Given that trillions of dollars have been pumped into Western economies because of the pandemic, it will be difficult to argue after the lockdown is eased that money is not available for social and health programs to help the poor.
Russia’s experience in Chechnya showed that it would have to change its approach to controlling these republics not through the old Soviet methods but by giving them a measure of autonomy so long as certain red lines are not crossed.
The dollar has had a free ride for decades. New players are beginning to challenge its hegemony because of the atrocious conduct of American rulers. What will replace the dollar is yet to be determined and when.
Most masjids in North America are used merely for prayers and offer little by way of social support. Most Imams are not equipped to deal with the challenges thrown up living in the West.
Islamic schools are supposed to present a better alternative to what is being taught in mainstream schools but apart from a single subject of Islamic studies, most Islamic schools offer little enlightenment.
Most products in the world are promoted through branding. Even junk is successfully marketed through branding. One can think of Coke, Pepsi, McDonald and other junk food. Muslims have not learned the art of branding even their wholesome products. Time to wake up.
Muslims living as minorities in the West have an obligation to become engaged in local issues of justice and equality even while struggling for their rights.
Rightwing parties have made a strong showing in elections in a number of countries recently including Austria. Our correspondent examines the reasons and what this may imply for the future of Muslims.
Science is not as objective as it is made out to be nor is it as definitive as its proponents would like to project. The book of the Philosophy of Science explains what is at work. House columnist Maksud Djavadov reviews the Philosophy of Science — A Very Short Introduction by Dr. Samir Okasha, a must read for religious and non-religious people in the contemporary world who want to gain a basic non-dogmatic understanding of science.
In June 2010, we published this commentary on the conflict in Karabakh. We reproduce it in view of the renewed conflict underway in Karabakh today between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
(One of the Muslim countries with a tense political situation and an emerging Islamic identity which is not being covered by the corporate media is Azerbaijan Republic. In order to acquaint the Muslim Ummah with the situation in Azerbaijan, 5Pillarz conducted an interview with Maksud Djavadov, who is a researcher for the Toronto-based Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and a journalist for ICIT’s publication, Crescent International, specializing in covering the Muslim countries of the former USSR.)
Neither the West nor Russia is able to achieve their objectives in Ukraine resulting in a stalemate but greater suffering for the people.
While many Muslims talk about unity, their starting point is often flawed. It begins at the point where the other side is tolerated but not accepted as equally legitimate.
Russia is emerging as a major power but its economy is still weak despite being endowed with enormous natural resources.
Unfortunately, accurate statistics about a country’s economy are always hard to come by. Whatever data is available, however, can be used to analyze its true situation. We start this series by looking at Turkey.
By massively rigging the vote and having it declared a day before the actual election date, Ilham Aliyev's regime increased the possibility of a civil war.
With the collapse of the western financial system, Muslim economists have an excellent opportunity to present the model of Islamic Iqtisad to provide social and economic justice to all. They will also find a ready audience among non-Muslims.
Aliyevs, the illegitimate rulers of Azerbaijan are going nuts over coverage given to the Safavid rulers whose projection they see as threatening their rule. The real reason is that the Aliyevs fear the rise of the Islamic movement in the former Soviet republic.
How Hollywood has played a dirty role in the smuggling of American spies from Iran during the early years of the Islamic revolution. The latest movie shows the tight relationship between the CIA and Hollywood.
The notion that the West plays by the rules, which sound great on paper, and works in accordance with established principles, has led to tragic consequences for Islamic movements in places like Algeria and Bahrain.
The US-backed Aliyev regime uses gimmicks and tame opposition to stay in power.
A large percentage of Muslims worldwide have become quite enamored with the phenomenon of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the political party — the Development and Justice Party (AKP) — he leads in Turkey.
Over the past decade the mainstream political, economic, and academic elites have been obsessed with discussing the emergence of the European Union (EU) as the next superpower. EU's essence of power, however, will not allow it to become the next superpower.
The October 18 confession by leader of the pro-independence forces in the North Caucasus of direct Zionist influence on their struggle might be the beginning of the movement’s self cleansing process. A video announcement by Doku Umarov, leader of the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus (IEC), posted on October 18, criticized four senior field commanders for their withdrawal of allegiance to him in August 2010.
The geopolitics of Bosnia Hercegovina, together with its reliance on factors outside its borders, makes Bosnia’s internal policies hostage to external forces. Most states can avoid the necessity of constantly evaluating their every minuscule internal policy against its foreign relations.
One of the ways through which the enemies of Iran attempt to discredit its Islamic credentials is by “exposing” its relations with Armenia. The narrative goes as follows: if Iran is truly an Islamic state, why does it not provide all the required assistance to Azerbaijan to liberate occupied Karabakh from Armenian nationalists? Why does Iran have non-hostile relations with Armenia?
1No matter what the exact outcome of recent events in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, one thing is clear: Islamic revival in the former Soviet Union is gaining momentum.
Publicly acknowledged divisions by pro-independence forces in the North Caucasus may completely bury the last remaining traces of the movement once known as the Chechen resistance.
Maksud Djavadov, researcher and analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT), visited Sarajevo in August 2010 to conduct field research and examine the current situation of Islamic revival there.
Applying secular perspectives, derived from the Western notion of party politics, on measuring the power of the Islamic movement will never produce accurate results. Just like applying secular methods of pure party politics will never bring a desired result for an Islamic movement.
Under the concept of Pan-Turkism, NATO aimed to foster separatism within the Turkic people living in Russia, China and Iran
Some Iranian politicians mistakenly viewed Russia through the prism of the former USSR and assumed that Russia was an independent player in the international arena...
A solution based on the principles of the Prophet’s (r) Sunnah and Sirah would allow Armenians in Karabakh to acquire true independence. The “independence” they have today has turned Karabakh Armenians into a political instrument of Russia and the US...
Until Muslims present viable economic solutions, they will not achieve the revelational purpose of Islam which is to construct a society based on the sovereignty of Allah (swt) and justice. Islam is a way of life that takes into consideration the human soul and the material body. Part of that material body is the economic necessities of a human being which Islamic law addresses.
The inability to subordinate Russia to all western political demands triggered a search to find leadership cracks in Russia. In the past few months media outlets and think-tanks worldwide have indulged in the “investigative” task...
While political elites in Central Asia, Russia and the West try to outwit each other and benefit from the revolt in Kyrgyzstan, the people of the former Soviet Union are studying the Kyrgyz revolt from a different perspective: to emulate it...
At first glance there appears nothing unusual about the ruling party's "landslide victory" in the March 1 parliamentary elections in Tajikistan. All authoritarian regimes, in Central Asia as elsewhere, use "elections" as an administrative tool to formalize their grip on power.
Since Russia considers the Caucasus as its soft underbelly from where it might begin to unravel, any Zionist influence on events in the Caucasus will increase Israel’s bargaining power whenever it wants Russia to implement pro-Zionist policies. As cooperation between Iran and Russia increases, it seems Israel will also attempt to increase its influence even beyond Georgia in order to have greater leverage against Russia...
However, the secularist block cannot be completely written off, at least at the tactical level...
Many observers find it difficult to get an accurate fix on Iran-Russia relations. At times it appears as if Russia and Iran are strategic partners while at others they appear to be at odds. The confusion stems from a lack of proper understanding of either party...
The primary reason for the Zionist war machine’s military assault on Gaza was its historic defeat at the hands of Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Even during his time, the independence movement was not monolithic. The Islamic resistance movement under Sheikh Shamil was composed of various ethnic and tribal interests with shifting allegiances..
This month marks exactly 15 years since the beginning of the war in Chechnya. During this time, the concept of Chechen identity and of Chechnya itself became embodied in war and conflict.
