Moderate Islam Archive
Iran is becoming a more mature and modern country – Oliver August (The Economist): The most visible shift is in public infrastructure. Tehran, the capital, is a tangle of new tunnels, bridges, overpasses, elevated roads and pedestrian walkways. Shiny towers rise in large numbers, despite the sanctions. Screens at bus stops display
‘No future for secularism or radical Islam’: An interview with Javaid Ahmed Ghamidi – by Shehrbano Taseer: Related articles: LUBP Archive on Javed Ghamidi Javaid Ahmed Ghamidi does not breathe fire and brimstone. As someone who preaches tolerance and reason, he is not your typical Pakistani religious scholar. And he has had to pay a price
What will become of Pakistan’s moderates now? -by Daud Khattak: It has been three days since the killing of Salman Taseer, governor of Pakistan’s largest federal unit, Punjab, by a lone assassin in the country’s fortified capital of Islamabad. While the high-profile killing leaves a serious question mark hanging
A friend of the Jews, looking to save Islam from itself -by Barbara Kay: According to Israeli literary lion Hillel Halkin, Islam is “an insult to human intelligence.” That’s a harsh assessment, but then Islam is also harsh in its assessment of Jews, so one might say it’s a saw-off on the phobia
The warrior who became a martyr – by Shehzad Saleem: (Written on the Martyrdom of Dr Muhammad Farooq Khan) He lived like an undaunted warrior and died the death of a martyr. For the past few years, he gallantly stared death in its eyes as he continued to vehemently
Mad in the middle- By Nadeem F. Paracha: The political and social aspects of Islam in Pakistan can be seen as existing in and emerging from three distinct clusters of thought. These clusters represent the three variations of political and social Islam that have evolved in
The battle of ideas: Vision and ideology of Abdoul Karim Saroush — by Ishrat Saleem: Saroush has made an important distinction between the individual and collective aspects of religion. Collective form of religion tends to obfuscate the individual experience of divinity due to its overemphasis on the ritual and legal aspect I have the
Islami nizam – by Wahiduddin Khan: Here is another article by Moulana Waheedudeen khan on Islami Nizam. Contributed by: Farhan Qaisar
Political interpretation of religion – by Wahiduddin Khan: Introduction (adapted from Yoginder Sikand’s article in Milli Gazette) Coming to terms with the challenges of modernity has been a major concern of many Muslim scholars and Islamic activists. How can Islam as a universal ideology be expressed in
Contra Sufism – by Aziz Ali Dad: “People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don’t know is what what they do does.” -Michel Foucault Amar Jaleel wrote a wonderful article ‘Antithesis of Sufism’ in this newspaper on
A secular state is a moral state — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: The modern secular-democratic state must ensure that all individuals as well as majorities and minorities enjoy freedom of religion and conscience and the political right to choose their government In the last few weeks the Daily Times has carried
Taliban kill Jaspal Singh and the mullahs keep mum — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: Photo Source: BBC Urdu A time to humanise Islam There is a screaming silence from the custodians of Islam — the ulema — on the execution of Jaspal Singh, probably because he was not a Muslim. The Muslim masses
The rightward march of Pakistan under the leadership of PML-N – by Nadeem Paracha: The active emergence of a revamped PML-N supplemented by an alarmist new electronic media can be detected as a more vocal arrival of the New Right in Pakistan. The rightward march By Nadeem F. Paracha Saturday, 27 Feb, 2010
A brief history of extremism in Pakistan – by Hassan Amin: Ever since the inception of Pakistan, Extremist Mullahs have always been vying to hijack the State. When I refer to the term ‘Extremist Mullahs’, I draw a line to separate, ‘Islamist Fanatics with a Political Agenda’ from the simple
Secularism vs Islamism – by Iqbal Akhund: In a recent TV debate on this subject, the applause meter would have given the win to Islamism. The debaters, three on each side, faced a small mixed audience — quite a few girls, many wearing hijabs, also young
Back towards tolerance in Pakistani society – by Charles Ferndale and Kamila Hayat: Here are two articles highlighting the importance of re-discovering and re-inculcating the seeds of tolerance in Pakistani society and the region in general. The path to freedom Monday, February 22, 2010 Charles Ferndale Kamila Hyat, in a typically lucid,
Pakistan’s Jinnah – by Ayesha Siddiqa: “Some devious elements are tinkering with Jinnah’s person and his narrative” Writes Ayesha Siddiqa in the following article. Some time ago, I had a chance to read veteran columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee’s article ‘Bring back Jinnah’s Pakistan’ in which he
Sufi chants and revolutions — by Dr Manzur Ejaz: If one reads Punjabi classical poetry, with no presumption of Sufism, it is just good poetry of a certain period that has withstood the test of time. I do not know anybody who would claim that just reading and
Peshawar romantics defy Taliban for Valentine’s: Thanks: Dawn, 13 Feb 2010 This picture taken on February 11, 2010, shows a woman choosing Valentine’s Day gifts at a shop in Peshawar. — AFP PESHAWAR: Hip young romantics in Pakistan’s most dangerous city are splashing out on
Past present: Is Sufism relevant to our time? – by Mubarak Ali: There are some people who, in view of the present religious extremism, believe that if Sufi teachings are revived, religious intolerance and fundamentalism may be controlled. The attempt to revive the past system and old ideas is not a
Secularism does not mean atheism or la-deeniat: Here are two excellent articles on this topic. The first one has been written by Anand Krishan in Indonesian context, and the second one by Munno Bhai in Pakistani context. Promoting faith-based secularism Anand Krishna Jakarta – 01/18/2010 When
Right click for revolution: the laptop revolutionaries of Pakistan – by Nadeem F. Paracha: Right click for revolution Anyone questioning the padded extremism and soft authoritarianism peddled by enlightened moderation is a liberal extremist who is undermining religion and promoting corrupt politicians and violent ethnic thugs. Just what exactly was Pervez Musharraf’s ‘enlightened
At Afghan women’s cost – by Sahar Saba: The US attempts to broker a deal with the Taliban have neither surprised nor upset Afghan women. The Afghan woman is not like naive liberals across the world who are deeply frustrated over this US betrayal. The liberals had
Quran and Peace – by Hamid Akhtar: Here is an excerpt from Hamid Akhtar’s speech in a Seminar titled “Quran and Peace” (held on 1 February 2010).
The scholar, the sufi, and the fanatic – by Nadeem Paracha: Roughly speaking, the political and social aspects of Islam in Pakistan can be seen as existing in and emerging from three distinct sets and clusters of thought. These clusters represent the three variations of political and social Islam that
The need for a critical examination of Islamic history and an alternative discourse: The backwards forward Posted by Nadeem F. Paracha There is an urgent need in the Muslim world to think anew about a lot of issues, not to appease the West, but to co There is an informative debate show
Khwaja Ghulam Farid: The 108th Urs celebrations of renowned sufi mystic of Sub-continent,poet Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Farid commences at Kot
A Religion Of Peace – By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan: The big question on everyone’s mind is how to solve the problem of terrorism. On the one hand, the authorities are trying to crush the terror menace through legal action; and on the other hand, reformers are trying to
Death of intellect in Pakistan: Dr Khalid Masud and other members of the CII are being pilloried today by extremists /Ziaists…: In a recent article, a scholar has advised the intellectual in the Pashtun region of Pakistan to take the lead in the country’s search for solutions to Talibanisation. Earlier, Pakistan’s martyred leader Benazir Bhutto in her book Reconciliation: Islam,
Being secular and a Muslim – By Aneela Babar: By Aneela Babar IF Pakistan had an annual Eid address to the nation, much like the Queen’s Christmas address, the president would not have been amiss in quoting her in referring to the past year as Pakistan’s annus horribilis.