Year: 2006

If a Jinn asked me what wish I would like to be granted – I would ask that historical amnesia be erased from all peoples.  Alon Levy does a great job reminding us of how other immigrants were viewed by Americans.  A couple of grafs to whet your appetite: Islam and Christianity are so similar that they are almost, but not quite, the same religion. They’re both monotheistic, with all the cultural implications this carries. They both have a progressive view of the world, in which good works and proselytization will create an increasingly better world. Their eschatologies are remarkably…

Sorry to be out of touch for a while. I am preparing to move to Europe this month and things are getting both hectic and stressful. Just got back from Morocco, namely Rabat and Fes. Rabat is very pleasant, and Fes is amazing. The old medina is beautiful, the food is delicious, and the people warm. In the next three weeks I will be in Damascus, Dhaka, and Marrakech. It is good to get back to Muslim countries, if only to realise that people are the same were ever you go. The only difference being that Muslims will blow you…

Look on the bright side, at least its not a civil war. Shock and Awe more like Fucked and Flawed.

The Aga Khan Development Network is one of the largest private development networks in the world. It focuses on health, education, rural development, institution-building and the promotion of economic development. It is dedicated to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or gender. Last week, His Highness the Aga Khan annouced a funding agreement with the Goverment of Canada to establish a Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa. The Global Centre for Pluralism is a major new international centre for research, education and exchange about the values, practices and policies that underpin pluralist…

I have always been uncomfortable around Muslim women wearing the full veil or Burqa.  Growing up in Karachi,  I only knew one woman who wore a full veil – "Apaa" my Urdu and Quran teacher.  I just never encountered in my 12 years there many women who wore a veil.  Thus, now, it is so surprising for me to see Muslim women veiled in Western countries. On the one hand – the feminist in me wants to shake them up and say: "Why? Oh Why? are you doing this?" – but then the other feminist says: "Its a free world…