Books
The Dawoodi Bohras, a branch of the Ismaili Shia Muslim sect, have for centuries been unified under a supreme spiritual leader or Dai Syedna that has helped them remain well-knit and maintain a unique cultural identity
The Iraqi clergy took a leading role in defeating ISIS by employing religious symbolism as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa urging men to resist and led to a surge in volunteers for the Popular Mobilisation Force
Zainab refused to be silenced when she challenged tyrant Yazid in his court and would play a key role in memorializing her brother Hussain’s fight for upholding Islam's foundational ideals of egalitarianism and justice
Mukhayyam al Husayni Mosque, over 400 metres from Imam Hussain's shrine, stands at what is believed to be the site of the encampment of the Prohet's grandson and his family during the Battle of Karbala
The Prophet’s grandson, Imam Hussain, opposed the undermining of basic Islamic values of egalitarianism, justice, and equity, triggering the Battle of Karbala that ended with his massacre along with 72 of his companions and family members in the month of Muharram
The strength people drew from Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussain, who laid down his life fighting an unjust ruler in the seventh century, played a key role in seeing Iraqis through in the war on ISIS
Once considered unsophisticated, hookah, whose origins are disputed with some claiming it originated in India, has become integral to the Middle East’s café culture, and gained popularity in the West, too
Iraqi religious leaders denounced ISIS violence, emphasized its impact on all religious communities, supported justice for victims and survivors and ensured unity in the fight against the terror group militarily and intellectually
The Iraqi clergy effectively tapped into the doctrine of martyrdom in the fight against ISIS by invoking the Battle of Karbala in which the Prophet's grandson Hussain and 72 of his companions and family members laid down their lives resisting an unjust ruler
Shah Rukh Khan, India's biggest film star, defines the potential of Indian soft power in unlikely places such as Iraq where hardly anyone even understands the language of his films
