Month: June 2016

The War for Secularism

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The War for Secularism

By Arshia Malik   It is not easy to promote democracy, secular and liberal values in a population that insists on being regressive, mostly by men with patriarchal agendas and their conditioned female counterparts. Often those very “empowered better halves” trumpet their liberation by announcing the acceptance of regressive practices just because they want inclusion and acceptance in the frat boys club. One cannot ignore the fact that it is a battle between the progressive West (which by the way has Muslim-dominated countries too) and the regressive East (which includes…

Why I can’t be both gay and Muslim

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Why I can’t be both gay and Muslim

By Azurewolf   I have always known that I am gay. For years I tried to reconcile this with being a Muslim by simply trying to be the best Muslim (and I interpreted ‘best’ as trying my best to do things by the book) I could be. This became somewhat trickier when I fell in love. But somehow I managed to put the two sides of me into two very separate boxes and continue as a devout Muslim, who transgressed every now and then; well none of us are perfect are we? Indeed, it was…

Turks are learning the harsh lesson of staying silent on Erdogan

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Turks are learning the harsh lesson of staying silent on Erdogan

By Sofia Demirturk   Living in the age of political correctness, we place more emphasis on not hurting anyone’s sentiments, rather than analysing the world revolving around us. We try our best to not to be named as an Islamophobe, anti-Semite, homophobe etc — thus, stating our minds has become a bigger challenge than it was historically. Whenever a question is raised that touches on race or religion, we get lost in discussing what are the right terms to use, rather than the actual problems, and every argument seems to get…

We need a counter-narrative to the threat that is Islamism

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We need a counter-narrative to the threat that is Islamism

By Ammar Anwer   Islamism is a serious threat to humanity. The harm that it has caused, and continues to cause, is indescribable, unspeakable and extremely horrendous. The most saddening aspect of this aching cruelty is that it has damaged the reputation of the entire Muslim community around the world Although its extremist tactics have affected the entire human community across the globe, but the ones who have also suffered are peaceful Muslims, who carry the pain of the entire humanity in their hearts; those who do not hate other fellow…

The Orlando tragedy brings out the same old comments

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The Orlando tragedy brings out the same old comments

By Tehmina Kazi   In what appears to be the worst mass shooting in US history, 29-year-old Omar Mateen opened fire in a gay Florida nightclub at 2am on Sunday, killing 50 people and injuring up to 53 others. Orlando sheriff Jerry Demings called the shooting a “domestic terror incident” and the FBI — who already had Afghan-American citizen Mateen on their radar — are now investigating his links to terror groups abroad. His father, Mir Seddique, claimed that Mateen’s motives were not religious, and that he had been incensed…

Dear Mr Taliban

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Dear Mr Taliban

By Jalebi Please excuse me but I just saw the news My ignorance was bliss until I saw the blood. The children with the green blazers you know the ones. I have a few questions If you could please clarify these? So let me start with question number one? Do you visit the doctor when you’re ill? Pop pills to control the pain? Where did the doctor learn these skills? A school did you say? DROP YOUR WEAPON! There’s hypocrisy in your hands! The AK47 was made by a WHITE…

Islamophobia is a convenient word to shut down a debate

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Islamophobia is a convenient word to shut down a debate

By Arshia Malik   Islamophobia is a term bandied around very casually these days on anything and anybody who stands up to the regressive practices in Muslim culture and denounces their oppressive characteristics. The first to scream Islamophobia are the practicing Muslims themselves at ex-Muslims, or agnostic Muslims, or liberal Muslims who feel they should speak out against the various shortcomings in their culture, their religion, their text and their fellow Muslims. A disclaimer first – I am aware that many cases of discrimination and abuse against Muslims are on…