Long lamented for its “democratic deficit,” the Middle East and North Africa may finally be joining the world of truly competitive elections, free speech and political pluralism. Or not. Scholars have debated for some time why the region has resisted democracy, pointing to everything from Islam, an abundance of oil and the Arab world’s perpetual conflict with Israel. …

As part of my research I have come across mounting evidence indicating that young western-born Muslim women are increasingly adopting a more explicitly Islamic dress including the hijab and Niqab. This also holds true for Muslim women living in Australia. Studies also suggest that for western-born young Muslim women, wearing a veil seems to play a decisive role in construction of new Western Muslim identities. Importantly Qur'anic commentators repeatedly highlighted the habit of women in Mecca and Medina to expose all or most of their chests, even if their hair was covered.  …

Darul Uloom Deoband Advises against Second Marriage, 'Indian Tradition doesn't allow it'

Amina Forced to marry her Rapist: Fight for women's rights in North Africa

Egypt’s Women Face Rollback on Divorce Rights

Angry Afghans chop off ears of roadside bomb suspect

Elite female night raiders break down barriers in Afghanistan

I want a trial in Libya, even if it means death: Saif Gaddafi

Address religious intolerance to curb sectarian killings: HRCP

WUC Strongly Protests Chinese Pressure on Japan

Saudi: 468 expats revert to Islam in Jubail

Balochistan is burning but police is mere spectator: Chief Justice

Won't retreat an iota from atomic rights, says Iran

Iowa: Hear Muslim concerns, rather than act blindly

Can talk Kashmir but Pak must stop anti-India terror: Indian Foreign Secretary

Indonesia is model for Muslims, British PM David Cameron says

Book, “The Women in Najd: Her Status and Role.” refutes stereotypes about Saudi women

Complied by New Age Islam News Bureau

Photo: North African women on the barricades

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اسلام میں انصاف سب سے زیادہ بنیادی قدر ہے، یہ اللہ کے ناموں میں سے ایک کی طرف اشارہ بھی کرتا ہے۔ اللہ کا ایک نام عادل ہے۔ قرآن بار بار انصاف پر زور دیتا ہے اور یہاں تک کہتا ہے کہ انصاف تقوی کے سب سے قریب ہے اور اسی طرح "انصاف کرنے" کا حکم دیتا ہے، کیونکہ یہ تقوی کے  سب سے قریب ترین  ہے۔ لیکن ہمارے بہت سے فقہہ کا خیال ہے کہ  تقوی صرف نماز ادا کرنے اور  روزہ رکھنے میں ہے چاہے اس کے نتیجے میں تقوی کا اظہار طرز عمل میں ہوتا ہو  یا نہیں۔ ان لوگوں  کا کہنا ہے کہ تمام اسلامی قوانین سب سے زیادہ  انصاف پر مبنی ہیں لیکن پھر دوسروں کی طرح انصاف کی تعریف پر اختلاف رکھتے ہیں۔

मेरा मानना ​​है कि तलाक के कानून बुहत अधिक रूप से ज़ालिमाना हैं। इस वक्त अगर सऊदी अरब में किसी औरत को तलाक चाहिए तो केवल 'खाली या दहाली के तहत ही ले सकती है। इसका मतलब है कि या तो उसको एक बड़ी रकम अदा करनी होगी या फिर उसे तलाक मांगने के कारणों पर किसी को गवाह बनाकर पेश करना होगा। इस दूसरी शर्त को पूरा करना तो लगभग असंभव है क्योंकि अक्सर ये कारण शादी की चार दीवारी के पीछे ही छिपे होते हैं।

Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdul-Aziz tells the BBC there are many changes she would like to see in Saudi Arabia - but that now is not the time for women to be allowed to drive. My father established the first women's university in the kingdom, abolished slavery and tried to establish a constitutional monarchy that separates the position of king from that of prime minister. But I am saddened to say that my beloved country today has not fulfilled that early promise. …

Vishwamitra was a Kshatriya king with vast resources and power. However, after realising that physical powers and siddhis were just a trap of the physical world and tapo bal (the yogic power of penance) was supreme power, he renounced his kingdom and went on to become a Brahmarshi who even set out to create a parallel universe; the gods, of course, had to come down to request him to desist. …

Tuesday night, as I was watching the news on television, the macabreness hit me: even as Afreen was struggling for survival, the city’s corporators were spewing rage. The object of their fury was not Afreen’s father who had severely injured his daughter, and wanted her dead, nor the social system which allows such savagery towards little girls. They were outraged at being denied free passes to the Indian Premier League cricket matches. …

To check the tide of rising Pashtun nationalism, Pakistan’s ISI is promoting the non-Pashtun Taliban who may soon be in control of southern Afghanistan. With ISI backing and American acquiescence in these developments, Afghanistan soon became the hub of global terrorism, once Mullah Omar was installed in Kandahar. Osama bin Laden was welcomed as an honoured guest by the Taliban, with the Al Qaeda and militant groups ranging from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Chechens, to the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines …

British University Mulls Alcohol Ban for Muslim Students

Muslim-Canadian student’s artwork sparks controversy over portrayal of Muslim dress

Germany Vows to Monitor Group's Quran Distribution

 ‘Baby factory’ out busted in Nigeria

Film “After the Storm” takes on dark side of war against terror

‘Over 181,000 have fled recent NW Pakistan fighting’: UN Refugee Agency

Shah Rukh Khan's detention: US apologises, India talks tough

New Delhi: Shahi Imam gives in, son-in-law to fight Legislative Council polls

Pakistan: Speaking out against forcible conversion

Riyadh chamber set to have businesswomen as members

Fighters want to try Qaddafi son - Libyan lawyer

Gunmen Kill Seven Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq Ambushes

'Hafiz Saeed's free movement encourages terror': Indian Foreign Secretary

Balochistan governor fears civil war in province

Around 112,000 voters fraudulently registered in Balochistan

Syrians not allowed visiting for Umrah

Complied by New Age Islam News Bureau

Photo: London Metropolitan University mulls alcohol ban for 'conservative Muslim

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Zionism was supposed to make Jewish existence “normal;”  very different than in a Diaspora peopled by goyim, but there is nothing ”normal” in the life and culture of Israel today—which has not lived in peace with its neighbors, much less let the Palestinians have elementary human rights in the lands in which they have lived for thousands of years.  If war is the criteria of “normal” existence, then Zionism has become a failed nightmare.   It was, when first conceptualized, not supposed to be this way. …

In a revolutionary fatwa which could go a long way at strengthening the institution of Islamic wedding, the Darul Uloom at Deoband, in a departure from the Shariah, has said that a second marriage would be a bad idea if the first wife was alive. “According to the Shariah, it is lawful to keep two wives at the same time. But it is generally not acceptable in Indian custom. Here in India, it is like inviting hundreds of problems. …

विरोध की कुछ आवाज़ों को प्राकृतिक रूप से अनदेखी की जाती है। हमारी आधुनिक और सभ्य दुनिया इंसाफ की पुरानी परिभाषा से एक सेंटीमीटर भी आगे नहीं बढ़ी है, इसके बावजूद दुनिया में आज इंसाफ को सबसे महत्वपूर्ण मूल्य के रूप में माना जा रहा है। लेकिन क्या हमें आज भी सुकरात की परिभाषा के साथ रहना चाहिए, जबकि हम इसका दावा करते हैं कि हमने बहुत तरक्की कर ली है? सिर्फ कमजोर वर्ग ही इंसाफ हासिल करने का सपना देख सकते हैं, या वो कभी इंसाफ भी हासिल कर सकेंगे?

ہم ایسے اسکول چاہتے ہیں جو ہمارے بچوں کے خلاف امتیازی سلوک نہ کرتے ہوں۔" یہ بیان اپنے بچوں کو نجی اسکولوں میں داخلہ حاصل کرنے میں پیش آنے والی مشکلات کے سبب  والدین  کے اندر بڑھ رہی لاچاری اور غصہ کے احساس پر روشنی ڈالتا ہے۔ بہت سے لوگ اپنے "احساس" کے بارے میں بات کرتے ہیں کہ نجی اسکولوں نے پہلے سے ہی طے کیا ہے کہ  "بس اتنے ہی طے شدہ مسلمانوں کو لینا ہے اور مزید کوئی مسلمان نہیں لینا ہے"

It is the latest chapter in the sorry tale of women in India, where regressive practices and age-old traditions continue to sit … So, where does it end? It probably doesn't, not even in the India of today that prides itself on its many achievements, its woman president, its woman speaker, its woman leader of opposition and woman chair of the ruling alliance. …