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Slouching Towards Mecca?
Mark Lilla has a review of Michel Houellbecq's new book at the New York Review of Books. Final paragraph: "For all Houellebecq’s knowingness about contemporary culture—the way we love, the way we work,...
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Arab-Pakistani Security Cooperation
From Dr Hamid Hussain: Pakistan and Arab World: Security CooperationHamid Hussain “The desire to gain an immediate selfish advantage always imperils their ultimate interests. If they...
View ArticleMiddle East Musings on New Pundits
I do more writing on New Pundits now but I thought I would point to three recent posts of mine dealing with the geopolitics in the region:The Ghost of the Persian Empire will Own the Middle East: The...
View ArticleTrust and Accountability
Excellent advice from Faisal Naqvihttp://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-315585-Trust-and-accountability"...But the soldiers of Pakistan serve the citizens of Pakistan. And it is not good for the...
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An Embarrassment at PEN
(Trigger warning: this post includes words and images)PEN American Center decided to honor the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo with an award for the magazine's courage in standing up for free...
View ArticleWorld War One Indian Soldiers Write Home
A very interesting look at the letters Indian soldiers wrote home in World War One.Ram Prasad (Brahmin) to Manik Chand (c/o Sikander Ali, Bamba Debi Bazar, Marwari Water Tank, Bombay)[Hindi]Kitchener’s...
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The Pakistan China Economic Corridor
An excellent and informative post by Ali Minai on 3quarksdaily.comWorth a read."The world is full of Great Projects – tall buildings, long bridges, vast highway networks – but very seldom does a single...
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Killing Atheists. A Wedge Issue in Bangladesh
Yet another Bangladeshi blogger has been hacked to death. This is the third time in just the last two months that someone has been hacked to death in BD for being an "atheist blogger".The victims:1....
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Should Pakistan and India Play Cricket?
There is, again, talk of a revival of cricketing ties between Pakistan and India.As expected, there is also vocal opposition (more so in India than in Pakistan).It may not happen. I have no idea how...
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Ismaili Shias Massacred in Karachi. Iron Hand Promised
Many Ismaili families from Gujrat moved to Karachi after partition. They became part of a prosperous, hard-working community. They kept a low profile. As in any community, everyone could not be rich...
View ArticleTransgender surgery. A civil rights issue?
Dr McHugh doesnt think so, and he has just said so in the WSJ. Yet policy makers and the media are doing no favors either to the public or the transgendered by treating their confusions as a right in...
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Ajmal Kamal Reviews Alakh Nagri: The Babas who really run Pakistan (and the...
This is Ajmal Kamal's brilliant review of Mumtaz Mufti's autobiography "alakh nagri". It was published in Adabi Duniya but I think it deserves publication in as many places as possible. Unfortunately,...
View ArticleMyths of Radicalisation
Frank Furedi has a piece up in Spike. Excerpts:Reports that three sisters from Bradford and their nine children are on their way to Syria show that British Muslims inspired to make the journey...
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Charleston: A terrorist attack in America
There was a horrendous terrorist attack in Charleston last night. A White-supremacist terrorist walked into a historic Black church and shot 9 people in cold blood: Of course it was a terrorist attack....
View ArticleIndia: "Secular"? "Hindu"? or Both?
I had a longish exchange on twitter with a Hindutvadi friend and then just ordered all the tweets by time into this storify story. It's crude, but you get the drift. I am posting it here so that people...
View ArticleDo Colored People Exist if There Are No White People to Observe Them?
A post with that title, over at Unz. The final paragraph: If Dara Shikoh had defeated Aurangzeb and the British had never brought India into their Empire, would history have been different? I would...
View ArticleAssassination attempts on senior Pakistani army officers
From Dr Hamid Hussein.Marked for Death - Assassination Attempts on Senior Officers of Pakistan ArmyHamid HussainSince 2002, Pakistan army is involved in a rapidly evolving struggle against terrorism....
View ArticlePatricia Crone. Scholar of Islam
I was away on vacation so this is a bit late. But better late than never. (from friend Robin Khundkar)Patricia Crone co-authored a controversial work on early Islam called "Hagarism - making of the...
View ArticleThe (British) Indian Army's Legacy in India and Pakistan
An old post from Dr Hamid Hussain. Reposting here to save it for future reference.Lest We ForgetHamid HussainPakistan and India are now seen through the prism of mutual hostility. However, armies of...
View ArticleThe Helper Boy
Today's horrific child abuse scandal from Punjab (the exact extent is disputed, with official inquiry reports saying the numbers are smaller and hinting that families in a property dispute may be...
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