How China kept lid on Ramadan

In the aftermath of violent protests by Uighurs, a Muslim minority in China’s far northwest, authorities deepened their campaign against religious practices. September 11, 2011|By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Reporting from Beijing — At a teachers college in far northwestern China, students were irritated to find that their professors […]

Islamism’s war on women

NAtional Post: On Monday, three Muslim women spoke at the Heliconian Hall in downtown Toronto at an event titled “Islamism’s war against women.” Journalist and activist Raheel Raza argued that the legal code known as sharia has no basis in religion – but rather is a political artifice created as […]

Honour killings

National Post: Areport on domestic violence among South Asian immigrants, released last week at Toronto police headquarters, recommends that the words “honour killing” be shunned in legal and civic discourse. The rationale for the recommendation is that providing a motivation for the crime – “honour” – implies a defence for […]

Understanding honour killings

National Post The following is a condensed version of a speech delivered by National Post columnist Barbara Kay on Monday at the “Islamism’s War Against Women” seminar in Toronto. Every time I write about honour killings of girls or women in which the father or brother who killed them claimed, […]

Meeting of Religious Scholars in Germany

Source: Qantara Under the banner “Bound to live together”, an international peace congress promoting dialogue and reconciliation was held in Munich with representatives from all major religions. Yet, issues such as the Middle East conflict, the Arab Spring, and the role of Islam in Europe pose new challenges for Jews, […]

Abbas Appeals to the World’s Conscience

Source: Spiegel International At the UN on Friday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appealed for recognition of an independent Palestinian state in a statesmanlike speech. His appearance may have won Palestinians sympathy abroad — but it does little to advance their cause. He kept the most dramatic statement for the […]

The pope in Berlin

source. dawn.com GERMANY took a much-needed breather this week from its unsought role as eurozone saviour to engage in some painful soul-searching on faith and religion. The reason for the change in gear? The first official visit to his home country by German-born Pope Benedict XVI. Hopes that the brief […]

Why kings don’t leer?

source: TOI on Line  All power comes from the preservation and sublimation of the vitality that is responsible for the creation of life” – Mahatma Gandhi, as quoted in Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph’s book, Postmodern Gandhi and Other Essays. Long before Anna Hazare boasted about the power of his brahmacharya […]

Holy Qur’an questions answered

Source : Chatham Daily News When American pastor Terry Jones burned the Quran, Muslim-Canadian youth got fired up. Not with hate or revenge, but with a burning desire to show Canadians the similarities between Islam and Western religions. “We talk about the commonality, we don’t talk about the differences,” said […]

Another reason to quit Facebook!

Source:  Facebook’s New Grab for More Data The network’s new redesign aims to get you to provide more info they can use to serve you ads—and make more money. The question is whether users will be in control of privacy, says Justin Brookman. by Justin Brookman | September 23, 2011 1:33 AM […]

Palestinians submit UN statehood bid

Source: Yahoo News UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, Palestinians asked the United Nations on Friday to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of failed negotiations in the hope this dramatic move on the world stage would reenergize their quest for an independent […]