Rounded Analysis On Contested Issues; Spotlighting Blind Spots; Politics, Religion, Travel, Books
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
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
Karbala symbolises for Muslims the foundational Islamic values—egalitarianism, justice, and equity— the Prophet’s Muhammad favourite grandson, Imam Hussain, laid down his life there in the seventh century resisting Umayyad ruler Yazid violating these ideals
Abraham is believed to have first heard God’s voice in Ur, which is not just an example of Iraq’s storied past but also of how Abrahamic religions are joined at the hip
Ahl al-Bayt (people of the Prophet Muhammad's household) are known as nur-e-Muhammadi, or the bearers of his light, as well as his trustees ‘privy to his esoteric and religious knowledge'
Baghdad quickly became the world's cultural lodestar after its foundation, which has been described as 'a glorious milestone in the history of urban design' and 'a landmark for civilisation', in the eighth century
The Sinak Bridge in Baghdad offered a breathtaking view of the snaking Tigris in the Cradle of Civilization, where pivotal technological innovations such as writing, the wheel, and irrigation originated
