Who’s a ‘Martyr’?
“A martyr is a man who dies in fight against infidels,” I read the opening line of a grade-2 lesson about a Pakistani military hero from the 1965 war between India and Pakistan. “Infidels”? I read the...
View ArticleNostalgia and the Conservative Ostrich
With François Hollande winning the first round of the French presidential vote, Sarkozy’s re-election prospects are looking quite grim, and the dawn of a new age in French politics seems to be fast...
View ArticleMob Frenzy Destroys the Innocent
What horrors mob mentality entails was witnessed once again yesterday, this time near Quetta, Balochistan—which currently remains among Pakistan’s most insecure territories. Media reports informed...
View ArticleFreaking Out Over Egypt’s Islamists
Every now and again, my inbox becomes the victim of interest group spam. Most recently, a rogue, unsolicited email reached me with urgent news from a conservative website: Not only had Egypt elected...
View ArticleIslamism vs. Institutions: Not a Simple Equation
Often it goes without saying in the political science world that the best way to foster liberal democracy against the threats of extremism and illiberalism in a post-revolution society is through the...
View ArticleIslamist Proselytism and Policy of Haunting the ‘Captives’
The recent on-air conversion of a young Hindu man to Islam on a private TV channel in Pakistan has again stripped the clerical segment of Pakistani society of the hypocrisy it has been blasted for...
View ArticleRight or Left: The Incomplete Portraits of Al Qaeda
Every year around this time—the time near the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks—numerous articles and TV segments sprout up professing to explain the true motivations of “those who hate...
View ArticleOutrage in Benghazi
News reports continue to come in on this breaking story. Factors, such as the September 11th date, and the heavily armed and choreographed attack have some in the Pentagon considering if there was an...
View ArticleMarathon Man
Another all too predictable Paul Ryan beat down, cue the fact checkers, ‘we got a bleeder’ screed? Well, only a little. After his GOP convention acceptance speech, putative VP Ryan triggered a torrent...
View ArticleIs killing sinners more important in Islam than saving lives?
The news in Pakistan has brought forth two stories that makes you wonder whether some aspects of Islam place a higher value on saving innocent lives or getting a sinner killed. The first tells of two...
View ArticleJudicial Terror: Pakistani Court Sentences Man 13 Years of Prison for...
Thirteen years of prison and a fine of ($2,300) – only for an offensive Facebook posting of a Shia sect member in Chiniot, Punjab, in Pakistan. The case hasn’t evoked a media furor but is another...
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