Articles

Fanatics come in all shapes and sizes. There are religious fanatics and then there are secular fanatics. Neither is acceptable. Since Islam has been hijacked by both, it is time for committed Muslims to reclaim it from their clutches.

There is hardly any sincere person in the world—Muslim or non-Muslim—that does not sympathize with the plight of the long-suffering Palestinians. Their tragedy is that their own leaders have let them down repeatedly.

April 18 marks the twentieth anniversary of Dr Kalim Siddiqui’s passing away. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the last century blending intellectualism with political activism that created a unique personality.

The Saudi regime spends tens of billions on purchasing weapons each year but the Saudi army is so incompetent that it cannot even shoot straight. To hide its impotence, it has resorted to military exercises with other countries to showcase their prowess as its own.

By announcing withdrawal of the bulk of its forces from Syria, Russia has signaled that it is genuinely interested in seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Syria. It is now for Nato countries to show whether they want peace.

The Arab League is not a serious organization; it has never been. Yet at its meeting last month declaring Hizbullah a ‘terrorist’ organization must rank as the lowest point it has fallen to in its miserable existence.

Confronted by total failure in Syria and after years of strained relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey is now seeking better relations with Tehran. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s visit last month confirms this policy shift.

Life for the Afghan people has never been easy but having suffered war for nearly four decades, they want some peace and security. These are denied them because of the conflicting interests of external players.

Muslims face multiple challenges from foreign imposed wars to gross incompetence and corruption of their rulers. Imperialists and Zionists also continue to secularize Islam and divide Muslims by promoting sectarianism.

The shenanigans of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a Karachi-based “political” party, have dominated news in Pakistan for several weeks now. With its leader, Altaf Husain in self-imposed exile in London, England, facing money laundering and murder charges, deep fissures have emerged in the party at home.