Political Issues
-
Books that influenced Gandhi
“A friend of the poor and the underdog, humble and bold, sincere and frank, simple and austere, non-violent and truthful in thoughts, words and deeds; frail in body but mighty in spirit”. This is how Satish Kumar describes Mahatma Gandhi. This great leader shook the foundations of British Empire and tried to liberate India in the real sense of the term. He tried emancipating the “untouchables” in the way he deemed the most appropriate, gave the message of peace, love, brotherhood, truth and non-violence. It is important to know what shaped such great a leader and what thoughts inspired him. Gandhi’s thought started developing and getting shaped in London where…
-
Q&A: If Prophet of Islam preached peace and tolerance how come there are so many war mongers amongst Muslims who take cues from the same life?
If Prophet of Islam preached peace and tolerance how come there are so many war mongers amongst Muslims who take cues from the same life? A short answer: It is a questions that bothers many a people and we do need to consider why such is the case. Like any other social phenomenon there are many perspectives to be investigated. Let us begin with the Arab Custom of narrating tales. The pre-Islamic Arab society was a war torn community wherein a murder was remembered for generations and vengeance was sought for decades generation after generation. The Arabs would compose poems and ballads on this theme, narrating the tales of a…
-
Achieving Peace Between and Within Nations
In many ways the world is unfortunately devoid of any peace and political stability. Various Governments or Governmental Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations have apparently been trying to achieve some sort of peace and stability. Yet the destination is not in sight. Out of the many things that can be done, I list out two of the most important in my opinion. 1. Strengthening Democratic Ideals It might come as a surprise to many but wars in contemporary world have taken place between countries with at least one of them not being a democracy. In other words, two democracies don’t usually go for wars against each other. Examples of recent wars…
-
Building a Progressive Society
The world today stands at that vulnerable point where Fascism and its parallel ideologies are being appreciated. Politicians, political parties, reformers, modernists, conservatives, traditionalists are all equally riding waves of propaganda and are winning elections or public support. Humanity is being manipulated to accept as reality what may be poles apart from actually being so. Myths are taken as truths, fake news and propaganda make rounds on social media networks like Facebook and Whatsapp every day. What is more worrying is that people with “understanding” having undergone proper modern education from schools and colleges and Universities are being part of it. What then is wrong with the society, or the…
-
The Khwarij of today
The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There will be division and sectarianism in my nation and a people will come with beautiful words and evil deeds. They will recite the Quran but it will not pass beyond their throats. They will leave the religion as an arrow leaves its target and they will not return to it as the arrow does not return to its bow. They are the worst of the creation. Blessed are those who fight them and are killed by them. They call to the Book of Allah but they have nothing to do with it. Whoever fights them is better to Allah than them.”