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A spirit like Salahuddin's: How Kurdish Muslims downed ISIS
From September 25 through October 19, 2014, a battle raged on ostensibly for a piece of land in the center of the planet, but it could well have been for the very soul of Islam. The self-proclaimed...
View ArticleHow deep-rooted are jihadists in Canada?
We have dreaded this, but knew it may happen one day. An armed assailant attacked the Canadian Parliament and other sites in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. Killing one soldier; and injuring at least three...
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Political Islam: An evolutionary history
The term ‘Political Islam’ is an academic concoction. It works as an analytical umbrella under which political analysts club together various political tendencies that claim to be using Muslim...
View ArticleBeing Pakistani in New York: Outside 'Shitzad', it ain't all bad
I am a thoroughbred Pakistani; born and raised. All my ideas about the far-fetched land known as ‘America’ were based on films and television. I believed people just got drunk, lost their best friend...
View ArticleFor sale in Dubai
In Joseph O’ Neill’s new novel set in Dubai, the American protagonist describes the brown migrant workers that make the city go round “as color coded ants swarming all over a construction site”. Even...
View Article'What sectarian killings?'
Pakistan has its share of Voldemorts – the dark lords who cannot be named – but none as powerful as this lot: the banned sectarian outfits and their leaders. They kill with impunity, and then move on...
View ArticleProcessed: Pakistan's unhealthy trend
In recent years, Pakistanis have increasingly turned their consumer preferences around from natural foods to commercially produced processed foods. This comes much at the expense of our health and our...
View Article'We are good Muslims, but Americans too'
The annual congregations of the Islamic Society of North America and the Islamic Circle of North America, two umbrella organisations, attract tens of thousands of people, mostly young.These are people...
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Wiki Loves Monuments: Top 10 pictures from Pakistan
Wiki Loves Monuments: Top 10 pictures from Pakistan are here!By Saqib Qayyum ChoudhryIf you've ever tried looking for free photos of Pakistan’s cultural heritage sites online, you will know how hard it...
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Unstoppable: Two workers risking lives to fight bonded labour in Sindh
A former bonded labourer and a doctor. A Hindu woman and a Muslim man with the same vision and determination; when they get together, you feel that anything is possible in Pakistan.I first met them...
View ArticleWhy adoption was my first choice
Today, I ran across a neighbour of ours, a sweet, old aunty inquiring why she hadn’t seen me around lately. I smiled and told her we had a baby girl, eight-weeks-old now. Her face lit up. She proceeded...
View ArticleFrom world stage to economic center stage: Pakistani women, let the rise begin
In the last few years, Pakistan has done quite a brilliant job – especially for a developing country – of making a mark on the international stage. We have seen Pakistanis garner a Nobel Prize, an Emmy...
View ArticleBurka Avenger, the award-winning controversy
Success is a trend set by the successful. There have always been intense, heated, debates on the subject of “success”. It starts from nothing, rises to its peak and then drops to back to nothing....
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The story of Hyderabad's obscure temple
Catching a glimpse can sometimes be very powerful. I experienced this when I first noticed an old temple-like structure, located near the Western ramparts of the Pakka Fort. It was a Friday; a...
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From kindergarten to CSS: The 'cram to pass' model abounds
Miss! Important sawalon par tick lagwa dein!(Teacher, please tell us which of the questions are important ones).If you were raised in Pakistan and studied in a Pakistani school – whether private or...
View ArticleThe Model UN fiasco: A dialogue with intolerance
You know you’re intolerant, when you cannot even bear a ‘mock’ Israeli delegation in your university, let alone handle dialogue with a real one.Recently, turmoil ensued at the model United Nations...
View ArticleNow is the time to absorb Fata into Pakistan
A Punjabi joke from the '90s captures Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s predicament today quite well:Nawaz goes up to his father for a talk:Nawaz: "Abba jee, if things go bad, what do we do?"Abba jee:...
View ArticleAgha Siraj Durrani — the pre-eminent philosopher of our times
I have to say, I am outraged at all the social media flak being handed out to Agha Siraj Durrani, Speaker of the Sindh Assembly, for claiming that the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi will protect Karachi...
View ArticleAlcohol consumption in Pakistan: Don't mix sin with crime
Consuming pork is sinful and forbidden in Islam. However, Islamic law does not prescribe whipping or incarceration to those who consume pork. The religious doctrine may prohibit certain behaviours and...
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Uprisings and Downfalls: Attempts at ousting Pakistani governments
Action, reactionThere have so far been four major political movements in Pakistan that attempted to unseat a sitting government. Three of these movements were against military rule and one targeted an...
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