Articles
Textuality of Hijab: Fatema Mernissi and Katherine Bullock
Fatema Mernissi (1940-) Biography and Bibliography: Mernissi was born in Morocco where she is a lecturer at Mohammed V University. Her Beyond the Veil: a Feminist Interpretation of Women’s Right in Islam is translated into many languages and is hailed as detailed exposition into Prophet traditions regarding the issue of gender. Her other works include […]
The Veil – Symbol Carrying Many Meanings
Wearing the veil is seen as cultural, social and religious challenges to the rights of Muslim women. Historically, veiling has been prevalent in countries that Arabs had contact with, such as Syria and Palestine. Veiling was connected with social status. Early Greeks, Romans, Jews and Assyrians all practiced veiling to some degree (Ahmed, 1992, 55). […]
Mercen Dede: Synthesizing Broken Lives in a Ney
Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Mathnawi opens with the mention of a musical instrument which symbolises mankind: ‘From reed-flute hear what tale it tells/ What plaint it makes of absence’ ills/ From jungle-bed since me they tore/Men’s, women’s, eyes have wept right sore/ My breast I tear and rend in twain/To give, through sighs, vent to all […]
‘I want to learn experience of living Islam in India’
Amina Wadud speaks at an informal gathering held by Other Books, Calicut, which published her ‘Quran and Women’ into Malayalam Thank you very much. First I want you to know that I am loving India and I am loving Kerala specially. I have only been here for one week. It is my intention to stay […]
The Story of Abraham: A Journey of Hope for All
In the name of Allah Most Merciful Most Compassionate Delivered at the College of St. Elizabeth in on July 19 th, 2003 First of all, let me offer my Gratitude to the Almighty One for His divine grace having brought us all here today. Let me also ask for His blessings upon all of His […]
The Kite Runner: Plotting an Afghan Narrative
For Aristotle ‘catharsis’ was the aim of entertainers. We make thrillers in the way Shakespeare did comedies, tragedies and tragi-comedies to create so much catharsis as to make us shed our emotional tensions through tears, as to make us laugh our problems out and as to fix our buttocks on the edge of our seats […]
Beyond Taste: Sufi Cuisine and Dining
Contents • Taste Extended Arms Served: Sufi Revelations of Dining by Asghar Ali • Spiritual Rumi-nations for cooks and diners by shameer • Cook and Know thy Lord: Bulend Rauf’s notice to cooks Taste Extended Arms Served: Sufi Revelations of Dining ~ Asgar Ali Good food and drinks have always attracted man and he has readily […]
Beverage Which Fought Its Way Out!
Coffee unlike most other beverages is meant to keep you awake; it acts rather like a tonic or energy drink enhancing the performance of an intellectual as well as a workaholic. Unlike wine and other beverages, it doesn’t have those heavenly features to take you to a state of hallucination; instead, they say,it only stimulates […]
Many a Discovery of India
It was not merely the land of spices, but the land of many philosophies and cultural forms. Arab travellers came here not only in search of merchandise, but knowledge and information. Each discovery has had its own identity. Hence there are many discoveries of India. A reading of Arab geographers’ Knowledge of Southern India reveals it. Islam […]
AL Biruni: Romance, Voyage and Science
They were star-crossed lovers. Yet stars made them lovers. When Muhummad Ibn Ahmad Abu Rayhan Al Biruni (973-1048) was living in the observatory of Khawarism King Abu Nasr Mansur, he stole the heart of the king’s sister Rayhana-later to be known as Lady Rayhana-and she stole his, as well. But Rayhana (whom later al Biruni […]
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