Posts About Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Cultural Minefield: No Country for Young Actors
Homosexuality is normal in the Muslim world until it enters public debate – then everyone jumps on the bandwagon to decry it.
Politics Precedes Religion
Somalia/United Arab Emirates - Looking at the Middle East and the Muslim world in general one can see that Pope Benedict's tongue in cheek apology didn't go down well. One of the renowned scholars, Sheikh Yousef Al Qaradawi, said in his popular Al Jazeera Television program that he thought the Pope had not apologized. Qaradawi had even called on Muslims to hold a day of " anger" on Friday, the last Friday before the start of Ramadan....
Talk to Tribal Chiefs
Somalia/United Arab Emirates - This is a war that NATO cannot win by brute force alone. Islam may be the battle cry of the insurgency, but in reality the Taliban is nothing but Pashtun men fighting for the dignity of their tribe. Their alliance with the Al Qaeda is one of expediency. It is not a rock solid alliance based on the defense of Islam. Talking to tribal leaders is the solution....
Westerners: Tread Softly in Our World
The scene was included for the sole purpose of further demonizing the Taliban - as if that is even necessary.
Engage Afghanistan for Its Own Sake
New Delhi, India - Karzai's sincere effort to be something more than the mayor of Kabul has been a quiet joke ever since he took office. The President of Afghanistan invites sympathy rather than censure. He did not become president because he had either a mass base or an army. He was placed in office by Bush who then forgot to add in the power....
Deploy "Infinite Money" and Dialogue
Cairo, Egypt - Following the election of President Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun, the Afghan political leadership faced a daunting challenge: To reconstruct infrastructure and develop an effective security force with international assistance while avoiding the perception that they, the new Afghan leadership, was yet another regime manipulated by foreign interests....
Filmmakers' Moral Obligation
Filmmakers commenting on troubled societies have a particular responsibility to those who help them do so.
'The Kite Runner' - Who's to Blame?
The producers of the movie "The Kite Runner" had to evacuate three boy actors from Afghanistan because they were involved in a scene portraying homosexual rape. Who's at fault here: the movie producers who exposed the boys to danger, or the Afghan culture that threatens them?...
PostGlobal Bloggers
M. J. Akbar, New Delhi, India Mubashar Jawed Akbar is a leading Indian journalist and author. He's the founder and editor-in-chief of The Asian Age, a daily multi-edition Indian newspaper with a global perspective and editor-in-chief of The Deccan Chronicle, a news daily based in Hyderabad. He has written books including Blood Brothers, Nehru: The Making of India, Kashmir: Behind the Vale, Riot After Riot, The Shade of Swords, and India: The Siege Within. Kyoko Altman, Hong Kong, China Kyoko Altman is a writer based in Hong Kong. She has worked as a correspondent and anchor for CNN and...
Muslim World Under Siege?
Islamabad, Pakistan -- In Pakistan, public sentiment is outraged by televised images of Lebanese civilians killed in Israeli raids. A headline in a major English-language daily reads: "Israel goes berserk". The Pakistan government has condemned the loss of life and property in Lebanon. And the country's many jihadi organizations will likely make hay, exploiting popular perceptions that the Muslim world is under siege....
The West Is Bleeding Moral Capital
Why was there no outcry against the book’s author, since it was he who has produced the scene in his book?
Typical Muslim Intolerance
As usual, a small group of religious zealots hijacks the debate – and intolerance wins.
