In certain quarters of western civilization, especially among those who design, sell and use digital computers, there is a rush toward digitization. The new technology makes possible various forms of colonization and enclosure that have been unthinkable until now.
Human Rights Watch, a major western human rights agency, issued a report about violence against women in Pakistan on October 19, shortly after the coup there. It estimates that between 70 and 90 percent of Pakistani women are victims of domestic violence, and accuses the now-deposed government of Nawaz Sharif of not acting to change the situation...
On Friday January 22, a month after being released from more than two years’ imprisonment, Ma’allam Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic movement in Nigeria, was prevented from addressing a one-million strong Yaum Al-Quds rally in Zaria, northern Nigeria.
From Kosova to Kashmir, and many other places yet further afield, Muslims are being deprived of their lands and lives. In some cases, the ‘international community’ expresses concern and intervenes; in others, it is apparently oblivious.
Had the king of Saudi Arabia or a member of the House of Saud been insulted by the western media, chances are that all hell would have broken loose. There would be diplomatic protests and the Saudi ambassador from the offending country’s capital--London, Paris etc--would be recalled to Riyadh for consultations.
In March 1924, when Mustafa Kemal abolished the khilafah in Turkey, it evoked three distinct responses from Muslims globally. In India under British colonial rule, with a substantial Muslim population, there was great anger...
Imam Khomeini (r.a.) was born on Jumadi Al-Akhir 20, 1320AH. Events to mark the centenary of his birth are taking place around the world. Here Crescent International presents an abridged extract from Dr Kalim Siddiqui’s paper Error, deviation, correction and convergence in Muslim political thought (1989), in which he presents his understanding of the Imam’s political contribution...
It is perhaps indicative of the present state of the Ummah that, outside his native Egypt and a small circle of Islamic activists, few Muslims are aware that August 29 marked the thirty-third anniversary of the martyrdom of Sayyid Qutb.
Societies governed by man-made laws run the risk of getting into awkward situations. Take the example of Canada where the Supreme Court ruled last month that the provincial government must change within six months the Family Law Act of Ontario relating to spousal benefits.
‘Internationalisation’ has become the new buzzword in the post-Kargil environment in Pakistan. Government spokesmen miss no opportunity to put the most positive spin on the Washington Agreement that prime minister Nawaz Sharif was humiliatingly forced into on July 4.
There is only one Maulana in Turkey - Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, known as one of the greatest mystic poets of Islam. In Turkey, he is known simply as ‘Mevlana,’ and his followers go by the title of ‘Mevlevi.’
The US and Britain are engaged in aggressive and illegal technology-based spying, which enables them - among other things - to monitor telephone communications anywhere in the world.
One hears a lot of talk about ‘the millennium. There’s a daily countdown - one can buy watches that number the days. And there are numerous academic conferences involving Muslims in programs like, ‘interfaith dialogues for the new millennium’ or ‘new thoughts for the new millennium.’
The whole idea of the millennium is intertwined with something deeper that is going on in Western civilization right now: the West is unsure of itself. It is unsure of its institutions, educational policies, business practices, social norms, and political understandings of the world.
A quarter of a century ago, Alex Haley’s autobiographical oral history Roots sparked controversy among historians because Haley claimed that his African ancestors kidnapped into American slavery were Muslims.
In an age when political leaders are packaged and promoted like detergents, the personality of Imam Khomeini stands out by miles. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest figures of contemporary history...
As confused as they have always been regarding their stance in world conflicts, many Muslims seem unable to form a coherent and comprehensible position on NATO’s bombardment of Yugoslavia
In 1972, a ‘paper grave’ was found by labourers doing restoration work in the Great Mosque in Sana’a, Yemen. Between the mosque’s inner and outer roofs was a collection of old parchment and paper documents, damaged books and individual pages.
There is a persistent perception nowadays that a country’s national and international strength is largely determined by its ability to create and utilize science and technology. In an extremely materialistic world, this has become the criterion by which a nation is placed in the family of modern nations.
Three years after his death Dr Kalim Siddiqui continues to nourish the global Islamic movement. Like a benign apparition his thoughts and ideas, hopes and aspirations pervade every private thought and every public halaqa of those Muslims who are consciously dedicated to the cause of Islamic change...
