(An old article that perhaps deserves renewed focus.  On another note Pakistan was once the bastion of Islamic modernism and was thought to be leading the way to an Islamic reformation.  We went wrong when we rejected Fazlurrahman – not to confused with the Maulana with the same name- and adopted Maududi instead.) M Yahya Birt 27/06/96 INTRODUCTION For all those Muslim Researchers out there, I would like to offer Fazlur Rahman as a paradigm of the modern committed Muslim intellectual. Often we hear the tired litany of historical triumphalism, ‘we gave the scientific and philosophical impetus to the European Enlightenment.’ This is no doubt true. But to say this when Muslims have fallen into the deepest intellectual stagnation, which no amount of self-defeating rhetoric can hide, we must face the uncomfortable truth: within … Read entire article »

-YLH The world is on the threshold of a great tragedy.   All the gains in the war on terror are about to be lost, all thanks to sheer indifference that the international community is showing towards what shall rank as one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of the 21st century.    (Americans are a notable exception – as usual- but their efforts find no projection from the hostile and bigoted Pakistani media). … Read entire article »

Courtesy Daily Times VIEW: Direct Action Day: the tragedy — I —Yasser Latif Hamdani Today is August 16th. Sixty-four years ago, the All India Muslim League bid farewell to its traditionally constitutional methods and resorted to civil disobedience all over India. The Direct Action Day, though peaceful in most of India, took an ugly turn in Calcutta. There are two reasons why we must revisit this painful period in our history. … Read entire article »

Courtesy CBS Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Beseeches World to Donate More after Touring Country where 20 Million Affected United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon gives a press conference at Chaklala Airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Aug. 15, 2010.  (GETTY IMAGES) Members of Pakistani flood affected family flee their homes due to flooding in Muzaffargarh in central Pakistan Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010.  (AP Photo) … Read entire article »

By Moazzam Husain Whilst it may be too early to predict economic losses given that the flow of water has not yet run its full course, what is clear is that the losses may reach catastrophic proportions. The damage to infrastructure alone has been staggering with roads, bridges, farmland, power plants, dams, barrages and the irrigation system damaged across all four provinces and the northern  areas. … Read entire article »

Riaz Ali Toori A month ago, the two provinces of the country had a row about the “Water Issue” in Pakistan. There was lack of water for agriculture and in some areas there had been great shortage of drinking water. Neither Punjab nor the Sindh were willing to part ways with due share of water. The sweltering heat had compelled them to bow before Almighty with all humility and solicit for His mercy in the form of rain. Today all provinces of Pakistan are flooded.  Men, women, and children are crying for shelter, food, drinking water and medicine. Our response towards the rehabilitation of victims is slow and the international donors are not as vigorous as they were in 2005 earthquake. The flood will bring a shift increase in poverty that can … Read entire article »

Happy ‘Secular Pakistan Day’ By ROBERT MACKEY Bettmann/Corbis Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s first leader, in the doorway of his study in Karachi in September, 1947, just weeks after the new country was formed. As Pakistan’s government continues to vie with Islamist charities to provide relief to millions of its citizens affected by catastrophic flooding, two posts on Lahore’s Pak Tea House blog are worth reading. … Read entire article »