Iqubal and M. A. Jinnah both are believed to be fathers of Pakistan. Iqubal was its Ideological founder while M.A Jinnah was her physical founder. Both are having been said to cite many times and on many occasions that Pakistan would be an Islamic state. Now the question is what they meant by an Islamic state. In fact it is not clear when we go through the writings of Iqubal or statements of M.A Jinnah....

Kamal Haasan has twisted the narrative and given his "hero" a Muslim identity, while pitting him against the obvious villains who share his faith. Perhaps this is the reason Haasan had said Indian Muslims would be proud of his spy thriller, Vishwaroopam. The intention behind this balancing act may well be noble, but it amounts to little more than an interesting twist....

The Arab people’s revolutionary movements for change and freedom appear effective and their success is visible on the horizon but the authoritarian rulers and their history makes no sense on any rational criterion of analysis and objective assessment. How should history see them in a broader global context? What kind of picture do these leaders paint about the nature, moral and historical values of the Islamic-Arab societies?...

Manto was a great sociologist of filmdom and it was he who argued that Bombay Talkies combined the best of Hindu and Muslim cultures, building a hybrid creativity which was uniquely Indian in its sensuality, its intellect, its creativity and its innovation. Shah Rukh Khan is part of that tradition which celebrates the creativity of India and of being Indian with pride, with laughter, with a sense of being at home in the world. He is being Indian when he says more Pakistan players should be included in the Indian Premier League....

An anonymous American official, quoted by various newspapers, said the strike targeted surface-to-air missiles and a military complex thought to contain chemical weapons. Assad has pledged not to use chemical weapons against his own people adding ominously that they could be used in the case of foreign intervention. Israel is concerned that those weapons of mass destruction could not only fall into the hands of rebel groups....

To date, only presidents have fallen from power during the Arab Awakening — no king has fallen from his throne. Arab monarchies are of course not immune to the forces that brought down some of their republican counterparts, so why have they all thus far survived? If the region’s monarchies fail to address the high rates of unemployment and increasing costs of living, there is every reason to expect a tipping point to be reached. Once that occurs, all bets are off for a continuation of the Arab monarchies.....

Of these three, the one that will thrive the most in the 21st century will be the one that is most successful at converting its youth bulge into a “demographic dividend” that keeps paying off every decade, as opposed to a “demographic bomb” that keeps going off every decade. That will be the society that provides more of its youth with the education, jobs and voice they seek to realize their full potential....

In India, the Muslim lives on sufferance. It is the Hindu who has freedom to attack India and its culture, its vulgarity. The Muslim who objects to something, no matter that it is obvious and visible, must qualify his argument. Usually, the qualification demanded is that he shows himself as patriotic. To be a patriotic Indian, one is not required to be taxpaying, law-abiding, well-meaning or philanthropic. Patriotism is demonstrated through hating a particular country....

“India’s Muslims have already paid a heavy price for Pakistan and are still paying. Please leave them alone.” Indeed, if Pakistan really cares for India’s Muslims, it should leave them to their own fate. Its voluble concern, whenever articulated for whatever reason, has only added to the community’s woes. Truth be told, both India and Pakistan have let down their minorities and are in no position to lecture each other on the issue….

There are grave problems, no doubt about it. 2012 was the year of Syrian civil war. We've witnessed violence in Egypt and Libya, a Persian Spring in Iran which never managed to blossom, and back sliding in a number of other places. I won't minimise for a moment the severity of the situation....

The so-called Arab Spring, although now far removed from its initial meanings and aspirations, has become just that: a breeding ground for choosy narratives solely aimed at advancing political agendas which are deeply entrenched with regional and international involvement. Note how in the new reading of the ‘Arab Spring’, people are mere pawns that are defined by their sectarian leanings ....

For centuries, al-Azhar, has followed the ruling power. The rector of the University is appointed by the President of the Republic. The expenses of the organization and the formation of its imams are largely paid for by the government. As a result its support for the Constitution that binds civil law with Islamic law and its future support to the Muslim Brotherhood is not surprising.

Recent events demonstrate that Egypt since January 25, 2011 is still a land of unexpected developments and large mobilizations. The setback suffered by the Muslim Brotherhood and their retreat prove that the game is far from being settled in favour of the Islamist currents. However, they remain influential.

Though Maulana Umar ji was the first to apologise on behalf of his community for the Godhra incident, he died tarnished, accused of being the mastermind even after his acquittal. “His mind could never free itself of the stain on his reputation. Even after he was acquitted, the media kept asking: how did the ‘mastermind’ go free?” “If this is the reward you get for doing social work, God save this country.”...

Qadri insists that a caretaker government, which is a constitutional requirement before the general elections, should include the military and judiciary as well. This demand would have a lot of traction among generals and judges, both of whom consider themselves as guardians of the State and its ideology. While the military used to think of itself as a supra-institution, the judiciary has been elevated to a similar self-perception after the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in 2008 as a result of the popular lawyers’ movement.