Can science be compared with religion?
If one doesn’t know how to evaluate evidence or determine if a conclusion lies beyond the scope of any given evidence and if one cannot judge the strength of a theory, he is like a young child who should not play with fire. If he does, he may burn his hands – in this metaphor, his beliefs. So religious scholars are right when they prevent us from playing with science which questions beliefs. Some people say that science and religion can never be compared. Religion would boast to “know everything” even if it is wrong and would undermine the understanding of ...
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The rise of American fanatics
Revelations that the American military has been teaching its future leaders about the necessity for a total war on Islam have shocked the world. The hypothetical war was not to be waged against the fanatical elements of the Muslim society, but a campaign against a “barbaric ideology” that should “no longer be tolerated.” Students were taught that Geneva conventions were to be thrown out the window because they were no longer relevant and that lessons of Hiroshima were to be used, wiping out whole cities and targeting “civilian population wherever necessary. “ This included potentially nuking the Holy cities of Makkah ...
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Can they call Palestine home?
11:oo pm Global Village, Dubai My sisters and I were running wildly to catch a bus. The bus was, apparently, the only cheap way home and it was to leave in the next 15 minutes. 11:15 pm My sister, laden with shopping bags, walked to the bus stand to get some information from two obscure figures seated under a dark shed – two young women wrapped in printed headscarves, wearing identical leather overcoats, bracing themselves against the chill in the air. Hey, do you know about the bus? Where is it headed? We are waiting ourselves. Don’t know. We are not from Dubai. Where are you from ...
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Why won’t NADRA recognise the Kalasha?
Did you know that there is a pre-historic animist religion called Kalasha – a religion still practised and cherished by the Kalasha people of the Hindu Kush valley? Are you also aware that the Kalasha people don’t even have an option to choose their religion in the ‘religion box’ endorsed by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)? Nadra came under scrutiny when it refused to rectify typographical errors it had made of a Christian MPA Rana Mahmood that identified him as a Muslim on his national identity card. The issue drew a considerable amount of attention from both the media and human rights activists, who criticised Nadra ...
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Why do religious people distrust science?
There was once a thriving culture of reason and scientific thought in medieval Arabia. It was a region where religion was taken very seriously, however, science still flourished and took root. Many of the modern day scientific and technological advances can be traced back to that part of the world. This article, however, is not about glorifying the past. It is an attempt to deconstruct the reason behind why modern day religious people, specifically Muslims, have a deep-rooted distrust for science, given that the Muslims from medieval Arabia were seemingly more open towards it. The answer may be a bit complicated, but not totally elusive. If ...
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Thoughts on anti-vulgarism day: Dear Diary…
Dear diary, Today I came back from school after having an interesting day in my class. We, the fourth graders, learned about science, math and geography. We also had one man come to our class. He reminded me of Santa Claus but he wasn’t as nice. He was very strict. He told me that I can no longer sit with my best friend Mariam because it is wrong. I’m very sad about that. He said I don’t look at her in a nice way. I don’t know what he means but he’s older and everyone said he is very religious ...
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The day I wore a niqab
Books have been written about it, feminists have insulted it, Muslim feminists, however, have defended it, and international laws are being passed against it. While there are some extreme cases where women are forced to wear a niqab (veil), most of the niqab-wearing women I know in Toronto and Karachi wear it due to a personal choice. I have some experience with the performing arts and expression, whereby one uses the body and it’s form as a canvas to initiate reaction and to enable visual dialogue between the performance artist and the viewer. Therefore, as a social and creative experiment, I decided to ...
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How Pakistan got boxed into religion
The National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) refusal to change MPA Rana Mahmood’s religion from “Islam” to “Christianity” has many boxed in. A plethora of questions have arisen. Is this a human rights violation? Will Mahmood be considered an apostate if his records were to reflect that he left Islam? How can you change someone’s faith with a stroke of a pen? But no one is talking about the real question: Why do we have a “religion box” on our legal documents anyway? Say that and you essentially open Pandora’s Box. After all, in a 97% Muslim majority country, what good can ...
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Another sad madrassa tale
The sun was shining down in all its glory on blossoming flowers which were ready to be plucked. Young children, not over the age of five, were seen laughing and giggling while birds flew and chirped overhead – creating a fusion that signified the beauty that this world holds. Three of those young children stepped forward to pull a few flowers for their teacher. However, fate had a sardonic way to disrupt the content that shone on their faces. This is not a movie script, nor is it an unraveling of a fictional story. This is a real life story ...
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Are we in spiritual crisis?
In a world where there is so much profanity, we are losing our sense of spirituality. Even in our art and poetry, the animating themes of spiritual experience are undergoing a sort of transcendent ecstasy and are giving way to the darker expressions of the human psyche. Introspective poetry tends to border on the nihilistic and pessimistic; reflections on a broken world that seems beyond deliverance. Probing the side of human nature that is all too often splashed across our television screens – tragedy has become a form of art in the modern world. This exploration is critical, but we ...
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