ISIS’ Millenarian Theory and its Refutation: Perspectives from Islam on Mahdaviat Doctrine and its Misinterpretations (Part 2)

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 30 May 2016 Note: A large part of the attraction of ISIS for Muslim youth is its millenarian thesis. It has convinced many that end of times is at hand, that they are engaged in the end-times battle, the Malhama. This has made the war they are engaged in imperative and urgent. Millenarianism or Islamic Eschatology, ilm-e-Aakhiruzzaman, was an inspiration behind some ideologues of al-Qaeda as well. But Osama bin Laden himself and most of his ideologues did not emphasize it much. As for ISIS, even in its previous avatar as Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīdwa-al-Jihād (The Organisation of Monotheism and Jihad) founded in 1999 by Jordanian radical Abu Musab al-Zarqawi which later pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda,...

Islam's Economics: Religiosity of What Is In It for Me and Spirituality of What Is In It for Humanity

By Rashid Samnakay, New Age Islam 30 May 2016 From a layperson’s perspective of Economics! Case a): It is often shown in the media the leaders of Muslim countries performing religious rites when in office to bolster their standing in the nation. Not uncommon is the allegation that the publicity stunt was political and at the expense of the nation’s treasury. Case b): Many individuals, in various countries who of their own, take in abandoned new-born children, some even disabled, to foster and nurture. The case of an elderly couple in Japan who have installed fully wired comfortable safe box named ‘Baby Cot’ at their house and the ‘Palnaa’ - Cradle- of Eidhi Foundation of Pakistan are examples of practical selfless acts, purely for Goodness sake. The case a) is ‘Selfish Effort’ for...

The Barelwi-Deobandi Truce? More Than Meets The Eye

        By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam 30 May 2016 It was rather surprising that the Barelwi leader Tauqeer Raza Khan would visit Deoband, hold an hour long discussion and plead for maslaki unity among the Muslims. It is surprising because both these maslaks (schools of thought, sub-sects of Sunni Islam) think that the other is not following the true path of Islam and that the refutation of each other’s teachings in writings form an important core of their respective works. For the Barelwis, the Deobandis, whom they accuse of being disrespectful to the Prophet, are to be treated as kafirs (infidels) and many of their sermons warn Muslims of the danger of praying behind a Deobandi imam. The Deobandis, on their...

When Being Curious About Islam and Muslims Was the Hip Thing to Do

By Ishaan Tharoor April 22, 2016 Lindsay Lohan, the American actress, is said to be "exploring" Islam. Speculation was first stirred by a photograph of the celebrity carrying a copy of the Quran while completing a stint of community service. This week, in an interview with the Sun, Lohan told the British tabloid that she was indeed reading Islam's holy book. "I’m a very spiritual person and I’m really open to learning," she said. "America has portrayed holding a Koran in such a different way to what it actually is. We all believe in something and at the end of the day it all ties to a god or a spiritual adviser." She wasn't converting to a new religion, just learning more. "Lindsay has always been very spiritual and is open to...

Why the Saudi Attempt to Modernize Their Society Is Bound To Fail

By Stephan Richter May 31, 2016 Saudi royals’ reform agenda cannot be achieved, no matter how many consultants provide grand designs. Without oil, Saudi Arabia doesn't amount to anything worthy of note. That die was cast decades ago. The Saudis pay well and there are plenty of Western hustlers determined to make big bucks. If only it were so easy… First, you spend decades on the basis of a rotten social compact that has two generations of young Saudis (men, of course) idle away in the public sector bureaucracy, while being handsomely paid for doing nothing by their oil-flush government. On top of that, those same men – often not just do-nothings, but know-nothings – have gotten used to having labourers as well as medium- and highly skilled workers from other nations work as their...

London versus ISIS

By Dominique Moisi May 30, 2016 “I feel so proud of my city,” my interlocutor says, referring to the election of the first Muslim, Sadiq Khan, as Mayor of London. She is Catholic, though she identifies first and foremost as British. But, like many other Londoners, she was inspired by Khan’s message of hope over fear. Khan’s election contrasts sharply with dynamics that seem to be at work elsewhere in the West. European populations – in Hungary and Poland and with a close call in Austria – are falling prey to increasingly radical, openly xenophobic populism. In the United States, Donald Trump’s bombastic bigotry has won him the Republican nomination for the presidency. Londoners certainly had the option of intolerance. They could...

Pakistan’s National Psyche: The Missing Self Esteem

By Syed Ata Hasnain May 31, 2016 I sometimes wonder what it must be like to be a citizen of Pakistan. I often meet the elite Pakistani citizenry which paints a picture that all is well at home. Sipping mojitos, they speak of Clifton in Karachi and high-end shopping; money seems to be oozing out of their pockets. Yet, facts give it all away. To attend a conference or simply to travel as tourists, Pakistanis can never be sure how long it will take them to get a visa; although officially, 29 countries are listed in websites, which grant them visa-on-arrival, as compared to India’s 59. To be perceived worldwide as a nation which sponsors terror, is the core centre of Radicalism and which concerns itself least with development and welfare...