Who gets to say what about religion? When does free speech verge into something more insidious — insult, offense, even…
Pakistan
Sonic controversy: “Hinduistic music” in Pakistan
I argue that shifting assumptions about “authentic Islam” have catalyzed the scandalization of mystical music in Pakistan. The emergence of…
Constituting religion: From South Asia to Malaysia
At the start of his outstanding new book, Constituting Religion, Tamir Moustafa explains that initially his ambition extended beyond Malaysia…
Piety, publicity, and the paradox of Islamization
The paradox of Islamization . . . has been that in expanding the scope of Islamic authority and making it…
Pakistan and blasphemy
TIF contributor Dr. Ebrahim Moosa recently posted on his blog a statement written by Mawlana Ammar Khan Nasir, editor of the Urdu…
Besides
I love the story about Shakeela Hassan. I just told it again last night, in fact. In the late 1950s,…
“Traditionalist” Islamic activism
At the time of the 9/11 attacks, commentators trying to analyze Afghan support for Al-Qaeda put a great deal of…
After violence, Pakistani Christians convert to Islam
Following recent increases in violence against Christians in Pakistan and other parts of the Middle East, many Christians are feeling…
Is Mumbai’s resilience endlessly renewable?
I grew up in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1950s and early 1960s. I spoke Tamil with my mother, a…
The death of secular India is greatly exaggerated
As the citizens of this vast metropolis seek to restore some semblance of normalcy to their lives, it is important…