Posts Tagged ‘Liberalism’

Excellent interview with Eric Foner. For those who may not know him he is an American historian. On the faculty of the Department of History at Columbia University since 1982: There are some similarities to make the case for liberalism in Pakistan and certain lessons could be learnt from how it evolved in the US. Liberal and progressive [...]

It is not a difficult task for any Muslim or non-Muslim to understand the true spirit of Islam. Though it is very difficult even for educated Muslim to study in detail the first 50 years of Islam or to study the complete Tafseer of Holy Quran or books of Hadith but one can easily study the early societies of Mecca and Medina. In the life of the [...]

Related article: Selective ray of hope emanates from Veena Malik to Declan Walsh – by Sana Jokhio “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Section II, United States [...]

Related Interviews:   LUBP Exclusive: A critical interview with Nadeem F. Paracha LUBP Interview with Kamran Shafi LUBP Interview with Dr Ayesha Siddiqa (Part I) LUBP Interview with Dr Ayesha Siddiqa (Part II)   Brief Introduction: LUBP is pleased to present an exclusive interview with Mr. Olaf Kellerhoff Resident [...]

The candid photograph of a Hindu and a Muslim in Ayodhya having a quiet laugh is a snapshot of the way India’s citizenry reacted to the verdict. They may have their opinions, and sharp ones at that, but they did not allow these to disrupt the lives of their neighbours. All this is a pointer that India might have changed, perhaps very [...]

At the onset I would like to acknowledge that I have very mixed feelings about MQM. At one hand, I like its relatively secular approach and its demonstrated commitment to denounce hardliners when everyone else was actually going for an appeasement policy which in reality would have merely strengthened them in the Northern part of Pakistan. I [...]

قد ا مت پسند ی اور غیر جمہو ر ی اندا زِ فکر قا ئدا عظم ، مذ ہب اور ر یا ست کے تعلق کے حوا لے سے کیا خیا لا ت ر کھتے تھے ، قر ۃ العین حید ر کی آ پ بیتی ’’کارجہا ں درا زہے ‘‘ سے یہ اقتبا س پیش خد مت ہے [...]

Thanks to General Zia for the forced islamization of Pakistan, pouring bags full of US dollars and Saudi riyals and mushroom growth of madrassas of a particular ideology which has created a generation who has a different way of seeing things. The unholy nexus of the military, mullahs, and Muslim Leagues has affected the social, moral, and [...]

Introduction (adapted from Yoginder Sikand's article in Milli Gazette) Coming to terms with the challenges of modernity has been a major concern of many Muslim scholars and Islamic activists. How can Islam as a universal ideology be expressed in a global order characterised by the nation-state system? What position should the Islamic law [...]

پارلیمینٹ کو بچاؤ ۔۔۔۔۔۔۔ !! ملک کو بچاؤ قائد  اعظم کے پاکستان کو ایک ملاں (ملا) کا پاکستان بنانے میں جن غلیظ ذہنوں نے اپنا کردار ادا کیا اور قرارداد مقاصد کی منظوری سے لیکر اسلامی جمہوریہ [...]

An apt analysis by NFP of the political parties in Pakistan and their attributes and religious tendencies: Islam holds an important place in the workings of society and thus politics of Pakistan, a fact even some of the most secular political parties of the country cannot ignore. Just what is the religious make-up of Pakistan’s political [...]

The Zia generation can best be described as the confused generation. They have seen public flogging, but were told that it is best to forgive. They have experienced newspapers being censored but were told that it is best to speak the truth. They have experienced and are still experiencing militancy in the guise of Islam, but are told that Islam is [...]

Whether you like it or not, the notion of blasphemy, or of ‘defamation of religion’, creates a hierarchy of beliefs which is simply incompatible with the plurality of the world, and the very right to hold a belief The Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, recently announced the revision of the Blasphemy Law. For anyone remotely familiar [...]

For Libertarians, religious freedom is an inseparable part of this natural personal freedom that the Constitution of 1973 so purposefully protects. Protecting religious freedom as a fundamental right is not only morally, spiritually, and intellectually of greater merit but is also socially harmonious Secularism is an old song that keeps [...]

With Pakistan’s two main political parties looking exhausted by being made to play a continuous game of cat and mouse with the establishment, the new generation of young Pakistanis began to look elsewhere. Many young Pakistanis, who in their reactionary worldview cannot relate to the conventional make-up of the long-bearded and [...]

First published at Sherryx's Weblog “Invisibility” and “Silence” are the hallmark of  fascist societies. A national stereotype is built and than implemented through ideological and coercive apparatuses  of the state. Gender is an important battle ground in these “nation-building” projects. A section of Pakistan’s founding [...]

The modern secular-democratic state must ensure that all individuals as well as majorities and minorities enjoy freedom of religion and conscience and the political right to choose their government In the last few weeks the Daily Times has carried a number of very interesting articles for and against making Pakistan a secular state. Babar Ayaz [...]

The active emergence of a revamped PML-N supplemented by an alarmist new electronic media can be detected as a more vocal arrival of the New Right in Pakistan. The rightward march By Nadeem F. Paracha Saturday, 27 Feb, 2010 It was called the ‘New Left.’ Emerging in Britain in the 1950s, the New Left was the left’s disparaging [...]

Ever since the inception of Pakistan, Extremist Mullahs have always been vying to hijack the State. When I refer to the term ‘Extremist Mullahs’, I draw a line to separate, ‘Islamist Fanatics with a Political Agenda’ from the simple and true Muslim religious scholars who don’t belong to any fanatic organization or political party. The [...]

In a recent TV debate on this subject, the applause meter would have given the win to Islamism. The debaters, three on each side, faced a small mixed audience — quite a few girls, many wearing hijabs, also young men in jeans and a handful of beards. The ‘secularists’ appealed, in measured tones, to the intellect, made references to [...]

Here are two articles highlighting the importance of re-discovering and re-inculcating the seeds of tolerance in Pakistani society and the region in general. The path to freedom Monday, February 22, 2010 Charles Ferndale Kamila Hyat, in a typically lucid, well-reasoned article, published in The News on February 11, laments the present [...]

Here are two excellent articles on this topic. The first one has been written by Anand Krishan in Indonesian context, and the second one by Munno Bhai in Pakistani context. Promoting faith-based secularism Anand Krishna Jakarta - 01/18/2010 When the British writer George Holyoake first used the term secularism in 1851, he likely had no [...]

Politics in Pakistan mesmerize me. Not only does one enjoy the daily dose of rhetoric that is spewed from the mouths of our beloved politicians, but the one track mind of those in and out of government baffles the mind. Politics in Pakistan, much like the political parties themselves seem to be more inclined towards a personality than an [...]

"Why do many Pakistanis spend more time celebrating Islamic history of regions outside India (especially Arabian), the ummah, and seem to show more concern in what is happening to their brethren in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kashmir." Writes Nadeem Paracha in his article titled "The minor majority" in (more...)

After the tragic events of 9/11, Pakistani establishment finally had to set aside its traditional ideological hangovers, and instead raised a different slogan, “Pakistan First”. It was a matter of coercion or choice one can’t say with a degree of confidence; nevertheless it was a visible policy shift from the ideologically loaded past. This [...]

Senate defers bill on women’s rights at workplace Wednesday, January 20, 2010 By Muhammad Anis ISLAMABAD: The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2009, which was moved in the Senate on Tuesday, was deferred as senators from Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam expressed their reservations, saying it was not sufficient to protect the [...]

Related articles: MQM Right Wing Alliance MQM: reality vs fantasy When bodies start piling up in Karachi, the gut reaction of the Pakistani mainstream outside Karachi is to blame the MQM. This is a twenty-five year old problem. The MQM's reputation did not emerge from thin air, but its sustenance is the stuff of three decades of political [...]

Roughly speaking, the political and social aspects of Islam in Pakistan can be seen as existing in and emerging from three distinct sets and clusters of thought. These clusters represent the three variations of political and social Islam that have evolved in (more...)

Leftist parties unite on one platform * Progressive parties criticise US policies on Pakistan, condemn right-wing elements By Hussain Kashif LAHORE: As many as 14 progressive political parties and groups got together on Friday to present their stances and to unite on one platform at a conference held at Mehfil Auditorium. (more...)

Friends of Taliban in Pakistani media and politics, as well as their agents on the internet (i.e. Hizbut Tahrir mafia), offer various forms of skewed logic in order to either hide, disown, distort or justify various acts of terrorism by Taliban and their affiliate jihadi and sectarian organisations. LUBP has compiled in this featured piece a [...]

Beards: a trim historyBy Nadeem F. Paracha Sunday, 04 Oct, 2009 (Dawn)It seems after all these years of searching for some kind of identity, many young Pakistanis (more...)

The backwards forward Posted by Nadeem F. Paracha There is an urgent need in the Muslim world to think anew about a lot of issues, not to appease the West, but to co There is an informative debate show on a local private channel called Alif. The show is mostly about the various philosophies of Islam and their place in Pakistan and rest [...]

The north-south nexusThursday, September 24, 2009Kamila HyatThe writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editorThe operation against the Taliban militants continues in the north. The government has happily lapped up the praise this has brought in. Rewards in the form of cash handouts are eagerly (more...)

Illiberal liberals The Pakistan report card Saturday, March 21, 2009 Fasi Zaka Imran Khan's recent address at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association [...]

Threat to secular Balochistan? By Malik Siraj AkbarMonday, 09 Mar, 2009 NOTHING embarrasses and irks Pakistani spymasters more than the issue of Talibanisation in Quetta. Over the years, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly protested against the alleged protection provided by Islamabad to Mullah Omar, the [...]

Addressing a lawyers’ gathering at the Rawalpindi Bar on Saturday, the leader of Tehreek-e Insaf, Mr Imran Khan, once again belaboured a certain section of society as “liberals”. They fly in the face of national emotion (more...)

Related articles: Aitzaz Ahsan, PPP and Long March: A critical perspective – by Abbas Ather You too Aitzaz Ahsan, the leader of the legal community? PPP suspends Ch Aitzaz as member CEC Are Pakistan's secular ideologues abetting the right wing in adding lies and confusion to Jinnah's Pakistan?: aik taraf sachal aur bahoo, aik [...]

What the people of Pakistan think about the Taliban Monday, March 02, 2009 Seema Mustafa The tide is turning for the people of Pakistan. And the fear and apprehension is palpable as soon as one crosses the [...]

The common belief in Pakistan is that Islamic radicalism is a problem only in FATA, and that madrassas are the only institutions serving as jihad factories. This is a serious misconception. Extremism is breeding at a ferocious rate in public and private schools [...]