Aug
14
The Fall of Muslim Spain
August 14, 2007 | 7 Comments
I read about the history of Muslim spain long time ago, but I was not very sure about how the fall came about. I think now I have a better idea.
But before I get into the history, let me recount an experience.
I was talking to an ultra-orthodox friend of mine. He told me this […]
Mar
21
Bits of Indian History: Excerpts of An Interview
March 21, 2007 | 5 Comments
An interesting interview of Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar.
…Hindutva forces are very unevenly spread out and there are many countervailing factors, I don’t think that it has all the marked features of fascism.
It doesn’t have a very formed, organized left enemy that it contends against…
Gowalkar quite openly said that India is not meant for electoral […]
Mar
3
The Iranian Identity
March 3, 2007 | 1 Comment
The images that surface from that first visit are fragmentary but vivid: the deep red of the pomegranate juice served to us from a bucket by a street vendor; the fresh laundry smell of the steamed rice and kebabs that we ate pretty well every day, and a truly hallucinatory hotel where, as we were […]
Feb
28
Kashmir, Fake Encounters and the Indian Army
February 28, 2007 | 6 Comments
Human Rights Watch talk about the Kashmir situation:
Behind The Kashmir Conflict
Summary
The dramatic escalation in May 1999 of cross-border shelling between India and Pakistan, and fighting between Indian troops and militants who have crossed over from Pakistan, have focused international attention on the security implications of the conflict. But the pattern of systematic […]
Feb
24
Religion Makes Fittest
February 24, 2007 | 21 Comments
“… and fear Allah, so that you may prosper” the Qur’an (2:189)
—
An estimated 84% of the world’s population attach themselves to one religion or the other. 16% of the world’s population do not. Even some of them may not be Atheists. Just does not like institutionalised religion.
[…]
Feb
20
The Mongol Catastrophe and Aurangzeb
February 20, 2007 | 40 Comments
I come across some funny opinions.
Mongol Catastrophe
This (www.islam-watch.org/HistoryOfJihad/jihad_against_mongols.htm) was rather interesting.
To quote this writer:
“…The relatively unknown story of how the Jihadis tormented the Mongols and Turks leading to a fierce and vicious counter-attack by the Mongols on Islamdom from 1200 to 1258. An attack that was fiercer than the Crusades and which nearly wiped out […]
Feb
19
Closer Fights
February 19, 2007 | 4 Comments
A few days ago I posted an opinion that two cultures, close enough, cause more friction than two far apart. Diganta protested.
I promised I will come back to it.
This is a rethought.
—
We saw that in some cases two close cultures cause no friction, two alien ones do.
The determining factor seems to be
1. whether one culture […]
Feb
18
Peaceful Atheists?
February 18, 2007 | 17 Comments
I love talking about myths.
There is a myth that Atheists have never committed atrocities in the name of atheism (I would like to substitute “atheist religion” here, but that’s politically incorrect).
That is not true. Have we forgotten the communists? Both the Leninists and the Maoists?
USSR was officially an Atheist state. Walls were filled with anti-religious […]
Feb
6
Against Nationalism
February 6, 2007 | 23 Comments
As the world is drawing closer and closer, Nationalism is a danger for the humankind.
Read more… or Read more right here… »
The general idea of Nationalism being: […]
Feb
3
History’s Lessons: Muslims are the New Jews
February 3, 2007 | 20 Comments
History is always a great teacher. An open mind can learn a lot from history. Here is one such bit:
As believers in one God they were devoted to their holy book, which contained strict religious laws, harsh penalties and gender inequality. Some of them established separate religious courts. The men wore dark clothes and had […]