Shades Of Hindutva– Examining Challenges From Within And Without

Shades Of Hindutva– Examining Challenges From Within And Without By Tufail Ahmad, New Age Islam 28 Jan 2016 Hindutva, a stock of knowledge and way of life unique to Indian civilisation, is being viewed differently and is facing challenges from within and without. On January 21, M. Venkaiah Naidu, India's Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, tweeted: "Feeling immensely motivated by seeing the great Hindu monk of India, Swami Vivekananda, who has taken…[the] message of Hindutva across the globe."1 Naidu made the comment after visiting the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari. In this sense, Hindutva is seen as a universal way of life, and was presented in this meaning by Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago Parliament of the World's...

In Pakistan, like Saudi Arabia

In Pakistan, like Saudi Arabia By Khaled Ahmed January 30, 2016 In December 2015, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), an apex constitutional body suggesting further “Islamising” of the law in Pakistan, witnessed a comic scene. The chief of the CII nearly came to blows with a member who protested what he thought was a rather arbitrary agenda of the day. The chief priest — Islam forbids priesthood — Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani wanted to reopen discussion on the re-apostatisation of the already apostatised Ahmadi community. Member Maulana Tahir Ashrafi thought the item was not notified earlier and protested loudly enough to have his shirtfront grabbed by the chief while other overweight followers of Sherani towered over him threateningly. Sherani,...

Armed Teachers: How Can One Expect A Teacher To Carry A Gun In One Hand And Pen In The Other?

By Dr Ejaz Hussain 30 January 2016 Undoubtedly, Pakistan is passing through another critical juncture where extremism and terrorism have engulfed our society and state. The state initially nourished forces that believe in transnational jihadism to establish a universal Islamic state; the one claimed in parts of Syria and Iraq is just the tip of the iceberg. When Pakistani military authorities decided to ally Pakistan with the US-led War on Terror (WoT) post-9/11, certain militant organisations, owing to their peculiar ideological and corporate interests, turned against the Pakistani state by launching suicide attacks on state institutions. Similarly, while there were some militant organisations whose top leadership did not prefer...

Dispossessed in the Name of 'Security'

Dispossessed in the Name of 'Security' By Robert J. Burrowes, New Age Islam 30 January 2016 A new book, edited by Nick Buxton and Ben Hayes, both involved with The Transnational Institute, brings together a thoughtful collection of scholars, journalists and activists to explain the pre-eminence of the military and corporations in shaping the global response to the climate catastrophe as an 'opportunity'. See 'The Secure and the Dispossessed: How the Military and Corporations are Shaping a Climate-Changed World'. http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745336961& Do you think that this catastrophe is an 'opportunity'? In a series of chapters both in the book and online, we are thoughtfully guided through a deeper understanding...

Farahnaz Ispahani’s book, bravely records near extinction of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, Hindus, Christians and Jews, and focuses on intensifying sectarian conflict

Farahnaz Ispahani’s book, bravely records near extinction of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, Hindus, Christians and Jews, and focuses on intensifying sectarian conflict By Ashok Malik 30 January 2016 Farahnaz Ispahani’s recent book, Purifying the Land of the Pure: Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, is a detailed and extremely educative account of the tragic history of her country. A well-known political activist and writer, Ms Ispahani bravely and categorically records not just the near-annihilation of religious minorities — Hindus, Christians and Pakistan’s now extinct Jews — from the nation founded by Jinnah, but also the intensifying sectarian conflict. She worries, as others have, that a country born as a homeland for...

ISIS, Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Other Islamist Terrorists are Kharijites? An Analysis of 40 Major Characteristics of Kharijites

By Ghulam Ghaus, New Age Islam 30 January 2016 Is it fair to describe Members of ISIS, Taliban and their likes as Kharijites or Khawarij? A number of Sunni religious scholars (‘Ulema) have identified these modern terrorists as neo-Kharijites. On the contrary, some argue that Kharijite ideas were particular to a historical period and could not re-emerge among these terrorists. How should a Muslim respond to these contradictory views? Should he or she believe such ‘Ulema’ or be neutral? Such are the questions answered in this article, with reference to 40 significant characteristics of the Kharijites. Who are the Khawarij? Before we begin, we must of necessity understand the concept of Khawarij. The Arabic term “Al-Khawarij is...