In a letter to Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum Iqbal wrote, ‘I have spent most of my life in the study of Western Philosophy, and its viewpoints have become second nature for me; intentionally or unintentionally I study the facts of Islam from the same viewpoints (see Khutbat-e-Iqbal by Justice Javed Iqbal). The entire focus of Iqbal’s work was on articulating the Western philosophical and scientific insights in terms of customary Islamic discourse in order to persuade his Muslim audience that the change, progress and innovation in religious thought were legitimate and consistent with Islamic principles. Iqbal’s thought was informed by Western philosophical perspectives...

There are times when life seems a bit too co-incidental. It makes you run into the same thing over and over again. Yesterday, while I was going through my daily newspaper routine, I chanced upon a photograph of a Baloch village. Scrawled across one of the walls were the words ‘Pakistan Murdabad’. The graffiti did not stand out; in fact, the words seemed to merge in with the rest of the photograph. Anyway, soon enough, my fickle brain moved on to other things and the photograph, like the graffiti in it, receded somewhere deep down in my cerebellum. Today, as I was sitting on a bench at the station waiting for my train, deeply engrossed in my newspaper, this Asian looking guy approached me, and asked me in Urdu “Hello, Aap mujhe bata sakte hain key eh train kab aayegi”. I told him what he about the train and resumed reading the newspaper. However, the guy wasn’t finished.

“I feel that at least several hundred scientists trained in the biomedical aspect of atomic energy – myself included – are candidates for Nuremberg-type trials for crimes against humanity for our gross negligence and irresponsibility. Now that we know the hazard of low-dose radiation, the crime is not experimentation – it’s murder.” Dr. John Gofman, former head of the biomedical division of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and one of those who helped develop the atomic bomb. In May of 1986, ornithologist Dr. David DeSante was studying bird births at Pt. Reyes, California. He noticed something peculiar: Hatchling numbers of most bird species had plunged by almost two-thirds compared to the previous year. They ruled out as a cause factors such as rainfall change, food availability...

Absolutely yes; in the face of secularism, mundane morality, consumerism, crime, and hedonism, the three monotheistic faiths have great influence in relieving our moral dilemma. Can any Muslim community afford to hesitate in participating in the establishment of a secular democratic system if it is unable to establish an Islamic democratic one?  The answer is no.  It is the religious duty of Muslims, as individuals and as communities, to contribute to the efforts to establish such a system. The above illustrated quotes reflect the polarization in the Muslim discourses around the world about the topic of secularism. We have scholars and intellectuals decrying secularism as the root of atheism, moral decadence and spiritual crises, on the other hand we have thinkers....

Over 6,000 labourers working in factories around SITE Area in Karachi have sought the religious decree (Fatwa) from Mufti Muhammad Naeem, Head of renowned Jamia Binoria Alamia, to declare theft, dacoity, loot and plunder – forbidden in Islam – as legal so that they could arrange food and living for their themselves and their families. “Declaring suicide as Haram, Islam allows pork eating in worst case scenario. Keeping the current circumstances in view, kindly issue a decree declaring theft, dacoity, loot and plunder as legal,” the application read. In their application for Fatwa, the labourers maintained that despite working for 10-12 hours daily in factories, they are unable to feed their dependents.

Most attempts made to date at profiling suicide bombers and their organizations have been centred around the Middle East. While some aspects of Middle East suicide terrorism appear to be quite different from the situation prevailing in Pakistan and Afghanistan today, there are also many common features. Regarding its background, for instance, suicide terrorism all over the world appears in asymmetrical conflict situations. Ami Pedahzur, in his book Suicide Trrorism, writes: “Suicide terrorism has made its appearance primarily in conflicts where the balance of power has been asymmetrical, meaning a relatively weak organization up against a strong state. This method of action has succeeded, in many cases, in minimizing the advantages of the military superiority of the stronger side...

“Young innocent minds are systematically indoctrinated to believe in making the ultimate sacrifice by offering their life for what they could get in the hereafter” says Maqbool A. Babri alias Max Babri, a renowned hypnotherapist and psychologist. Born in 1951, he did his Post Graduate Diploma in Psychology from University of Stockholm, Sweden. Apart from that, he has to his credit two other Post Graduate Diplomas from University of Umeå, Sweden. Prior to his arrival in Sweden, he did his Masters in Psychology from Punjab University and is now a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist (ACHE) from USA. Several publications under his name in the field of Employment Generation through “Small and Micro Enterprise Development” and “Supervisory Training for Enhanced Productivity” are frequently quoted by International Development Agencies.

Some say it was Maulana Barrel who started the drum rolling. Others blame Swat or even New York. However over the years it has found its way into the popular imagination and become a part of the mass culture, so that in every household, young people aspiring to make a mark on the world are training for martyrdom missions. The regional director of UNICEF Mullah Mohammad Sangin, has said in a press conference in Mir Ali that the coverage of polio vaccine is still patchy, however the coverage of RDX is approaching 100% and very soon all parents will be able to afford the highest quality martyrdom vests as the region takes rapid strides to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Under the direction of the WHO, the supply of milk powder is...