Islam and Politics *India: Reservation for Muslims -Is it really a double-edged sword? <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1471>*
Minority affairs minister *Salman Khursheed* has called reservation for Muslims a double-edged sword. Urdu columnist *Syed Abdul Rafey *asks if that is really so and concludes*: “*It cannot be denied that reservation is indeed a double-edged sword; if it is used, the Muslims will get fewerbenefits and suffer more losses.” He goes on to explain the reasons why and what should the community do, endorsing the idea that Muslims should depend more on their own devices and develop the capability to succeed in this highly competitive world.** Translated from Urdu by *Syed Raihan Ahmad Nezami*, Najran, Saudi Arabia More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1471> Radical Islamism & Jihad *Hafiz Saeed: Politics, not law, set him free <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1469>* This, of course, is the dilemma of using criminals and terrorists to further the state’s agenda: they become an embarrassment or, worse, turn against their handlers. It has always struck me as ironic that people like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar use random violence against the innocent as a tool, while claiming the protection of the Constitution when they are arrested. Thus, while people like them organise terror operations targeting ordinary citizens, when caught they demand their habeas corpus rights guaranteed under the Constitution….The sad reality in Pakistan is that when the state wishes to hold an individual, nobody is beyond its reach. So when people like *Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Masood Azhar and Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid* fame are released by our superior courts on grounds of insufficient evidence, we have the right to ask what’s going on. Some of these people have publicly urged their misguided followers to commit violent acts, so to pretend they should get the benefit of the doubt is dangerous legal sophistry. Finally, the Army has taken off its gloves in the fight against extremism. And if new laws are required to combat this menace on the judicial level, Parliament must do whatever it takes. -- *Irfan Hussain* 2 Comments More..<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1469> Islamic Culture *Tuesday, Jun 16 2009* Art: The Intersection of Islam, America and Identity <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1466> Having never lived outside Karachi until she moved to New York, Ms. Ahmed Shikoh did not anticipate the mixture of awe and estrangement that she felt. “Here I was looking at a huge new city and wondering: ‘How do I fit in? How do I make this my home and my territory?’ ” she said. Artistically she turned to her Statue of Liberty and Urdu subway map paintings. Socially she started visiting a mosque. “I guess being a minority, everybody starts to look for people of your own kind,” she said. “I had never been to a mosque in Pakistan. The mosque as community centre, I just discovered here. So I made a few Muslim friends, and it opened my eyes. There were women who were progressive, modern, fashionable and wearing the head scarf.” Over the next few years Ms. Ahmed Shikoh wrestled with herself about covering her hair, wondering, “Why not just wear modest clothes?” Her husband — who after 20 years here is relaxed and Americanized in manner — stayed out of the decision-making process. Her mother, tired of hearing her argue with herself, said: “O.K., what are you waiting for? They won’t throw you a party to start wearing one.” And then Ms. Ahmed Shikoh decided that God was asking her to do it as an act of faith. “I had the freedom in this country to make that choice,” she said. “Here people just let you live your life.” Ms. Ahmed Shikoh started keeping what she thought of as a hijab diary. Daily she would make a painting or collage that incorporated the template of a head scarf, sometimes quite playfully, as in the hijab with the built-in iPod or the one made of Play-Doh featuring Dora the Explorer. -- *Deborah Sontag, *New York Times More.<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1466> -- Syed.Asadullah --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Asalam o Alaikum, You Are Receiving This Message, Because You Are A Member Of FOCUS ON ISLAM, A Google Group [..:: The Best Group For Nice Islamic Mails ::..] \/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<>\/ You can Post Your Comments and Suggestions to Me [Moderator of this Group] on this email address: [email protected] To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.google.com/group/focusonislam/ To post messages/mails to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Please forward our Mails to Your friends, and convence them to join our Group. Wanna subscribe to this group, send email to [email protected] \/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<>\/ *********************************************************** The Official Website of Group is LAUNCHED, http://www.geocities.co -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
