Pakistan Paradox: The Love Of Its Leaders For The Bottle

Prohibition In Pakistan

Pakistan's Westernized founding fathers and their successors loved to have a drink and sat on the periodic demands of a ban on alcohol until the 1970s when the prohibition—at least on paper—was imposed

Are West’s Centuries Of Muslim Dehumanization & Islamophobia In France Linked?

Islamophobia on the rise in France

The West embraced rationality, science, and liberal multiculturalism to become the guiding light for the world but dehumanizing constructions of Muslims embedded in its consciousness as internalized beliefs and practices continue to fuel Islamophobia

Three Worlds: Story Of The Lost World Of Arab Jews

Shlaim’s father was a businessman and his mother society hostess in a rich and cosmopolitan Baghdad before they emigrated and lived diminished in Israel

Former Oxford professor Avi Shlaim’s book Three Worlds: Memoir of an Arab-Jew uncovers what he calls ‘undeniable proof' of Zionist involvement in the attacks that forced Iraqi Jews to emigrate to Israel after over 2,500 years of presence in Babylon

Secularism In India Was Never About What It’s Made Out To Be

The inauguration of India's new parliament with Hindu symbolism has triggered murmurs of disapproval citing secular traditions although there is nothing new in the association of occupants of constitutional posts with such ceremonies since the republic was founded

How Turkey’s Repressive Secularism Helped Rise Of Erdogan

Turkey elections may head for run-off as Erdogan fails to get 50% votes

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the secular Turkish republic, banned Sufi orders, put mosques under government control, mandated officials to wear European-style brimmed hats, and banned Arabic as part of sweeping measures to impose secularism on Turks

Karbala: Metaphor For Suffering, Sacrifice, Resistance To Tyranny

Pilgrims in Karbala to mark the end of the forty-day mourning period after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain

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