Freedom of the Press is an essential aspect of functioning democracies. Be it an institution or an individual, the liberty to express openly is the most important of attributes. The press, in particular, being the Fourth Estate of a democratic society, is expected to be bold and articulate. But ground realities differ from ideal conceptions…
Tag: middle east
Africa: A Voyage of Discovery with Basil Davidson
Episode 1: Different But Equal n the first episode of the documentary series titled ‘Africa: A Voyage of Discovery with Basil Davidson’, a historical-colonial perspective of Africa and its people is given. The title ‘Different But Equal’ hints at how African people were treated to the contrary by Westerner colonialists. Although early travelers to ancient…
In what ways can/do your understandings of human oppression shape or may shape your personal and professional relationships and practices.
From what I’ve understood of women’s oppression across ages, I would support a new feminist humanism in which would be based on ‘democratic reconstruction’. This way, we can avert ethnocentric mistakes about what it means to be human. In order to mitigate women’s oppression, one has to recognize how it is tied to other forms…
How to understand the notion of “Muslim Politics”?
In the brilliantly articulate essay titled ‘Muslim Politics’ by Dale Eickelman and James Piscatori, we understand that the term ‘Muslim Politics’ is a broad and sweeping conceptualization. By virtue of it being so broad in its scope, it has ended up losing a compact and technical usage. To this extent it is not to be…
What are the main arguments for and against the horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons?
Warfare is one of the most tragic institutions devised by humans. Many philosophers and intellectuals of by-gone eras have pondered over the destruction left by war. They have questioned the merits behind purported motives for war. The scale of human and material loss incurred in wars is hard to justify through reasoning. If conventional warfare…
Satisfying all stakeholders when the business is competing in mature product markets is difficult
The business dynamics at play in a mature product market is quite different from that of newly introduced products. Companies dealing with mature products will have to employ different manufacturing and marketing tactics than those adopted for trendy products in order to succeed. One of the concerns facing the management is satisfying all involved stakeholders,…
History of Belly Dance
Belly Dance originated from the Middle East, where it is referred to as Raqs Sharqi. Other alternative names for it are Middle Eastern dance and Arabic dance. Belly dance originated in the royal courtyards of Ottoman Empire and beyond. In the glory days of the empire, it used to be performed by members of a…
Did God Have a Wife?: Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel By William G. Dever
The book ‘Did God Have a Wife?’ was written by Syro-Palestinian archaeologist William G. Dever and published in the year 2005. This is a fascinating piece of scholarship that delves into the evolution of early religious ideas and practices in Ancient Israel. Given the importance of Israel (and the greater Middle East) to the understanding…
Politics of Tolerance vis-a-vis Islamic Republic of Iran
The term ‘Politics of tolerance’ is usually not associated with the ‘Islamic Republic of Iran’. Currently, the country is in the stronghold of radical Islamic forces and no tolerance is shown for dissidents, secularists and pluralists. While Iran has historically been a conservative society, the America backed coup-de-tat of 1953 proved to be a turning…
On Orientalism featuring Edward Said
Orientalism, a concept coined by the renowned American intellectual Edward Said has attracted praise and controversy in equal measure. While remaining Said’s definitive scholarly work, its thesis is a condensation of themes found in his other works such as The Question of Palestine and Covering Islam. To be concise, Orientalism can be defined as the…