Social Media timelines are awash with the results of a textual analysis of the Old Testament, New Testament and Qur’an, which in a very cursory way seems to suggest that the Qur’an is a more peaceful text than the Bible. Unfortunately it is one of those feel-good stories, easily shared, which falls apart on closer inspection. Firstly because the …
I wish we could move beyond these pathetic polarised debates lacking all nuance. Every time an unpopular politician seizes upon an issue in pursuit of their own political agenda it kills all discussion of the real issues effecting us. Watch the backlash against the government’s latest initiative. Watch how the politics of identity and belonging …
Many university Islamic Societies unfortunately have a long history of stifling dissent, whether for sectarian or political reasons. Far from providing space to challenge ideas and explore a broad spectrum of ideas, many Islamic Societies only permit a narrow single narrative to be promulgated, coloured by the biases of the dominant group. Just like any other entity, our advocacy …
Why do we make our lives so difficult for ourselves and others? It happens all the time: we adopt the most hardline positions in matters of religion, which we enforce on others as the only true way, impossible though they are to live up to. How many times must we see it play out before us? …
Who are these characters society commands us to mourn? Must the soundtrack of our youth render us blind? Turn the video to mute. What do these symbol mean? Peel back the layers. Silence the bass. Strip out the noise which penetrates the heart. What remains?
Spare us the hysterical eulogies of the cult of celebrity. Men are capable of both greatness and unspeakable evil. An idol who touched the lives of millions has departed. Only the bravest dare speak of his crimes. The same establishment which pretended not to know about the last superstar unmasked still looks the other way. …
