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Thursday, August 31, 2023

Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan under the Taliban

By Adis Duderija, New Age Islam 31 August 2023 The resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan some two years ago has marked a devastating setback for women's rights in the country. The severity of the situation is highlighted by a joint report by Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, Chair of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. Their report unequivocally states that women and girls in Afghanistan are enduring extreme discrimination that amounts to gender persecution and can be characterized as gender apartheid. In this article I want to describe the harrowing realities faced by Afghan women and emphasize the urgent need for international intervention. Photo: Renew Europe ----- Systematic...

When Raksha Bandhan Was Celebrated as Beautiful Tradition to Strengthen Hindu-Muslim Ties!

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 31 August 2023 The [true] believers are brothers [and sisters] among them. So, make peace between your brothers [and sisters] and remain mindful of God, so that you may receive mercy. (The Holy Qur'an 49:10) The bond between a brother and a sister is unique. It is full of love, unconditional support, camaraderie, fights and friendship. The beautiful Indian festival of Raksha Bandhan beautifully seeks to strengthen the bond between brothers and sisters. Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan — the fifth month of the luni-solar calendar. It has great significance for the entire Indian subcontinent, as it is connected to the arrival of the South-West monsoons. Shravan is also considered a month of Upvaas or fasting. Etymologically,...

Introduction And Imposition of a Fear Factor Is an Infallible Political Strategy

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 31 August 2023 Mohit Yadav, a bus conductor hailing from Mainpuri and formerly employed by Uttar Pradesh Roadways, tragically took his own life by leaping in front of a train on Monday. This distressing act followed his dismissal, stemming from a viral video that captured him halting a bus to allow two Muslim passengers to pray in Bareilly. Mohit Yadav ----- Alas, Mohit Yadav's nice gesture of goodwill resulted in his dismissal! A non-Muslim showing consideration and a sense of understanding and accommodation towards Muslim passengers was actually an act of goodness that should have been praised by all and sundry. Had he been a Muslim, this act could have invited criticism. Even in that case, a dressing- down would have been enough. But he wasn't a Muslim....

Rising Religious Extremism and Intolerance A Cause of Great Concern for Humanity

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 30 August 2023 Security Council Resolution Should Be Implemented By All Member Countries To Prevent Hate Speech And Incitement To Violence. Main Points: 1. Religious extremism has spread across religious communities. 2. Earlier only Islamic countries witnesses large scale religious extremism. 3. Denmark and Sweden have become a centre of religious intolerance in recent years. 4. India has seen a sharp rise in religious extremism and intolerance against minorities. 1. 5.Religious violence creates a vicious cycle of hatred and violence. ------ Religious extremism, demonstrations of hate and violence in the name of religion has risen sharply in the world in recent years and its circle is constantly widening. Earlier, only Islamic countries...

Muddled And Addled Theories

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 30 August 2023 “The sexual pleasures of Paradise mentioned in the verses of the Quran are a symbol of spiritual connection rather than a sublimated version of the pleasures of worldly sexuality. Even though what one experiences on earth is only a mirror of paradise, one can only make allusions to paradise through the language of the earthly sexual union since it is the purest and most potent form of physical pleasure one may have on earth.” Can you make heads or tails of the aforementioned statement? Sex is sex. Adding spirituality to it makes it a guilt-ridden activity. Spirituality, like love, is the most overused term. Let spirituality and sex remain separate. The Quranic Houries are there for 'that' purpose only. Don't try to sugar-coat it. Quran, like...

Monday, August 28, 2023

Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan: Violent Non-State Actors Are Supremacist Criminals, Not Religious; Alleged 'Hurt Sentiments' Are A Mere Excuse

By Irfan Engineer, New Age Islam 28 August 2023 A mob vandalised and burnt eight churches and several homes in Pakistan following accusations of blasphemy on 16th August in Faisalabad district’s Jaranwala tehsil in Punjab province. Two Christian men have been charged by the local police under the blasphemy laws for desecrating the holy Quran and abusing Prophet Mohammed. One Christian’s home was vandalised and burnt down following accusation of blasphemy against Islam by him, besides other homes in a Christian colony. Churches vandalised include the Catholic Church, the Salvation Army Church and the Pentecostal Church, United Presbyterain Church, Allied Foundation Church, and Shehroonwala Church. The Moderator Bishop of the Church of Pakistan alleged that the Bible was desecrated and Christians...

Anti-Blasphemy Terrorism in Pakistan in A Global Perspective: The Role Of ‘Deep State' And Islamist Supremacist Ideology

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 28 August 2023 The army, the intelligence community, and/or other governmental organizations no longer make up Pakistan's deep state. Religious groups across the nation are the "state within the state's" predictable allies. There is a rising concern about the court joining the deep State group as a partner. An International Crisis Group assessment from a few years ago claimed that "the judiciary has failed to uphold the constitution and to oppose Islamic legislation that violates fundamental rights." The article made note of the fact that "the legacy of military rule in Pakistan includes discriminatory religious laws that undermine the rule of law, encourage vigilantism, and embolden religious extremists." The research highlighted how the nation's blasphemy...

Decoding Islamic Doctrine of Paradisical Houris

By Nur Ul Islam Sadequey, New Age Islam 28 August 2023 Recently released Bollywood movie ‘72 Hoorain’, although made to satiate rising domestic Islamophobia, has re-exposed the underbelly of Islamic eschatological doctrine where what the modern scholars of Islam have refuted, the classical ones had no qualms in admitting. So, what is it about? Let’s examine the theology of virgin houris in Islam and the milieu in which it developed. -------------------------------------------- Also Read: Are There Houris in the Jannah? -------------------------------------------- The Quranic term hoor or hoor ein has long intrigued Islamic scholars and critics alike for its ambiguity. The classical interpretation is almost unanimous that the term refers to young virgin ladies’ believers will be rewarded...

So-Called Sufi of Ranipur, Pakistan Rapes 9-Year-Old Girl and Leaves Her to Die

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 28 August 2023 Earlier Two Judges of Pakistan Tortured Minor Girls Working as Domestic Help. Main Points: 1. Peer of Ranipur Syed Asad Shah inflicted genital and anal trauma on the girl. 2. He slept after raping her and left her on the ground bleeding and writhing in pain. 3. The girl died of the wounds. 4. He was arrested and has denied the allegation. 5. Earlier judge Khurram Ali and his wife were convicted for torturing their minor domestic help. ------ Sufi of Ranipur Pir Asad Shah Jilani ----- Sexual crimes against minors are not uncommon in the Indian sub-continent. Criminals and sexual perverts commit such crimes in most of the cases. But these crimes mirror the collective mindset of a community when the perpetrators of such...

Musings of Raghupati Sahay 'Firaq' Gorakhpuri

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 28 August 2023 "Main Nahin Maanta Ke Log Waqt Aur Umr Ke Saath Behtar Hote Hain Ya Padh-Likh Jaane Se Insaan Ka Zehan Khulta Hai. Mera Tajurba Kahta Hai Ke Padha-Likha Insaan Har Maamle Mein Zyada Ziddi Hota Hai, Phir Woh Mazhab Ka Maamla Ho Ya Zindgi Se Jude Sawalaat Ka." (I don't agree that humans grow with time and age. Nor do I believe that an 'educated' person has an open mind. I've experienced that an educated person is often more stubborn in all matters, whether religion or the aspects of life). " Pakistani Urdu newspaper Nawa-e-Waqt quoted ' Firaq' Gorakhpuri's aforementioned quote the day he breathed his last on March 3, 1982 in Delhi. His Birth Anniversary is on August 28. In these difficult times, when humans, esp. 'educated' ones have become...

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Revivalism Of The Eternal Religion Of Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma) Or Successful 'Islamisation' Of Savarkar's Hindutva Ideology That RSS Had Been Working On For A Century? Muzaffarnagar School Incident Where A Woman Teacher Gets A Muslim Student Beaten Up By His Hindu Classmates For Being A "Mohammadan" Mirrors India's Present Day Society

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 26 August 2023 Main Points: 1. What happened to a poor little Muslim kid in Muzaffarnagar school is brutal, worrisome and an out-and-out dehumanisation of Muslims in India. 2. It shows that the hate has gone deep in our multi-religious society. From this incident, it is not difficult to gauge the mood of the country. 3. One can imagine what the little child has had to go through. This is a clear violation of the children's rights to education in a safe and healthy environment. 4. Every sensible citizen in our country would naturally speak up against this inhuman, anti-national, dastardly and outrightly communal incident. 5. Ideologically, it is clear that 'Hindutvavadis' and their sympathizers -- from politicians, religious leaders,...

Now Schools And Classrooms Are Places For Caste, Class And Creed!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 26 August 2023 The teacher got a Muslim kid slapped by other students in a viral video from Muzaffarnagar's Neha Public School. NCPCR has appealed every one to not share the video. A school teacher in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar made students slap a Muslim kid inside the classroom. A video of the incident which took place in Khabbarpur village has gone viral on social media and the police have begun a probe. ------ "I have declared Jitne Bhi Mohammedan Bachhe Hain..." the teacher was caught saying on camera while she called the rest of the class one after the other to take turns hitting the Muslim student. Shocking, to say the least! When teachers stoop to discrimination and this type of lowly behaviour, what will their students learn? We're going...

How Literature, Writers, and the Arts Can Help Fight Extremism

By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam 26 August 2023 Writers and Poets Must Emulate Sufism, Promoting Peace and Harmony Main Points: 1. Extremism is increasing globally. Preventing extremism is crucial, as we are surrounded by deadly scientific weapons and have a responsibility to contribute to its prevention. 2. NewageIslam.com promotes peace theology and de-radicalization. 3. Extremism involves denying others' opinions, blindly imposing beliefs, abandoning human decency, coercive exploitation, and hindering human progress. 4. Terrorism and extremism require authors and artists to promote human values through literature, TV, radio, and discussions, preventing conflicts and promoting diversity. ----- Everyone is aware that extremism is increasing in the modern world, despite the...

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