Personally it doesn’t bother me if a Muslim government wants to buy sophisticated weapons systems from Israel or sign energy deals to benefit from their Eastern Mediterranean gas fields. But if you’re going to condemn me for eating ice cream manufactured by a global multinational which has a subsidiary that once traded in Israel, I …
Most of us start with a position and then collect all of the available information to support it. In life, we are like undergraduate students who decide on a conclusion for their essay, and then set about gathering the data to prove their contention. Anything that does not conform to or support our position, we …
There are many laws of the universe I don’t like very much, but my liking or disliking them has no impact on them. We can choose where we stand, but our choice does not change the law. I don’t very much like the incredible violence and energy that led to the creation of our sun …
When the strength of your economy is dependent on the strength of your Arms industry, you naturally have a vested interest in ensuring that nations continue to go to war. It is daft to think otherwise.
“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” — René Descartes
It is funny when you discover that things you believe to be true are not true at all. I have been walking this path nearly twenty years. To me, my Islam is self-evident. But it is not so. Rarely do others link my behaviour, my utterances or my associations to my beliefs. Even when I …
It’s true that on old maps published a hundred years ago, there is no Israel, only Palestine. But then there’s no Pakistan, either. Another colonial misadventure that displaced 15 million people and left up to 2 million dead, spawning conflict and distrust that lasts to this day. Old maps can tell us lots, but you …
These days I find myself puzzled by so many issues which animate my brethren. The truth is, I am too much detached from the populist causes which many raised in a Muslim culture imbibe as essentially religious matters. To me, such issues are often overwhelmingly political — and the legacy of the politics of past …
Peoples have been fighting over this city for 4000 years. From Canaanites to Egyptians to the Jewish people to Assyrians and Babylonians, from Persians to Romans to Arabs, and Turks, and Europeans. Empires have claimed it theirs for millennia, its inhabitants sometimes granted peace and security, and sometimes subjugated, exiled or put to death.
Here in my ivory tower, it’s true: Islamohobia is one of those words I flee from. To me, it is like the term Anti-Semitism, which particularises racism, when there appears to be no real need to. Of course one can argue that both Muslims and Jews are not necessarily targeted because of their ethnic backgrounds, but …
It is quite normal that, despite the presumption of innocence, a person under investigation can be considered potentially dangerous and preventive measures are thus put in place. That is why school teachers who have had allegations made against them are normally suspended, even though those allegations may be totally unfounded and even vindictive. They may …
It is a pity that Muslims have been coopted into supporting the hyper-capitalist and ecologically destructive agendas of Muslim governments, while leftist atheists, with their inherent anti-establishmentarianism, stand in defence of the environment and the poor.
Yes, I have burnt all my bridges, but I still have the rope.
Every night when I head to bed, a voice within says, “Be quiet.” Speak good or remain silent. Restrain your tongue and typing fingers. As I lay my head on my pillow, these inner thoughts recur: “Disappear. Withdraw.” And each morning when I arise, I ask myself whether today will be the day when I …
