A hymn for those who believe in the evidence of subjective experience. For those who have chewed on the hollow reed of skepticism and found that it is the most deceptive restraint of all. For those who have experienced liberation in humility, the humility of belief in the only One who is Real. “We created man, and we know what his soul whispereth to him, and we are closer to him than his neck vein.” -Quran (50:16) I.... Read more
This article is cross-posted from the author’s blog on Huffington Post. The Queen of Hearts has summoned the “Council of the Curiouser” for an emergency session to discuss the scourge of LOCO OSIRIS, a mysterious group that has killed thousands in Wonderland. Among those present are the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the White Rabbit, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, Propishchin (Protagonist of Gogol’s “Diary of a Mad Man”), Cassandra (from the “Oresteia” of Aeschylus) and a mysterious hooded figure... Read more
Prominent among the contemporary criticisms of Islam is the concept of apostasy and its prosecution as a crime in Muslim majority nations. The opinion I have formed through my personal knowledge of the Quran is that it does not support punishment for apostasy. However, I do not aim to focus on a theological rebuttal of these arguments in this post. I would prefer to leave that to scholars of the Quran and Sunnah (traditions of Prophet Muhammad), who I hope... Read more
The Weaver of Parables rose and silence descended on the gathering. His face alone was lit by the fire he stood before; all else was shadow. When he spoke, staring into the flames, the darkness itself seemed to hearken: “The First Men wrote their history in the images that they painted and carved on the walls of their caves. The hunt and the meal, the birth and the death, their joys and sorrows were transcribed in images that still, when... Read more
The anti-Muslim rhetoric of Donald Trump and the people that he seeks counsel from has raised a very dangerous specter. Namely that the idea of a civilizational clash between Islam and the West may become the framework for both the foreign and domestic policies of the government of the United States. Never before has there been a more pressing need to undermine and jettison this unsubstantiated and pro-war narrative. Intellectuals of all faiths and backgrounds must turn their attention to... Read more
News of Trump’s imminent executive orders on immigration was broken by The Hill and Reuters last night. What is clear so far is that one executive action will end refugee migration from several Muslim nations. Another executive order will ban visas for travel to the United States from an unspecified number of Muslim majority nations. Apart from these, executive orders ordering the construction of a wall at the Mexican border and targeting sanctuary cities are also planned. There is a sense of... Read more
This article was cross-posted from the Huffington Post “I fell a-weeping, and I cried, ‘Sweet youth, Tell me why, sad and sighing, thou dost rove These pleasant realms? I pray thee speak me sooth What is thy name?’ He said, ‘My name is Love.’ Then straight the first did turn himself to me And cried, ‘He lieth, for his name is Shame, But I am Love, and I was wont to be Alone in this fair garden, till he... Read more
Photo Credit: Dawn.com This would have been a departure from the main theme of the blog were it not for the fact that the individual under discussion was someone who struggled with many an “opposite” of his own. “Was” It feels strange to use the past tense regarding Junaid Jamshed; one of the few true celebrities in Pakistan, he was an omnipresent figure in the popular consciousness even after his departure from show business. But today he is indeed gone... Read more
This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post One of my first clear memories is a conversation with my father during a family visit to Masai Maara, Kenya. I had asked my father on arriving why some of the Masai women were bare-breasted and why this did not embarrass or shame them. My father responded that in my shorts, shirt and suspenders I probably looked absurd to the Masai, and that what they wore was to them, perfectly... Read more
Entropy. Yes, this is a manuscript on matters of faith that begins with entropy. One could surmise that entropy is an idea so amorphous that belief in it is itself an act of faith. But I promise I’m going somewhere with this. Entropy has been defined in a number of ways, two of which will suffice for our purpose here. It can be considered a measure of the amount of energy in a thermodynamic system that is inaccessible to useful function.... Read more
Holding The Tension of Opposites
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