Articles

Democracy has almost always been a tool of tyranny, oppression and subjugation. The “world’s largest democracy”, India is no exception to this rule. There is one key strategy that is employed in every democratic process: ‘manufacturing consent’.

The only Russian officer to be charged for war crimes in Chechnya has been acquitted on the basis that he raped and murdered a teenaged girl while suffering from temporary insanity. Colonel Yury Budanov was cleared of all charges against him on December 31.

The attacks on September 11 have brought a slow thaw to the frosty relations between Khartoum and Washington. America’s drive since then to enlist new allies for its “war on terrorism” gave the government of Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir an opportunity to establish a working relationship with Washington.

Given president George Bush’s limited grasp of international affairs, it would be unrealistic to expect him to understand why America is hated so much worldwide, but his advisors should be better equipped to deal with the reality of global politics.

From Beirut To Jerusalem by Dr Ang Swee Chai (new edition). Pub: The Other Press, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2002 (www.ibtbooks.com). Pp: 330 plus photos. Pbk: $12.00.

A Grand Delusion: Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt by Eberhard Kienle. Pub: I B Taurus, London & New York, 2001. Pp: 274. Hbk: $24.50.​

The elections in Gujarat, won for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by Narendra Modi, the architect of the anti-Muslim pogroms in the state last year, overshadowed the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya...

One result of events since September 2001 has been some realization of the true nature of the West even among stubbornly pro-Western Muslims. Although Muslims around the world had long been aware of the malign nature of Western power, some had been dazzled by the glamour of the West’s culture and lifestyle...

There is much in common between Abdul-Hamid, Mohamed and Imad al-Uaini. For one, they are brothers, handsome, sweet, all with an unmatched sense of humor. They are also my cousins...

The world of Islam has lost a great scholar in Professor Muhammad Hamidullah, who passed away quietly in Jacksonville, Florida, US, on December 17. He was 94.