A Muslim maulvi (cleric) who made headlines by officiating at the funeral for a sex worker in Bangladesh has faced a backlash from local Muslims. About a fortnight ago, Golam Mostafa, an imam at Daulatdia Railway Station Mosque in Rajbari district, broke a social taboo to perform final rites for Hamida Begum, a sex worker […]
New Delhi: In order to cut down expenses on the annual Haj subsidies for pilgrims to Mecca, the government is considering reviving the older sea route from Bombay port. After a gap of nearly a quarter-century, chanting of ‘Talbiyah’, a prayer Muslims invoke before they set off for or during the annual Haj pilgrimage may […]
Have two Indian Sufi priests been kidnapped by Islamist fundamentalists in Pakistan? After arrival at Karachi on Wednesday (March 8), they seem to have just vanished into thin air. They did not arrive at their destination, the Daata Darbar (another famous Sufi Shrine). The exchange of clerics between these two shrines is a tradition dating […]
To defeat ISIS, South Asian countries must look beyond their selfish and myopic interests The so-called Islamic State (IS) in appeared around 2014. Since then, policymakers and the strategic community in South Asia remain divided on whether the terrorist group poses a threat to the region or not. These differences can be attributed to two […]
Is the rise of Political Islam destroying South Asia’s pluralism? A couple of Pakistani historians indicate so. Read on: Feminists and the liberals are divided on whether the burqa, a garment that covers the entire body, or the niqab, the facial veil, represent personal freedom or suppression. While most experts agree that women, like men, […]
While Maharastra might indict Islamic tele-evangelist Naik for unlawful activities, the case is stirring up a lot of interest in Muslim and non-Muslim circles all over the country. Several liberal Muslims have been quite uncomfortable with the tone and nature of Naik’s television broadcasts, which they say lean towards the fundamentalist, Wahabi brand of Islam, […]
The recent bout of terrorist attacks in Pakistan reminds us once again that it is one of the worst victims of terrorism perpetrated by religious extremist groups claiming their adherence to what they call the puritan Islam. According to Global Terrorism Index the top 5 countries affected by terrorism include Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and […]
The Muslim community in Nepal celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with joy. Spirits were high in Kathmandu. Muslims in South Asia, like those across the world, are celebrating Eid, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. They thronged mosques to offer prayers, relished delicacies, and visited fairs in their best fineries. In India, mass prayers were […]
Is the social and multi-cultural fabric of India being undermined by a socio-political- religious nexus supervising a cadre of communalised grassroots workers who constantly attack and threaten the liberal Hindus and the religious or ethnic minorities? A report compiled by human rights activists says the past year has seen an increase in the number of […]
CHENNAI: A Hindu backward class person, who embraces Islam, shall be considered as backward class Muslim, the Madras high court has held. Justice D Hariparanthaman passed the order and directed Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission to accept the application of R Ayesha, converted to Islam in 2005 and applied for a job as a typist […]
