It is a losing proposition for liberals to engage the clergy, especially given that there are no liberal scholars of Islam grounded in Islamic history and jurisprudence, at least in Pakistan, who can challenge the established sectarian narratives of Barelvis and Deobandis Justice A R Cornelius, being a liberal catholic […]
NY Times OP Ed: ISTANBUL — We Muslims like to believe that ours is “a religion of peace,” but today Islam looks more like a religion of conflict and bloodshed. From the civil wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen to internal tensions in Lebanon and Bahrain, to the dangerous rivalry […]
ARAB NEWS Published — Monday 1 February 2016 Beyond any shadow of doubt, Daesh and its likes have nothing to do with Islam. All the actions of these terrorist organizations are in sharp contrast with the true teachings of Islam and Sunnah. It seems that Daesh is just a puppet […]
AP The New Year’s Eve attacks on women in Cologne have led to a new discussion within Germany about the treatment of women in Islamic societies. The issue has become central to the country’s heated refugee debate. By SPIEGEL Staff The Erich Gutenberg College is a trade school in Mülheim, […]
Tribune: JAKARTA: A tiny Indonesian province has banned the minority Ahmadiyah community from conducting religious activities, a move activists say raises concerns over intolerance in the Muslim-majority nation. The move by Bangka-Belitung, made up of two main islands off South Sumatra, is the latest in a series in which religious minorities […]
Tribune: ISLAMABAD: It is important to talk about issues considered a taboo and an attitudinal change is required to protect Pakistani minorities. This was consented at the launch of Jinnah Institute’s (JI) report ‘State of religious freedom in Pakistan’ and screening of its documentary, ‘Strangers in Their Own Land’, on Tuesday. […]
Guardian: Fifteen centuries ago, Arab armies fanned out from the Middle East in search of conquest. For some who took part, the incentives were material – rich prizes were on offer from cities that paid tribute, surrendered or were sacked. For others, it was the spiritual rewards that appealed most: […]
Asiapacific.anu.edu.au: It’s an old enemy of Wahhabism. But is Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama and its project of tolerant, peaceful Islam an antidote to the extremism of Islamic State? A statement late last year by Islamic State’s spokesman and senior leader, Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al Adnani, drew attention mainly because of his […]
Source: The Independent A move to ban child marriages in Pakistan has been withdrawn after meeting staunch resistance from a religious body, which branded the bill as “anti-Islamic”. The ruling […]
Source: Daily Times By Yasser Latif Hamdani The blasphemy law, as enacted in Pakistan in 1986, militates first and foremost against the Islamic principles of justice and here is why: if it is conceived as an Islamic law, is it subject to hadd? Five years ago today, Salmaan Taseer, the […]
RASHEED ABOU-ALSAMH Published — Sunday 27 December 2015 With the recent bloody attacks in Paris and San Bernardino by terrorists claiming to be doing these in the name of Islam, discrimination against Muslims has grown worldwide. They are targeted by these new critics, many of them American, well-educated and from […]
The Nation: The recent hateful protests by business owners demanding Ahmadi citizens to wear identification publicly have been a real eye-opener to anyone oblivious to intolerance in the Pakistani society. The protest was directed against Punjab police for removing hateful and derogatory signs from a shop warning Ahmadis to refrain […]
Guardian: Two Pakistani clerics have come to blows at a meeting of the religious establishment over the fraught issue of the status of Ahmadis, a Muslim sect that hardliners want declared apostates. A scuffle broke out on Tuesday between the two at a gathering of Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology […]
Daily Star: Three people were injured during Juma prayers in a suicide bomb attack in this mosque on Friday. Police cordon off the Ahmadiyya mosque at Bagmara of Rajshahi to conduct investigations as curious onlookers crowd the scene. Photo: Banglar Chokh It was a suicide attacker who blew himself up […]
Huff Post: In central Syria, Daesh (“ISIS”) recently destroyed an ancient monastery and a church. This, after abducting several Christians, in what has become the group’s long scourge on humanity. While global Muslim leaders have categorically condemnedDaesh, Daesh continues to insist their acts are permitted — even commanded — by […]
Patheos.con: By Ayesha Noor I went shopping on a hot June afternoon. I wore a cool beige outer garment over my Jeans and top and complimented it with a blue […]
The Independent: When Shafiq Masih visits his relatives, he risks running into a mob. A Christian, convicted and acquitted under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws after a dispute with a neighbour, Mr Masih lives in fear. He fled his home in Faisalabad, where he said he was almost lynched by a […]
Daily Times: Abid Hashmi was garlanded and praised for his ‘heroism’ for calling Ahmedis dogs. The shopkeepers of Hafeez Centre, in their persistence of hate, have put up even bigger posters calling on the state to make Ahmedis wear their religious identity, calling for their apartheid A campaign that strategically […]
independent.co.uk: A recent Dutch experiment involved members of the public being read out violent or misogynistic passages from a scriptural text. At first they were told these verses were from the Qur’an, and those listening expressed their horror. ‘How could anyone believe in this!?’ one woman exclaimed. Several individuals then […]
Tribune: BERLIN: German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on Sunday said Saudi Arabia must stop financing fundamentalist mosques abroad which are accused of breeding extremism. “From Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi mosques are financed throughout the world,” said Gabriel. #SueMeSaudi goes viral after Saudi govt threatens to sue anyone comparing them to ISIS “In […]