"Reason is a light which is certainly needed to illuminate the darkness, but it can also be useful in full daylight." - Mohammed Abed al-Jabri (27 December 1936 – 3 May 2010)

Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, who was born in Figuig, Morocco on 27 December 1936 and died on 3 May 2010, was without doubt on

In Bethlehem’s Manger Square, under a full moon, two lovers recite Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish’s words of affection and longing. Where they stand, shadows cast on the stones of Christ’s birthplace unite and then the scene shifts to a meeting at a sports club. Debate flares over which g

Most of the media coverage surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict focuses on stories of violence and despair. Little is known about the growing Palestinian-led non-violent movement that has united rival Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, and encouraged hundreds of Israelis to cro

It is undoubtedly exotic in its looks, but to the naive passerby the only thing that may seem truly extraordinary about this building in Palembang, the capital city of the Indonesian province South Sumatra, is its colourful architecture. The structure, which resembles a temple, is painted in deep re

When confronted with free speech as an act of self-expression, authoritarian powers throughout history have tried to assert their legitimacy and remove threats to their rule through censorship. To achieve this, the censor has had to be quicker than the pen.
This task was relatively easy in the day

It was around a decade ago that I first met Maulana Waris Mazhari or Waris-ji as I now call him) when I was researching for a book on madrasa education in India. Winding my way through the warren of clogged, narrow lanes in the congested Muslim ghetto of Batla House in New Delhi, I chanced upon a b

Mothers are an asset, they radiate purest form of love from their heavenly existence, their faces reflect love and only love, their smiles can heal wounds and the warmth of their hands can set everything right. Mothers are angels on earth, their presence among us signifies how much God loves and car

The press and media of communication have turn out to be big business to the degree that they can not become gratis of economic constraints while the media worker have suffered a great deal from the policies adopted by media properties. Media being any material pertaining to news , bill board , or t

The concept of vocation is central to the Christian belief and in particular Catholic Church. Even though today vocation is seen in a broader sense of the use of ones gifts in their profession, family life, church and civic commitments for the sake of the greater common good. But we talk about it in

After resigning in the wake of bloody anti-government protests that left 86 dead and more than 1,500 wounded, the exiled former President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev told reporters in Belarus last month that he was still the country’s legitimate leader. The United Nations, United States, Russia,

In recent years, the words and actions of extremists claiming to commit violence in the name of Islam, time and again through the media, has arguably caused great harm to Islam’s peaceful reputation. It is in this context that Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri, a prominent Islamic scholar from Pakistan, issued his

A group of young Bosnian Muslim students from the Faculty of Islamic Studies at the University of Sarajevo recently performed their evening prayer in a Franciscan monastery in Sarajevo. And they did it on invitation from young Franciscan students and friars.
For some, this event might appear sensa

Living in Malaysia for almost two years has given me new insight into the socially constructed and highly subjective categories of “East” and “West”.
Here in Malaysia, I am – like any other “white” person – a “Westerner” from the West with Western ideas. My individuality is lost in translation.
Ma

Jews do not traditionally destroy texts that include the name of God – even when they are no longer needed. Such texts are kept in the synagogue in a special room called the geniza (hiding place in Hebrew). Over 100 years ago, the geniza of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo was opened, and extraordina

Social stratification, likewise in other societies, is in our society as well a major issue. The class system of our society not only divides the individuals in terms of wealth but also in other rations of society and life.
The upper-class which is the wealthy one and has the power tends to hold t