Shahbag Square — where’s that? Abdul Kader Mullah — who’s he? A bunch of university students in Islamabad, with whom I was informally conversing yesterday, hadn’t heard of either. Of course, they knew of Tahrir Square and Afzal Guru’s recent…
Tag Archive for Islam
Freedom to Kill, Taliban Style
by Masood Raja •
To say that the murder of 82 of our fellow citizens is an atrocity is stating the obvious: But to make the Laskar-e-Jhangvi and members of other such monstrosities to see it as a monstrous act is another questions. How…
Roots of Fundamentalism
by Qaisar Abbas •
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…
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…
Comments: The trouble with being a "Pakistan analyst", By Amélie Blom
by Masood Raja •
Amélie Blom (assistant professor, Sciences Po Paris-Campus Asie; co-editor, South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal http://samaj.revues.org) There are, sometimes, strange coincidences. I read an article published in Dawn‘s electronic edition by Michael Kugelman (a “Pakistan analyst” working as a Senior Program…
Shooting Malala Yousafzai: Another Low in Taliban Politics of Death
by Masood Raja •
It was not a random act of violence: it was a targeted shooting sanctioned by the higher echelons of Taliban in Swat. The target: a fourteen year old, courageous girl who chose to speak against the Taliban. That this is…
Muslim-Baiting to Muslim Hating
by Masood Raja •
At least five people are dead, including a dedicated US diplomat who had risked his life during the Libyan revolution to stand with the people of Libya against the tyranny of Qaddafi. These people certainly did not deserve to die…
On Dishonest Maulvis, Harsh Laws, and Minority Rights
by Masood Raja •
Last year when the case was being made to alter or abolish the blasphemy laws, the argument from the liberal and progressive minority of Pakistan was mobilized primarily to point out as to how the law could be misused to…
Pakistaniaat: Print Version of Vol. 4.1 Just Published!
by Masood Raja •
I just want to share that we have now published the print version of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies Vol. 4, No. 1 (2012). Please take a look and do order a copy HERE. All sales of our print…