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Judge, jury, executioner

RECENT years have seen a disturbing rise in the extrajudicial killings of blasphemy suspects — sometimes in police custody. Such cases reveal the increasing complicity of law-enforcement officials in the perpetuation of…

Are Muslims the only victims?

FIVE Muslim men went to meet the head of the Hindu revivalist RSS. The idea behind the visit was wrapped in the cliché that there’s no alternative to dialogue. The…

Hell’s architects

GAZA wasn’t always what it is today. Gaza wasn’t always a giant prison that has now been transformed into a death camp; a hellscape of broken bodies and buildings and…

Faithful idols

THESE days some people go about introducing themselves as ‘thought leaders’. This claim is neither determined nor tested by the number of followers they may have; it is completely self-assessed…

Boarding schools

BOARDING schools have long been an integral feature of the educational landsc­ape worldwide. These schools provide education and boarding facilities for children aged six to 11 years or 13 to…

The Arab inaction

WITH the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, public opinion around the world is turning against the Israeli invasion. While protest rallies are sweeping across the…

Intertwined struggles

A LOT of things about the current conflict between the state of Israel and the occupied territories of Palestine reflect past positions. Just like it always does, the US has…

Teaching Holocaust

SO, the Holocaust is to be taught in school in the UAE. Why not? After all, ignoring the calamities of the blood-drenched post-Balfour Declaration era, Jews and Arabs have throughout…

Glory and doom

WHY do some states see progress while others remain poor? Right-wing analysts link progress to the presence of the ‘right’ institutions, policies, and societal traits in rich states. But left-wing…

Failing our minorities

TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Zarviya left her home in Rawalpindi with a couple known to her family, who said they would take her to buy a Mother’s Day gift for her mother. She…