Articles

Driven to desperation, eight Rohingya Muslims invaded the grounds of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Kuala Lumpur to plead for asylum. They were later joined by others, including women and children...

Fadzil Mohammad Noor, president of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and parliamentary opposition leader, died on June 23, two weeks after undergoing heart-bypass surgery.

Twenty-three years after the Islamic Revolution, Iranians continue to debate vigorously several issues that have important implications for the future of the Islamic Republic. Heading their agenda is the question of relations with the US, which were severed by Washington in early 1980. The country’s economy and the roles of the press and judiciary are also debated with great passion.

When the election of Olusegun Obasanjo as president on May 29, 1999, brought to an end 16 years of military rule, Nigerians were understandably relieved. And when the new president promised to strengthen democracy in the country, and to eradicate the culture of public corruption that Nigeria is notorious for, their relief grew into optimism.

Pakistani president general Pervez Musharraf has made a grand retreat on Kashmir while pretending to be safeguarding his country’s interests. The unkindest cut is that this has happened under American pressure despite Musharraf’s abandoning a 25-year policy on Afghanistan in order to appease Washington.

Palestinian Refugees: The Right of Return edited by Naseer Aruri. Pub: Pluto Press, London, UK and Sterling, VA, USA, 2001. Pp: 294. Pbk: £15.99 / $22.95.

Considering that the world seemed to be on the brink of nuclear catastrophe, the end of the crisis between India and Pakistan was surprisingly low-key.

Take the fact that NATO has embraced Russia (its Cold War enemy) and is reorganising to engage ‘terrorism’, and president Bush’s recent declaration that he reserves the right to strike at 60 countries that he deems to be a threat to the US

Islamic Iran showed its support for the Palestinian cause this month, when the annual conference to mark the anniversary of the death of Imam Khomeini (r.a) was dedicated to the Palestinian intifada.

One feature of the current intifada is the support and sympathy the Palestinians are receiving from people, Muslims and others, all over the world.