The textbooks being used in Madrassas were originally written in Arabic centuries ago. The books on philosophy and logic were written in thirteen and fourteen centuries. Books on health and medicine, written in the eleventh century, are still considered relevant…
Religion
Shams-ul-Iqbal Shams: Pakistani Artist and Calligrapher
by Masood Raja •
Last week was the second time in a year that I had the pleasure of visiting the old campus of International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI). On both these occasions, I was there for an academic conference, and while there was…
Restoring Pakistan's Buddhist past
by Parveen Talpur •
The recent news about the restoration of the defaced Buddha’s images in Swat is a strong message to those who had been on a spree of vandalizing the pre-Islamic heritage in the region. Beginning in 2001 with the destruction of…
Lal Masjid: Rewarding an Insurrection
by Pervez Hoodbhoy •
The honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan says he is losing patience with the Capital Development Authority (CDA). In a court-initiated (suo motu) action, he wants a quick rebuilding of the Jamia Hafsa madrassa, flattened by bulldozers in 2007, after it…
Hamza Tzortzis – Pervez Hoodbhoy debate on Reason and Rationality in Islam
by Masood Raja •
Background: Tzortzis (Greek, lives in London) converted to Islam and is now hugely popular among young Muslims. Pervez Hoodbhoy received a doctorate in nuclear physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology…
Shi’a Muslims: halal meat?
by Gabriele Marranci •
Recently, those who have been following the news may have noticed an increase of terrorist attacks and the general persecution of Shi’a Muslims, particularly within Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and recently Palestine together with less reported, but still…
On Neutrinos and Angels
by Pervez Hoodbhoy •
The news from CERN was stunning: the European nuclear science laboratory had just discovered (September 2011) that particles known as neutrinos – called so because they are neutral and carry no charge – habitually travel a little bit faster…
Salman Taseer Remembered
by Pervez Hoodbhoy •
Governor Salman Taseer died at the hands of a religious fanatic on January 4 last year. Fearlessly championing a deeply unpopular cause, this brave man had sought to revisit the country’s blasphemy law which, as he saw it, was…
Supreme Court’s Karachi verdict
by Abbas Zaidi •
No individual, party, or group (excepting Jamaat-e-Islami) has tried to read deeper into the Supreme Court’s verdict on Karachi’s law and order problem. It seems politically correct to shower praise on the verdict and express the desire to implement the…