Since the dramatic killing of Osama bin Laden, Pakistan is increasingly in the news. According to the bulletins, it is the land which may yet fall into the hands of absolutists, terrorist fundamentalists. I understand what the reporters mean, of course. However, I also smile at the irony. My visit […]
Until now, and with few exceptions, the West has nurtured two distinct communities of foreign-policy specialists: the development community and the democratic community. More often than not, they have had little or no connection with one another: development specialists dealt comfortably with dictatorships and democracies alike, believing that prosperity can […]
By ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: The introduction of advanced technology to make Haj and Umrah more comfortable for pilgrims will be the main topic at a forum looking at the annual pilgrimages. The forum of Haj studies will be organized by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute of Haj […]
By ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: Speaker of the Shoura Council Abdullah Al-Asheikh said on Thursday the council was ready to discuss the issue of women driving if it was asked to. “The issue has not so far been tabled with the council for discussion,” he said, adding that not every issue […]
The Circassians, an indigenous people of the northwest Caucasus region, are a non-Arab, Islamic people originally from the Caucasus region of western Asia. Southward Russian expansion during the 19th century forced between 1.5 and two million Circassians to emigrate south to the Ottoman Empire following the 19th century Russian-Circassian war, […]
By Omar Obeidat AMMAN –– Jordan received a JD283 million ($400 million) grant from Saudi Arabia, Finance Minister Mohammad Abu Hammour announced Thursday. The grant, which falls under the projected grants in 2011 state budget, will contribute to implementing several capital projects included in the budget and will also help […]
OFTEN people object to the term ‘feminism’ as being a western one. One maulana when invited to speak in a workshop of this title refused to come as he considered feminism un-Islamic. Is the use of this term objectionable from an Islamic viewpoint? Not at all. In fact, Islam is […]
German gay and lesbian groups are outraged at an item posted on the website of an association of Catholic doctors that offers psychotherapy and homeopathic treatment for homosexuality. The Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD) has called the offer of advice an “insult” and an “imposition,” and accused the […]
In the years after the passing away of Muhammad, the next stage of legal development began with the rise of “proto-qadis” (judges) who, though appointed by political authorities, quickly achieved a measure of independence from the “state.” These proto-qadis, according to Hallaq, began as arbitrators, administrators, even storytellers, but they quickly began […]
The trial of MP Geert Wilders on inciting hatred and discrimination charges wound up on Wednesday with the MP breaking his near silence to address the judges directly and call on them to find him not guilty. The trial will formally close on June 9 with the verdict due on […]
Dutch builder and evangelist Johan Huibers has nearly finished a full-size version of Noah’s Ark. The boat is 130 metres long, 30 metres wide and 23 metres high. The same as the measurements given in the Old Testament. RNW ‘The story is not made up; it is in the Bible, […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three academics say there was a bubble in LinkedIn Corp’s shares during the first four days of its trading, which they have determined definitively using a model they designed. The three have devised a model they say can establish in real time whether prices in a […]
Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in economical advanced countries. Childhood obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index in or above the 95th percentile. In the United States, 17% of children age 2-19 are obese. A study conducted by the World Health Organization in Europe estimated that 24% […]
An honest study of the causes of the Dark Ages and European renaissance will lead to the inevitable conclusion that Muhammad, may peace be on him, was the Light of the Dark Ages. John Davenport writes in an apology for Mohammed and the Koran: “It is in the compositions of Friar […]
The New Zealand entrant in the US “Olympics of spelling” has been eliminated, although she did not botch her words on stage. Belinda Gibbon, 14, from Wellington Girls’ College, correctly spelled “terraqueous” meaning consisting of, or formed of, land and water, and “upsilon”, the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet […]
McDonald’s is to apologise for the quality of their coffees served in Australia, and better blends and barista training are to be brought in to see the standard improve on this side of the ditch as well. The company has conceded its coffee is not up to scratch for its […]
WASHINGTON — No American president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has won a second term in office when the unemployment rate on Election Day topped 7.2 percent. Seventeen months before the next election, it is increasingly clear that President Obama must defy that trend to keep his job. Roughly 9 percent […]
Patriarch calls for finding solutions to national problems Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai said on Thursday that Lebanese parties should seek common goals and find solutions to national problems. “We are meeting here today and we are aware that in Lebanon we separate between religion and statehood,” Rai told the press […]
A new poll shows parents are split over whether their newborns should be screened for fragile X syndrome, the most common type of inherited mental disability. The findings fuel an ongoing debate over which conditions should be part of mandatory newborn screening programs in the US. Fragile X syndrome, or […]
By Elena CASAS In Friday’s papers, Liberation puts former minister Luc Ferry on the front cover as ‘Dirty Ferry’ after he alleged – without naming names – that a colleague had been arrested for paedophilia. Le Parisien asks if this is the end of the French macho, now that the […]